Chai Jia Chai

Some dinners aren’t meals so much as murmurs – memories half-remembered, translated into texture and temperature. Chai Jia Chai plays host to Chef Naka Xiong and Head Sommelier Lesley Liu of Odette, that precise, three-starred cathedral of French technique nestled in Singapore’s National Gallery. But here, in the hush of Bangkok, the pair conjure something else entirely. Think Manchu-Han banquet by way of Burgundy, with ingredients that feel smuggled from another century. The menu reads like a dream folded into lacquered pages: brittle, delicate, slightly untranslatable. Over two nights, cuisine becomes conversation. July 12-13. Starts at B16,800. Reserve via 093-117-1909. Chai Jia Chai, 6.30pm onwards