The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York has produced a handful of Thailand’s most renowned chefs, including Chef Pichaya “Pam” Utharntham of The Table by Chef Pam and Potong, and Chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn of Le Du and Nusara. Both culinary figures and their restaurants are recognized, if not revered, by some of the city’s most discerning epicures.
Following closely in their footsteps is Chef Worathon “Tae” Udomchalotorn, another CIA alum who actually graduated in the same class as Chef Ton. Chef Tae and the latter are actually good friends and used to run Le Du together. It may have taken some time and a few detours (including a stint at the three-Michellin-starred Benu in San Francisco), but it was well worth the wait now that Chef Tae has put up his own venture—a fine-dining endeavor called Kavee.
Taking the name from the Thai word for “poet”, the restaurant reinterprets fine Thai fare using modern cooking techniques. “I think of my creations as Thai, but some of them take inspiration from what I remember eating in the past,” the chef explains.
The element of “poetry” in Kavee’s cuisine lies in how Chef Tae presents a multi-course menu in “perfect sequence, in order to create the most pleasurable dining experience possible”, and that’s exactly what we experience at the restaurant’s soft opening.
Kavee’s debut menu is stylized as a blind tasting. Dishes are not revealed in advance, allowing diners to potentially enjoy the experience of savoring its flavors without too much expectation. The first course of seven came out extremely strong. The amuse bouche included three flavorful morsels: oyster with kumquat dressing, tangy foie gras meringue, and spicy amberjack.
What followed next was a reworked kanom jeen sao nam where, instead of mixing rice noodles with coconut milk curry, Chef Tae used grilled scallops topped with fermented rambutan and wasabi snow.
The flavors became a bit more subtle with the succeeding dishes, which included a grilled fish with zesty tamarind sauce paired with a delicious shallot tart, and a rice congee with a generous amount of crab meat, dried chilli and black pepper. A scrumptious brioche dinner roll was served on the side for guests to dip into the congee, making the dish even more fulfilling and comforting.
The pre-main of deep-fried chicken stuffed with pâté came with more truffle flakes—and likely calories—than we would have liked, and less of the sweet sauce that we actually liked, but that all was forgiven when the main course—a dry-aged Barbary duck with a superb sauce made with coriander root—was revealed.
What followed was a palate-cleansing sorbet whipped up from the leaves of the tummang plant, usually used in Southern Thailand to make chilli paste. It was a great precedent for dessert: truffles ice cream with coconut pudding and coffee crumbles on the side.
Instead of following the traditional flavor build-up of most tasting menus, Kavee’s offering went the opposite way, going from intense hits to more subtle and comforting tastes. The deviation, however, in no way took away from the pleasure of enjoying the meal. In fact, this different approach left us more curious about what else Chef Tae has up his sleeve and eager to experience the next chapter of his well-composed culinary poetry.
Kavee’s seven-course tasting menu is currently priced at B2,590 per person (from B2,890) until 31 December 2021.
