‘Once you have the right ingredients, you know how to play.’ That’s what Chef Ho Chee Boon told us. He’s not much for polite niceties – he’s utterly unpretentious and a bit blunt. Using the wrong kind of mortar and pestle? He’ll let you know. He was born in Malaysia, and while we won’t make comparisons to a certain Malaysian-Chinese YouTuber, we understand if you might.
It’s what we expect from a master craftsman with 30+ years in the kitchen. Having opened Hakkasan, London’s first Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant, as well as operations on four continents (including Breeze at the Lebua State Tower here in town), he has played a major role in getting Chinese food the respect it deserves. While, to Western ears, ‘going out for Chinese’ once meant suburbanized flavour profiles, faux-Ming screens, and cloudy fishtanks, Chef Boon’s outlets are mingling grounds for the smart set, with the cuisine to match, inspiring countless Chinese chefs outside the Sinosphere to step up their game.
Now he’s back in Bangkok to open Silver Waves at the Chatrium Hotel Riverside. Some of his projects are awfully glitzy – the Wikipedia page for Hakkasan has a photo of the Chainsmokers performing at their Vegas club location – but Silver Waves is thankfully more restrained. The sunset river views are glam enough, some of the best in the city, and the vermilion-toned dining room foregrounds the location. Tables are intimate, and private rooms are available too, including a massive 40-person round table complete with a karaoke stage – in case you want to see your sales manager slur his way through ‘Proud Mary’ at the company dinner.
The best dishes are rooted deep in the Cantonese canon, but delivered with precision, creativity, and style. Mixed dim sum (B460) goes hard on the visual impact, with a rainbow colour palette in the steamer basket and bold flavours to match, and Iberico ham xiaolongbao (B320) is as awesome as it sounds. We also adored the tofu with wild pepper (B380), clearly inspired by the always-addictive mapo tofu, but with an earthy, pungent spice blast contrasting against the gooey soft tofu. Passionfruit cheesecake (B340) breathes new life into a modern Asian staple, balanced and playfully contained within a passionfruit shell. To pair, the after-dinner Chinese herbal drinks remind us of a motorbike ride through Yaowarat in the best way.
The more luxurious mains, while impressive, are perhaps a bit too classic. The sauce on the tiger prawns (B680) is just a bit too similar to standard Thai-Chinese pat pong garee, and the black cod with shacha sauce (B1,680) didn’t differentiate itself from the black cod that is the signature dish at a global Japanese high-end restaurant brand whose name rhymes with ‘no, you.’ Both of these dishes are unquestionably delicious, but they seem less like originals than competent cover songs.
That quibble aside, with that right mix of photogenic setting and serious craft, don’t be surprised if Silver Waves becomes the next jam-packed hotel dim sum spot. And don’t be surprised if we steal your xiaolongbao while you’re snapping selfies.