Had fantastic meal in Phuket’s only starred restaurant. I was initially hesitant to visit fearing that it would end up being a ham-fisted attempt to force fit Thai cuisine into a fine-dining format. Thankfully my fears were unfounded, PRU is more about importing Thai ingredients, herbs, and spices into a meal that is still very much build on a modern-European tasting menu foundation. Here’s what we had:
* (No pics) Vegetarian-friendly canapes were fine, nothing offensive nor too memorable. * Smoked durian mousse, caviar from Hua Hin, shiso oil, mulberries. Loved this bold opening statement. Quite a gentle introduction to durian for the uninitiated and for those familiar with durian, a really unusual but successful way to enjoy the King of Fruits. * Roasted coconut ceviche, heart of coconut palm, black peanut, coffee garum, coconut trunk ‘katusoboshi’, lime zest. Again top marks in creativity and taste. * Black crab from the brackish waters of Phang Nga Bay, green curry, baby peas, fermented tea leaf oil, crab egg ‘bottarga’. Outrageously good. Crab curry for the Gods. * Aussie Chardonnay pairing for the next course, very appropriate and the best pairing of the night. * Andaman sea prawns, lacto-fermented mango beurre blanc, prawn head caramel. Brilliant sauce work. * Beetroot roasted for 2 days, sourdough and red rice miso sauce. Only dish with no real Thai-ness to it IMO. * Baby squids, blue cheese (from Chiang Rai!), sour herbs, cuttlefish ‘ham’, freshly-baked brioche on the side. Cheese and squid.. and Thai herbs?! What the hell is this guy smoking? And how did he pull it off? This is like someone got bored making Tom Kha Gai with coconut and used cheese instead. The umami-ness of the cheese and cuttlefish built on each other. * Quite looking forward to this Chateau Musar from Lebanon but it really didn’t taste anything like what I expected for a Bordeaux-blend produced in sunny Middle East. * Dry-aged female duck from the highlands of Khao Yai, duck jus with star anise, breadfruit. Absolute zenith of duck cookery. Even the jus itself took 4 rounds of reduction to reach this level of shine and intensity. * (No pic) Marian plum, ricotta, miso. * (No pic) Banana and umeboshi.
Some minor critique: lots of sauces and soft textures and I was missing something crunchy/crispy by the time I reached the duck course. Would have loved to see what can this chef do with fish. Also the wine pairing (basic one) was pretty pricey and delivered more in quantity than quality. Still feel bothered by the Chateau Musar, perhaps I should have asked the somm check on the wine’s condition…
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Had fantastic meal in Phuket’s only starred restaurant. I was initially hesitant to visit fearing that it would end up being a ham-fisted attempt to force fit Thai cuisine into a fine-dining format. Thankfully my fears were unfounded, PRU is more about importing Thai ingredients, herbs, and spices into a meal that is still very much build on a modern-European tasting menu foundation. Here’s what we had:
* (No pics) Vegetarian-friendly canapes were fine, nothing offensive nor too memorable.
* Smoked durian mousse, caviar from Hua Hin, shiso oil, mulberries. Loved this bold opening statement. Quite a gentle introduction to durian for the uninitiated and for those familiar with durian, a really unusual but successful way to enjoy the King of Fruits.
* Roasted coconut ceviche, heart of coconut palm, black peanut, coffee garum, coconut trunk ‘katusoboshi’, lime zest. Again top marks in creativity and taste.
* Black crab from the brackish waters of Phang Nga Bay, green curry, baby peas, fermented tea leaf oil, crab egg ‘bottarga’. Outrageously good. Crab curry for the Gods.
* Aussie Chardonnay pairing for the next course, very appropriate and the best pairing of the night.
* Andaman sea prawns, lacto-fermented mango beurre blanc, prawn head caramel. Brilliant sauce work.
* Beetroot roasted for 2 days, sourdough and red rice miso sauce. Only dish with no real Thai-ness to it IMO.
* Baby squids, blue cheese (from Chiang Rai!), sour herbs, cuttlefish ‘ham’, freshly-baked brioche on the side. Cheese and squid.. and Thai herbs?! What the hell is this guy smoking? And how did he pull it off? This is like someone got bored making Tom Kha Gai with coconut and used cheese instead. The umami-ness of the cheese and cuttlefish built on each other.
* Quite looking forward to this Chateau Musar from Lebanon but it really didn’t taste anything like what I expected for a Bordeaux-blend produced in sunny Middle East.
* Dry-aged female duck from the highlands of Khao Yai, duck jus with star anise, breadfruit. Absolute zenith of duck cookery. Even the jus itself took 4 rounds of reduction to reach this level of shine and intensity.
* (No pic) Marian plum, ricotta, miso.
* (No pic) Banana and umeboshi.
Some minor critique: lots of sauces and soft textures and I was missing something crunchy/crispy by the time I reached the duck course. Would have loved to see what can this chef do with fish. Also the wine pairing (basic one) was pretty pricey and delivered more in quantity than quality. Still feel bothered by the Chateau Musar, perhaps I should have asked the somm check on the wine’s condition…