Coconut’s Critic’s Table reviews are written based on unannounced visits by our writers and paid for by Coconuts Bangkok.
COCONUTS CRITIC’S TABLE – Located in a revamped shophouse in a small soi opposite Samitivej Hospital, Paste proclaims to do innovative Thai food. The Australian chef Jason Bailey and his Thai wife, chef Bongkoch Satongun, have had years of experience running restaurants in the traditional Royal Thai cooking tradition so they certainly seem to have the base to get creative.
But, to be clear, the food isn’t fusion.
There are no Thai-fied spaghetti dishes or foie gras medleys here. Instead, the chefs essentially invent new dishes with the ingredients and traditions of Thai cuisine, sometimes combining things that haven’t traditionally gone together. Despite this departure from tradition, Paste hasn’t generated any of the controversy that places like Nahm and Sra Bua did a few years ago. Perhaps the city is over the outrage of chefs “messing” with the static perfection of Thai cuisine? Neither has it generated any significant buzz, except among expats and the occasional Thai. Perhaps that’s because any attempts to play with Thai cuisine are judged harshly against traditional standards that don’t really apply? It could also be the tiny space. It’s certainly romantic and cozy, with a long leather bench along one wall and understated use of old Thai cookbook pages as accent wallpaper and floor to ceiling wicker panels. But perhaps a cooking concept this lofty needs a bigger space to send the right signal to the market?
Based on my three visits, it seems that in addition to all of the above, Paste hasn’t yet adequately communicated its philosophy and the work behind its menu to the public. As a result it’s being relegated to the domain of approachable, slightly more pricey Thai food for foreigners.
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The fault is certainly not in the food. Paste purchases the freshest and best ingredients, mostly from local suppliers. This great sourcing is evident in the aroma, crunch, and tenderness of the dishes. One of their signature dishes, the master stock poached organic pork is a salad in turns earthy and citrusy, with its Chinese-spice poaching stock, gorgeous grapefruit, toasted rice, three kinds of edible Thai flowers, and a restrained lime-chilli salsa. I also love the party of textures and meaty and herby flavours in the jellyfish and shredded chicken salad with mint, lime and chilli pickle. Those used to the fiery, intense flavors found in much of Thai food will probably find them too mild to be exciting. But they’re well-conceived, well-sourced, and pretty delicious.
Actually, it’s the items that most closely resemble existing dishes that open themselves up to criticism. On my last visit, for example, I didn’t care for the crispy rice crackers with prawn, pork and peanut candy relish. The relish was a bit too watery and one-dimensionally sweet, and the ratio of pork to prawn was so skewed that it took me a few bites to realize that the dish was also meant to have the latter. Moreover, a dish as ubiquitous as this is a throwaway on a menu with such a specific vision. I do, however, like their gaeng hung lay, a Burmese-inspired curry common in northern Thailand. It’s traditionally made with fatty, silky pork belly, but Paste does it with slow-cooked Australian beef cheek. It’s not as decadently silky, but the meat is extremely tender and pleasing, and the generous use of ginger and pickled garlic brightens the dish.
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The service at Paste is attentive, English-speaking and knowledgeable. On one visit, our waiter actively guided us away from too-similar dishes and helped us choose ones that would round out the flavors of the meal. On a quiet night, however, and in such a cozy space, the attention can be a bit oppressive, with two or three wait staff standing a few feet from the table throughout the dinner. What there isn’t enough of, however, is visits from the chefs. In a chef-driven restaurant that’s this tiny and intimate and with a cooking philosophy that’s quite interesting and new, it’s surprising that chefs Bee and Jason don’t chat with all the diners, except at the end of the meal to cursorily ask how the food was. On our last visit, my small party was the only one in the restaurant and we could watch the chefs at work through the kitchen window so this lack of interaction felt especially awkward. Compare this chef-diner relationship to one at another chef-driven restaurant – Gaggan – that also innovates on an old and sacrosanct cuisine. There the energetic eponymous chef works a much larger room, explaining his idea behind nearly every dish that comes to your table.
Sure, this type of education isn’t what all diners are looking for on a night out. But personally, my experiences at Paste would be greatly enhanced if one of the chefs briefly explained the choices behind each dish and how it deviates from an old royal recipe, where applicable. And the restaurant would probably generate more buzz and foster more conversation if the diners could fully appreciate the careful thinking, experimentation, slow-cooking techniques, and unusual combination of regional Thai ingredients behind the menu.
In the meantime, there’s enough to make the occasional visit.
It has the casual appeal of a neighbourhood restaurant—even though this may not be what they were going for—and the price tag isn’t too heavy (last time, our bill worked out to THB 1,000 per person, with a drink each). And there are often seasonal specials to keep things interesting. But considering that the cooking philosophy is so rare and done pretty faithfully, Paste should be a much more important restaurant than it is. The people behind it need to re evaluate and tweak their formula, some menu items and their public interactions to help give it the attention it deserves.
FIND IT:
Paste
120/6 Sukhumvit Soi 49
(Opposite Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital)
Klongton Nua, Vadhana
Bangkok 10110
