Must-read Earlier Installments:

• Singapore, Cathay, and Qantas First Class.. Some of the Best Meals of My Life, and a Tour of Hyatts in Bangkok, Singapore, and Sydney
  
• Inside the New Oneworld Lounge at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal
• Cathay Pacific First Class, Los Angeles – Hong Kong
  
• Cathay Pacific “The Wing” First Class Lounge, Hong Kong
  
• Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok
  
• Grand Hyatt Bangkok: Suite, Club Lounge, and Facilities

Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin at the Siam Kempinski hotel is quite well-regarded. It’s Copenhagen sister is the second restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star cooking Thai food. (The first was London’s Nahm, and I ate at Nahn in Bangkok on this trip as well.)

I’ve done plenty of the world’s best molecular gastronomy.

• The since-closed El Bulli, arguably then the best (and certainly toughest to get into) restaurant in the world.
  
• The Fat Duck in Bray near London Heathrow. This is Heston Blumenthal’s place, and the ‘magic’ was impressive though the courses didn’t work nearly so well for me as ‘food’.
  
• Bo Innovation, which is Chinese molecular gastronomy, and my most interesting meal of the year prior to this trip.

Sra Bua would introduce me to Thai molecular gastronomy.

I had a second fitting at a tailor shop before dinner, and I was late arriving there so I was late leaving as well and was cutting it close for making it to Sra Bua to begin with. So I rang the restaurant when I was leaving the tailor shop to make sure they’d still be able to accommodate me even though we were blowing our reservation time completely. They said they could.

Upon arrival at the Siam Kempsinki I walked towards where it seemed like the restaurant would be, walked completely past it, and to a dead end and turned around. Walking back I ran into a staff member who saw me looking confused. She smiled and said, “Mr. Leff?”

I don’t know how she knew, but I had just called and perhaps they had everyone else turn up for their bookings already so I was the only person missing.. and I was mere feet from the front of the restaurant.

We were seated in a bar area where they begin the evening. A welcome drink is given and menus presented. In addition to a la carte choice they have a limited tasting menu and a full one, for 2200 and 2700 baht per person respectively.

I decided I wanted to taste the full range of what the restaurant offers so went with the eleven course offering.

Still at the bar we were presented with ‘Nibblings’

Followed by ‘street food’

Then there was a deconstructed Tom Yum soup with mushrooms and tomatoes

The early course street food continued before we moved to the dining room.

We moved to the dining room, where courses were delivered, or sometimes prepared tableside.

We were served three courses of dessert:

• Koh Samui
  
• The flowers of Thailand
  
• Snowball with plum sorbet and ginger ice cream

In the end, this was a phenomenal meal. It was fun, and fascinating. And at ~ US$80 per person, expensive for Bangkok but an incredible value to do this meal at this price. But it didn’t come close to being my best meal in the five days I spent in the city on this trip, as you’ll see as I continue the report.

So is it worth going? Yes, I think so. Would I go back? Sure, although I would wait quite awhile because I’m sure they don’t change the menu that frequently, which is fine because it’s hardly top on my list.

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