It was a sequence of coincidences that introduced us to Locus Native Meals Lab. First, we weren’t purported to be in Northern Thailand in any respect—we had deliberate to go to Ko Lipe within the south. When unhealthy climate hit there, we modified our plans on the final second and headed north as a substitute, the place the climate was good: blue skies and 25°C (75°F). Second, I hadn’t supposed to do any extra positive eating on this journey, as I discussed in my assessment of R-Haan. However whereas stress-free by the pool at our resort in Chiang Rai, I began on the lookout for eating places and stumbled upon Locus Native Meals Lab. Because the Michelin Information doesn’t cowl this space, it has no stars, so technically I’m sticking to my plan of avoiding Michelin-starred eating places. (If Michelin did cowl this area, this place would most likely earn a minimum of one star.)
The restaurant was based by Chef Kongwuth Chaiwongkachon (referred to as Chef Kong) in 2016 and operates solely as a chef’s desk. There’s a single set menu priced at THB 3,000 (about €80), served to all company concurrently. The wine pairing is non-compulsory (THB 2,800, about €75). Dinner runs from 5:30 p.m. to eight:30 p.m. Once we visited, there have been solely six company, although the area appeared to accommodate as much as ten.
Along with being a educated chef, Chef Kong is an authorized sommelier. At most of my favourite eating places, the chef and sommelier work intently collectively, which I consider is important for attaining the absolute best meals and wine pairings. Combining each roles in a single particular person makes this much more seamless.
In response to the web site, the restaurant’s mission is “to carry conventional Northern Thai delicacies to the forefront in a recent and progressive manner. The chef’s imaginative and prescient is to make sure that whereas embracing fashionable meals traits, the essence and authenticity of Northern Thai delicacies stay intact and celebrated.”
What made the expertise even higher was that Chef Kong speaks fluent, unaccented English (I didn’t ask, however it gave the impression of he had spent appreciable time within the U.S.). He has 4 workers members dealing with all of the prep and repair, which allowed him to focus totally on the company in the course of the meal. He offered detailed explanations of every dish, its elements, and the wines, and answered all our questions. I often wrestle to know English spoken with a Thai accent, which is usually very sturdy, and due to that I missed a lot of the commentary at R-Haan. With the ability to comply with every part completely this time was an actual plus.
The chef is clearly a wine fanatic, with wine fridges and handmade glassware prominently displayed. He defined that the amuse-bouche and 4 appetizers have been his personal creations, crafted with native elements and impressed by regional dishes, however designed particularly to enrich the wine pairings. The second a part of the menu could be strictly conventional, that includes genuine flavors and spiciness with none adaptation for European palates.
The primary wine was a glowing rosé from the Rhône Valley (IGP Méditerranée), Rouanne Brut Nature 2023. It’s produced from Mourvèdre (55%), Cinsault (20%), Marselan (10%), Syrah (10%), and Grenache (5%). Produced utilizing the normal technique with a second fermentation within the bottle, it was aged for 18 months on the lees. (There was some confusion concerning the grape varieties, as Chef Kong introduced Grenache whereas the printed menu listed Mourvèdre. I confirmed the precise composition on the château’s web site.) A really elegant glowing wine—and doubtless the primary I’ve ever tasted from the Rhône Valley.
This was a wonderful pairing for the fantastic collection of amuse-bouche:
- A fizzy, carbonated strawberry with candy and spicy fish sauce
- A savory twist on the Portuguese Pastel de Nata, stuffed with a cream produced from Chiang da, a conventional Northern Thai leafy vegetable
- A mini panini impressed by Jor Pak Kad, a Northern Thai bitter curry soup with mustard greens, reworked right into a toasted sandwich
- A tartlet topped with Sai Ua, the traditional Northern Thai pork sausage flavored with pink curry paste and lemongrass
We continued with a Txakoli, a crisp white wine from Spain’s Basque Nation, produced from the white Hondarribi grape. Txakoli is thought for its excessive acidity, however on this case it was superbly balanced by a delicate, creamy texture.
This was a wonderful pairing for Chef Kong’s interpretation of Gang Gra Darng, a Northern Thai winter specialty historically made as a gelatinous curry. He defined that the dish originated as a result of nighttime temperatures in winter can drop beneath 10°C (50°F), chilly sufficient for pork gelatin to set naturally.
On this model, he used rooster and prawn as a substitute of pork, with the 2 layers clearly seen from the aspect. The wine superbly highlighted the flavors, particularly the prawn.
The subsequent wine was a Chenin Blanc from Vouvray within the Loire Valley (France), categorised as “sec tendre,” or tenderly dry. The few grams of residual sugar, which don’t register as sweetness, have been important for pairing with the apple within the dish. Chenin Blanc is famend for its bruised apple aroma, making this a wonderful selection.
Chef Kong defined that duck is never eaten in Northern Thailand and that there was once a taboo round serving it. For that reason, the duck within the dish was hidden beneath delicate peanut tuilles. Beneath was shredded duck confit, wealthy and tender with a deep, savory taste and silky texture, paired with crisp apple and a wild banana blossom salad that was crunchy and brightened by a tangy, spicy dressing. The dish was named Yum Jeen Ped, combining Jeen Ped (duck ready in a Chinese language fashion) with Yum Hua Plee (banana blossom salad). The wine pairing and the interaction of flavors and textures have been excellent.
The subsequent wine was a Lambrusco—pink, glowing, and dry, with vibrant berry aromas. Lambrusco usually suffers from a nasty popularity, however I already knew there are wonderful examples on the market, and this was actually one in every of them.
This was pairing for the rooster waffle with Nampak. The grilled rooster was of outstanding high quality, sourced from a close-by farm the place the birds are raised longer for deeper taste. The meat was juicy and richly savory, complemented by the earthy crunch of a black rice waffle, a aromatic curry paste including heat and spice, and a crisp, refreshing coleslaw that offered brightness and steadiness.
The ultimate wine with a savory dish was a Nero di Troia from Puglia (Italy). Chef Kong confessed that he had blended wine from a freshly opened bottle with wine from one opened the day gone by to mix freshness with totally developed aromas. The consequence was spectacular: ripe, fruity aromas and a mushy, velvety texture.
This was one other wonderful pairing with the Paupiette de Lanna, a sausage roll of pork stomach stuffed with Lanna Larb and pistachio. The pork stomach was wealthy and tender, whereas the larb inside added a spicy, fragrant kick with a touch of nuttiness from the pistachio. A mellow sweet-and-sour sauce softened the warmth and balanced the richness, whereas the wild leaves salad introduced freshness and a slight bitterness for distinction.
Subsequent got here the normal a part of the menu. As at all times, a number of dishes have been served along with sticky rice. This was paired superbly with Seii Nama Sato, an unpasteurized, fresh-style rice beverage (Chef Kong famous it shouldn’t be known as rice wine), just like Japanese namazake (a kind of sake). The dishes have been:
- Nam Prik Ma Khua Som, an acidic tomato chili dip, rather more tangy and fiery than Nam Prik Ong, meant to be eaten with a collection of contemporary leaves. Its sharp acidity and warmth made it daring and refreshing.
- Gang Hung Lay, a Northern Thai candy pork curry with Burmese roots, wealthy and fragrant with a mild sweetness balancing the spices.
- Khua Ham, stir-fried rooster with croton leaves and curry paste, providing tender rooster with earthy, natural notes from the leaves.
- Gang Pak Kad, a country mustard leaf curry with pork stomach, combining the bitterness of the greens with the savory depth of the pork.
Though Chef Kong had warned us about conventional chili warmth, solely the tomato dip was actually spicy. All of those dishes had exact, well-defined flavors and textures, making this an important conclusion to the savory a part of the meal.
A granita with coconut sugar as a palate cleanser earlier than transferring on to the dessert.
The dessert wine was Moscato d’Asti, a candy glowing wine from Piemonte, Italy. It’s usually paired with desserts, however this was the most effective pairings I’ve ever skilled. The wine enhanced the dessert by bringing out extra aromas.
The dessert, known as Amethyst, is Chef Kong’s signature creation and holds deep sentimental worth for him. It combines three conventional Thai sweets into one dish: Bualoy (rice-flour dumplings in candy coconut milk), Krongkrang (crispy deep-fried pandan or rice crisps), and Tuptim Krob (water chestnuts coated in tapioca pearls and served in syrup, also referred to as pink rubies).
Subsequent to us have been two cousins, each lively within the wine enterprise: Marcel, a wine importer in Thailand who collaborates with Chef Kong and had flown in only for this dinner, and Roger, a winemaker from Priorat in Catalunya, Spain. It was a pleasure to speak with them in the course of the meal and share our ardour for wine and meals.
As a result of Marcel and Roger have been there, Chef Kong determined to share a particular wine with us and served it blind so we might guess what it was. All of us agreed it was Spanish, however not from the standard varieties like Tempranillo or Garnacha, so we guessed it would come from an island. Chef Kong confirmed it was from the Balearic Islands, and I accurately recognized it as Callet. I assumed it had some bottle age and guessed 2014 or 2015, which turned out to be proper—2014. It was a wonderful wine and an exquisite bonus to share. Chef Kong additionally needed to pour a 2004 Shiraz from Chiang Mai that’s now not produced, however sadly all his remaining bottles had gone unhealthy.
We had an exquisite night at Locus Native Meals Lab. The meals was beautiful, and the wine pairings have been flawless—one thing you wouldn’t anticipate anyplace in Thailand. I’m so glad we ended up right here by coincidence, and even happier that Chiang Rai has an airport, as a result of we’ll undoubtedly return subsequent time we’re in Thailand. That is actually a hidden gem.
