Amazing! Delicious! Exquisite! Those are a few of the words that come to mind I would use to describe my wonderful experience at Bo.lan a few weeks ago. As I knew I would be in Bangkok, and the latest list of the top 50 restaurants in Asia had just been released, I had to at least try to get a reservation at one of them. Well, that part was fairly easy, as the Bo.lan Staff are incredibly accommodating. Just an fyi…Bo.lan rank as one of the top Thai restaurants in Bangkok, and have done so consistently year after year since their opening.
Chef Duangporn Songivsava (Bo) & Chef Dylan Jones have truly created a unique Thai experience that does not disappoint!
You can read more about their philosophy, how they started and their approach to creating their delicious cuisine on their website…but here, I will try to describe the multi course meal that we enjoyed, or more so participated in, so you can taste it with my words…
First, the menu…simple. Four choices, a vegetarian course, a main course with a variety of dishes, a slightly smaller version of the main, and a larger version of the main. We chose the main course…
All of the guests, or participants must choose the same menu, as it is prepared for the table, in a sharing style. In all honesty, we didn’t really know what to expect. But, just as we were chatting about what was to come over a pre-meal cocktail, our server summoned us to the kitchen. Unsure as to what to do, we simply followed her, and incredibly, met the Chef! He had prepared a small dish from the Northern Thai area of Chiang Mai and explained it to us as we excitedly gobbled it down. We thanked him and returned to our table…super excited for what was to come next!
Dishes and drinks started to appear, with the Servers giving a brief explanation of each one, and how to indulge. We started with a plate of various small bites from the menu above, all beautifully prepared and with an amazing scent to go along with each tasty morsel. Each dish that was brought to the table was more indulgent than the previous one! The timing between plates was great as well, allowing us to truly take in the amazing smells and tastes.
As we progressed through the meal, each dish became more intricate, more detailed, more complex in their mouth watering tastes. For those that know and understand true Thai cuisine, there is an incredible roller coater ride of flavors within the food as each item is made to excite one’s tongue through a ride of spicy, sweet, sour, fruity and nutty. Bo.lan completely understand this, and have raised the concept of what traditional Thai cuisine should be and how to present it.
Finally, we moved onto dessert, but first there was a pre-dessert! An incredible drink concoction poured at our table with an accompanied chocolaty, nutty delight. Then the dessert platter of all dessert platters…so many choices on one dish that we simply could not eat it all! We were left satiated, stuffed, actually food buzzed like I have never been before…
I cannot recommend Bo.lan enough to the Bangkok traveler searching for an amazing foodie experience. You will not be disappointed by the restaurant, the Chefs, the Staffs or the food! So, make your reservation, grab a seat and indulge! Thai cuisine at it’s best!
For more information, visit the Bo.lan website here:
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