18 October,2026 09:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Nasrin Modak Siddiqi
Fish taco
A hundred-and-eighty minutes, 28 bites, four acts, a brilliant dining experience, and zero photos. How do you write about a 28-course meal from memory alone? No cameras, no pens, no notebooks. Just be in the moment, savour the music, enjoy the camaraderie and theatrics, and with every course, you wonder if this is the best dish you've had.
At Gaggan Anand in Bangkok, dinner is not simply served. It unfolds with a story. This is Anand's life, divided into the four stages of his life, including his childhood; his youth and rise to fame; the peak and the setback; and finally, nirvana, the state he says he is in right now. The dishes arrive as visual puzzles, challenging us to reconsider how food should look, feel and be eaten.
Gaggan Anand
The full production comes alive with a sequence of songs and colour-coded light shifting through deep reds, vibrant greens, and blues. His ace team is a part of the theatre. But at no point does the spectacle eclipse the food. Anand's irreverent approach makes the experience distinctly his. There is playfulness, but beneath it lies a serious engagement with flavours, his own memories and mastering of technique.
Ticket to showtime
There's the now-iconic Yoghurt Explosion, a delicate sphere that bursts in the mouth, releasing a rush of flavour, and the Lick It Up, a dish that turns eating into a collective performance. But you'll also find food with familiar references such as khichdi, matar paneer, papad, and fruit chaat, reimagined through unexpected textures and presentations.
There are a few surprises too. The pleasure lies in the gap between what the eye anticipates and what the palate discovers. Amid courses, you realise, Anand himself is the real revelation. He is unlike any chef we have encountered: larger than life, gregarious, garrulous, and unfazed by his industry's pretensions. And he has a (very, very) strong opinion on everything. He can be as real as life or as grand as you can imagine. There is no in-between. For all that has been written about him, something about Anand remains elusive. You see it in his hospitality, the way he works a room, and his ability to make a guest feel part of the performance.
The combined weight of personal and professional setbacks during the pandemic could have halted that momentum. Instead, Anand chose reinvention. When he left the original Gaggan restaurant due to a dispute with his former partners, 65 members of his team left with him.
That number is revealing and so is the faith. Beyond the spectacle, he has built relationships that extend beyond the dining room. "This is not Gaggan 2.0 or 3.1 or bu''sh't like that; it's just a new album from Gaggan. Every band matures with age, and their music also progresses, and finally I have made an album that I am happiest with," says Anand.
The thing about 28 courses is that you don't have to remember them in precise detail. You carry back a sound, a flavour, a burst of laughter. You remember how the room made you feel because the best theatre doesn't ask you to take notes. It asks you to be there.
We meet Maria and Mr Singh before the first dish arrives. Their love story unfolds in a fairytale book at Gaggan Anand's Bangkok restaurant, Ms Maria & Mr Singh, where a Mexican woman and an Indian man bring two food cultures together.
Anand calls his approach "fantasy cuisine", and the menu plays out like a romance between Mexican ingredients and Indian spices, with familiar flavours taking unexpected turns. The colourful interiors draw on the visual worlds of Mexico and India, setting the scene for a meal as much about imagination as what's on the plate.
Rather than follow the rules of conventional fusion, the cooking lets the two cuisines spark off each other, creating combinations that surprise without losing their individual character. The fairytale supplies the plot; the food carries it forward, course by course. It is a more playful expression of Anand's experimental instincts, inviting diners to leave culinary boundaries at the door and see what happens when two distinct traditions fall in love.
Chalee Kader's food story begins at a table where two cultures met. Born and raised in Bangkok, his mother's side brought Thai-Chinese flavours to the table, while his Indian father cooked mutton fry and curries on weekend. That early exposure to different food cultures shaped his approach to cooking, guided by the belief that identity, memory, and heritage can coexist on a plate.
Chalee Kader
Kader studied marketing psychology at the University of California, Riverside, before choosing to pursue food professionally. In Bangkok, he worked as head chef at the French Embassy, honing his kitchen skills before striking out on his own.
In 2017, he opened 100 Mahaseth with business partner Randy Noprapa, championing Isan, northeastern Thailand's food traditions. Its nose-to-tail philosophy uses cuts often overlooked in mainstream dining, linking resourcefulness to regional culinary heritage; since then, Kader's work has ranged from contemporary Thai fine dining to brunch and casual restaurants.
He has also partnered with prominent Indian chefs like Hussain Shahzad, Prateek Sadhu and Himanshu Saini as a part of wider industry pop-ups. Whether reinterpreting familiar flavours or exploring lesser-known traditions, he keeps Thai food ambitious while staying true to its roots.
On Phaya Thai Road, a short walk from Victory Monument BTS, Sato Sammosorn is giving Thailand's humble rice wine a place in Bangkok's contemporary drinking culture. Chefs Gaggan Anand and Chalee Kader, along with their team, have built a bar around sato, a traditional fermented drink long associated with rural communities, local festivals and gatherings.
Wok fried dong dang fermented noodles
"Made from glutinous rice fermented with luk paeng, a starter containing native yeasts and fungi, sato carries the character of the rice, the fermentation and the region it comes from," says Kader. At Sato Sammosorn, a collection of 40 to 50 curated labels from across Thailand reveals just how varied the drink can be.
Some are crisp and bone-dry, finishing clean on the palate; others open up with heady floral aromas and a gentle, rounded sweetness reminiscent of Moscato d'Asti. Each glass offers a different expression of native sticky rice and the craft of its fermenters.
The food is built to match these bottles. The menu of kap klaem, or Thai drinking snacks, draws on flavours from the North, Northeast, Central and Southern regions, with an open kitchen keeping the action in full view. From chicken wing nasi lemak to our favourite stir-fried dong dang that has a springy, almost bouncy chew, to the gaeng pa: a fierce rush of herbs and chilli that sent a shiver up our spine, there are no sleek pretensions here which makes the place a convincing case for Thailand's rice-wine culture and regional small plates.
Bangkok's brunch scene has no shortage of elaborate plates and photogenic spaces, but Fran's makes a case for taking your time with a meal.
Snow fish pasta
Developed by restaurateur Atchara "Pla" Burarak's iBerry Group in collaboration with chef Chalee Kader, the restaurant pairs all-day comfort food with a light-filled glasshouse setting and lush greenery. The atmosphere invites long, leisurely meals, whether you're there for breakfast, a catch-up over coffee, or a late-morning spread that edges into lunch.
French onion soup
The menu draws on familiar brunch favourites, from generous breakfast plates and fluffy pancakes, to fresh greens and house-made sourdough. Rather than relying on novelty alone, the appeal lies in the details that make comfort food satisfying: good bread, well-made eggs, fresh ingredients and coffee worth lingering over. Fran's also offers a glimpse of Kader's range as a restaurateur.
Summer Acai
While his work at 100 Mahaseth and Wana Yook explores regional Thai food and culinary heritage, Fran's operates in a different register, built around the easy sociability of brunch. We loved the French Onion Soup, berries bowl and are still drooling over the seafood pasta. The combination of a relaxed atmosphere, familiar food, and an inviting green setting makes Fran's a destination for those who want to slow down and stay a little longer.
At Wana Yook, chef Chalee Kader takes one of Thailand's most familiar meals and gives it a fine-dining interpretation. Housed in an 80-year-old colonial residence in Phaya Thai and surrounded by lush gardens, the restaurant centres on khao gaeng, the everyday combination of rice with curries, stir-fries, and other accompaniments.
Gaeng Phed Yaang
Its history adds to its appeal. Once associated with affluent households, khao gaeng evolved into an accessible, enduring way of eating across social classes. Wana Yook traces that journey through a tasting menu that pairs classic Thai flavours with contemporary techniques. Here, rice is not merely a vehicle for the curry; it is the starting point. Rare regional varieties, organic produce and ingredients sourced from local artisans and suppliers shape the experience, reflecting Kader's commitment to Thai agriculture and culinary heritage.
"The idea came from the very personal ritual of saving a little of everything on your plate for one final bite, where all the flavours come together. We wanted to turn that instinct into an experience without making it gimmicky. Rice became the centrepiece, with different varieties and pairings bringing out its character. The challenge was to create something distinctly Thai while rethinking fine-dining conventions," he adds.
With a Michelin star and a place at No. 47 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2026, Wana Yook demonstrates how an everyday Thai tradition can sustain a thoughtful, contemporary tasting menu.
Thai food and curry
>> Nhong Rim Klong, Watthana
>> Krua Apsorn, 169/1 Dinso Road, Phra Nakhon
>> âKang Pa Loong Sanga, Soi Ngamwongwan 23, Lane 11, Nonthaburi
>> âKhrok Mai Thai Lao Restaurant, 8 Lat Pla Khao 24 Alley, Lat Phrao
>> âPadthai Chapaa Asoke, Sukhumvit Road, Watthana
Seafood and chicken
>> âStreet Seafood by Noi, Near Soi Din Daeng
>> âJ Poon Fried Chicken, Maha Chai Road, Wang Burapha Phirom
>> âChai Phochana, Mueang Nonthaburi District, Nonthaburi
>> âBeer Hima, Chatuchak
>> âHaew Seafood, Bang Khae
Noodles
>> âBaan Kuay Tiew Ruathong, Phaya Thai
>> âZeaw Noodle 49, 1 Sukhumvit 49, Watthana
>> âGim Nguan Fishball Noodle, 75/70 Chom Thong 16 Alley, Chom Thong
>> âKhun Daeng's Vietnamese Noodle, Phra Nakhon
Coffee
>> âTerroir.BKK Songwat, 1218 Song Wat Road, Chakkrawat, Samphanthawong
>> âa Coffee Roaster by li-bra-ry, Warehouse 6, Charoen Krung 30, Bang Rak
Japanese and Fusion >> âChairoj, 5035, Wattana
