The Season (ฤดู)

🍽Le Du (ฤดู), a restaurant awarded 14th place in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants (2018).👍

The inspiration for this dining experience originated from my previous viewings of Top Chef Thailand, starting from season 1. 🤔 I began researching each judge, and after finishing the show, I still hadn't returned to Thailand. Upon my return, I noticed that Chef Tonn's restaurant had recently climbed to the 14th spot in Asia. Intrigued, I decided to treat myself to a meal there. The restaurant presents Thai cuisine in a novel and visually appealing manner. 😊 Those who appreciate aesthetically pleasing food are sure to be delighted by this establishment.

💫 Before you go, you must make a reservation first. You can either email or call 092 919-9969 or email [email protected]. There is no online reservation system.☎️

Okay, let's get started. I made a reservation for 7 pm, so it will be dark and the pictures might not be as good. If you want to take nice pictures, go earlier. The restaurant opens at 6 pm, so you'll have to try your luck with the lighting. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't go during the day to take better pictures. 📸

Upon entering the restaurant, the dimly lit ambiance sets the mood for an intimate dining experience. Each table is illuminated by a spotlight focused directly on the center, drawing attention to the culinary creations as they are presented. However, capturing a well-lit photograph with your companion may prove challenging due to the limited lighting.

A wooden plate with a placemat, fork, and knife will be placed on the table to welcome guests.

The restaurant features an interior kitchen and an exterior section visible to customers, with the latter seemingly emphasizing plate presentation.

The menu offers only two options: a 4-course set and a Testing Menu. We opted for the latter.

The main course options include chicken rice, beef, and pork neck. After selecting your main course, you will need to wait for your order. Please note that the price does not include drinks. Still water and sparkling water are available.

Amuse Bouche: A Refreshing Start

The meal begins with a delightful amuse bouche, the "Mha Hor." This bite-sized treat features pineapple topped with a tamarind compote, offering a perfect balance of sweet and sour flavors. The refreshing burst of acidity is a perfect way to awaken the palate.

Note: The original text uses informal language and emojis. The translation maintains a formal academic style while conveying the essential information.

The other dish is the golden basket, which has beetroot on the outside and chicken mousse on the inside. The texture is very interesting and fun to eat. The crispy and fragrant aroma lingers in the mouth, and the smell reaches the nose. I really like this one. 👍👍👍

The meal begins with a sea bass ceviche, topped with "snowflakes" made from parsnip and coconut milk. These snowflakes act as the sauce for the dish and have a cool, seafood-like flavor. It's important to eat this dish quickly, as the sauce will melt. The red garnish is a torch lily flower, and the bottom layer is fish with pickled sweet potato. The top is garnished with cilantro. If you don't like cilantro, you can ask for it to be omitted, as its strong smell can be overpowering. Personally, I found this dish to be average, but those who enjoy the taste of cilantro will likely love it.

Crayfish with oyster mousse, served with sea grapes. Under the mousse, there are cooked oysters and diced pickled jicama in a cold sauce. This dish is very refreshing.

Grouper with Preserved Mustard Greens

This dish features a new menu item introduced yesterday: Grouper with Preserved Mustard Greens. The fish is grouper, which has been steamed, and the skin has been separated and deep-fried until crispy, allowing it to be eaten with the scales. The green sauce is a cream of preserved mustard greens, with stir-fried mustard greens in oyster sauce. The topping consists of deep-fried shrimp and preserved fish paste, with crispy fried mustard greens as garnish.

Served with chu chee sauce, poured over upon serving. This dish is simply divine. If you've never had perfectly cooked food, you must try this. You'll realize that it's truly cooked to perfection, neither dry nor overly moist. The fish is exceptional, especially the skin, which is crispy due to being blanched before frying. The combination of both sauces with the fish is even better. The kale is just as good as the fish. Eating everything together is a symphony of textures and flavors: crispy, tender, and smooth all at once. It's simply incredible. After trying this dish, all other chu chee fish will pale in comparison. It will undoubtedly become your benchmark.

River Prawn with Rice in Shrimp Paste Sauce

This dish is the restaurant's signature, featuring organic rice from Pai district, topped with shrimp paste sauce ingredients and served with grilled river prawns. The bottom layer consists of sweet pork. Before eating, squeeze lime juice onto the rice and mix well. The prawns are drizzled with a sauce made from tom yum and shrimp head fat, and topped with crispy fried egg.

Initially, I was hesitant to try this dish as I am not a fan of shrimp paste sauce. However, the aroma was not overpowering, and the taste was surprisingly good. The combination of the rice and the prawns was even better. I finished everything on my plate, and the prawns were cooked perfectly. To easily remove the meat, start from the tail. The shrimp heads are also delicious when mixed with the rice.

Next, the main course is a choice of beef or pork neck.

The first dish is grilled pork neck. The pork was sous vide at 72 degrees Celsius for one night, resulting in a slow-cooked, tender texture. It was then grilled over charcoal. The white sauce on the left is made with pork brains and ginger, while the red sauce is a tomato salad. The dish is topped with a young jackfruit salad with fermented fish paste and served with a side of hang lay curry sauce, which is poured over the dish at the table. The pork neck was incredibly tender, so much so that I wish I had a sous vide machine at home. The tomato salad was sweet and sour with a spicy kick, and the crunchy texture of the tomatoes was a perfect contrast to the tender pork. The pork brain sauce was surprisingly delicious, and I wouldn't have known what it was if I hadn't been told.

🐮 Another new menu item is the 30-day dry-aged beef, served with a green longan gel, a green basil gel, and braised fennel in butter. The side is braised fennel with a spicy dressing, served with black pepper sauce. The sauce is poured over the dish when served. The beef comes in two pieces, which is still satisfying to eat because it is very tender and good. The sauce is drizzled perfectly, and the vegetables in the spicy dressing have a stronger flavor than the pickled ones, which are equally crunchy. The only downside is that the vegetables on top cover the meat, so it's a bit confusing at first glance. It might be their way of making it look nice.

A palate-cleansing dessert featuring a sorbet of lime and mint, accompanied by a crunchy base of sugar and flour, and a side of tomato gel. The sorbet is not overly sweet, and the combination with the crunchy base is particularly enjoyable.

Dessert Disappointment: Mango Sticky Rice with Coconut Ice Cream

The final sweet dish, mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream, was a slight disappointment. While the presentation was beautiful, the overall experience fell short compared to the previous courses. The mango sticky rice itself was just okay, and a bit too sweet. The accompanying coconut ice cream was a nice touch, but the crunchy coconut flakes underneath were a bit of a let-down.

This dish was not bad, but it simply did not live up to the high standards set by the earlier courses.

The final course was a fruit platter with guava, watermelon, cantaloupe, and mango. The accompanying dessert was a bit too sweet, but the chewy blue candy in the box was delicious.

Chef Ton would walk around to ask about the taste and greet customers at every table. If you wanted to take a picture, you could ask him directly.

Traveling to the store from BTS Chong Nonsi, Exit 4, is more convenient than driving. If you drive, you will need to park at the Trinity Complex, which costs 30 baht per hour even with a parking card.

Overall, the experience was excellent and the value for money is exceptional. A 10% service charge is added to the food bill, and bottled water costs 150 baht.

#Ledu #whereveego

Whereveego Facebook Page