A Royal Thai Dinner Party Is Coming to Richmond’s Baan Lao for One Weekend Only
Most of us have had a Princess Diaries-esque daydream about being treated like royalty at some point. Unfortunately, we can’t all be secret heirs to a faraway throne (or given an iconic makeover by Julie Andrews), but every once in a while, there’s a real, local opportunity to get a taste of the royal treatment—for example, Baan Lao’s upcoming An Evening of Thai Mastery on September 6, 7, and 8.
The three-evening event is a collaboration with Bangkok’s R-Haan, a Michelin-starred (two, to be exact) restaurant helmed by chef Chumpol Janprai. By nature, restaurant collaborations involve a solid relationship between cooks as they team up to create a one-of-a-kind menu—but this duo goes back further than most. Baan Lao chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng met chef Janprai in Bangkok when she was at the Blue Elephant cooking school, and she was his mentee for several years before she moved back to Canada.
Phanthoupheng says Janprai made an immediate impression on her because he made everything from scratch. She remembers him using a mortar and pestle to grind curry spices—you won’t find a bottled sauce in his kitchen. His focus on raw ingredients (she recalls him preaching the difference between sliced and pounded lemongrass) has stuck with her. At any given meal at Baan Lao, located right on the water in Steveston Village, many of the dishes are made with ingredients grown in Phanthoupheng’s own garden (including cilantro, mint, and edible flowers.
A Royal Thai dining experience means cooking dishes at a high standard under certain rules, such as using fresh ingredients and balanced flavours, so it’s hard to imagine just how impressive this collaboration dinner is going to be. It’s a seven-course tasting menu (plus four amuse-bouches) that includes satay-marinated grilled hamachi, lobster with tom yum sauce and Jerusalem artichoke purée, and “jungle curry” made with A5 wagyu and Academy Farms water buffalo tenderloin.
Tickets for An Evening of Thai Mastery include wine pairings selected by master sommelier Pier-Alexis Soulière, and the zero-proof alternatives are just as fancy: gong fu tea pairings served by Tea Association of Canada tea sommelier Lena Pan.
It’s a celebration of fine ingredients and indulgent dining, but it’s also a chance to get the duo back together, as both chefs have been working on opposite sides of the world for several years. “I am most looking forward to reuniting with my mentor and working with the most respected Thai chef to showcase Royal Thai cuisine,” Phanthoupheng says.
