Potter has headed up Long Chim kitchen for Australian chef and globally renowned Thai food expert David Thompson, and Viand’s tasting menu is a parade of carefully matched dishes, good produce and tastes to match. From the first mouthful, literally – a feather-light egg-net ball of peppery, lemongrassy, makrutlime flavoured chicken bursting with palm-sugar juices – each course is a compare-and-contrast of flavour and texture. A duck egg relish sits next to two kinds of crab diced with pickled leeks and tamarind, with puffed tapioca crackers, and deliciously sticky pork with coriander and cucumber. An additional bowl – a clear mussel broth – enlivens the palate between bites.

Cute little sweetmeats of grated coconut, palm sugar and toasted rice, plus coconut cream with black tapioca bubbles, bring everything together – it’s as if we’ve travelled across the Thai-taste spectrum, with discovery at every level.

With its fascinating food, some excellent, reasonably marked-up wines, kitchen theatre, smiling service and friendly interaction with chef Potter herself, Viand is a special night out. 

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