While the grandmother as muse might be considered somewhat of a cliché in culinary circles, she’s the one person Baan Phraya chef Patchara ‘Pom’ Pirapak credits with inspiring her career in the kitchen.

In fact, many of the Thai dishes featured on the menu at the historic restaurant at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok are built around time-worn family recipes created by Pom’s late kun yai (grandmother). 

“I grew up in a large family and all of my best childhood memories relate to food,” says Pom, who was born in Yasothorn, in the northeast of Thailand.

“My grandmother inspired me to really understand Thai flavours and techniques and I want to continue to preserve these recipes for the next generation,” said the softly spoken chef who is stirring a pot on the stove during a break in service at Baan Phraya, the dining venue that was formerly the cooking school at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.

Pom says she also drew inspiration for her multi-course tasting menu from the colourful life of aristocratic couple Phraya Mahai Savanya and Khunying Loearn Mahai Savanya who hosted lavish dinner parties at the heritage house during the reign of King Rama IX.

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“I feel very excited every day when I get to cook for my guests. It’s a very small team. There are only four of us and it makes me so happy to cook there as it feels like my home. My grandmother taught me how to cook by heart and every dish I create is from my heart,” says Pom.

Guests arriving at the historic house are first ushered onto the outdoor terrace to enjoy views of the Chao Phraya River rushing past while sipping on a kombucha made with bael fruit and the Mandarin Hotel’s own mulberry honey. A sweet and tangy mar hor pineapple relish with peanuts and tamarind is also served alongside the drink.

“One of the things she taught me was not to rush. And to test and test again until you are happy with the flavour of the food,” she says.

The reimagined dining venue is across from the main buildings of Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok and adjacent to the swish Oriental Spa. And the degustation is designed to transport diners back to the early 20th century, when everyone from dignitaries and diplomats attended elegant soirees at the riverside house.
“Dining here is almost like walking back in time,” says Pom.

“The structure of the house is the same as when it was built. It has a porch and terrace so guests can sit outside and enjoy the breeze. It’s a very proud Thai tradition to invite your guests for a drink on the terrace where they can enjoy the breeze as there was no air conditioning or fans back then,” she says.

Pom says the scene is set for dinner at Baan Phraya with interiors tethered to the past and fragrant aromatics such as coriander, wedges of purple onion, cherry-red tomatoes and Thai basil cloaking the kitchen. All around are containers with curry powders, chillies, spices and blends. Among them is a jar of nam prik pao (Thai chilli jam) inspired by her kun yai’s recipe, which Pom says proves as important as her ingredients in giving her food its out-of-the-box Thai flavours.

“I make all the different spices and blends myself, including the fish sauce,” says Pom, whose CV includes a stint at the Michelin-starred Saneh Jaan.

After leaving Saneh Jaan, Pom says she embraced a slower, more intimate style of cooking and one that changes with the seasons. Pom says she’s most proud of putting her own twists on traditional Thai dishes.

“I want my dishes to have flavour but also to have a unique personality. A traditional Thai chilli jam has peanuts in it but my kun yai changed it for egg yolk and salty egg, which gives the jam a creamy and more complex flavour,” she explains.

The eight-course degustation at Baan Phraya is also Pom’s interpretation of a dining experience at Baan Phraya in days gone by. “The menu is linked to stories that emerge from the house. Khunying, the wife of Phraya, was a skilled cook and loved cooking for her guests,” says the chef.

“Even the amuse bouche, the ma hor [galloping horses] was served a century ago as a welcome snack and it pays tribute to the history of the house by being presented as the very first bite,” she says.

The dinner also progresses to a savoury honeycomb cookie with crab roe and bitter orange, and a salad of winged beans with yum tua phu (Hokkaido scallop) with a kick of chef’s signature chilli paste as well as a massaman curry inspired by Pom’s kun yai.  

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“The first memory I have of my grandmother is her massaman curry. I didn’t help her in the kitchen as I was too young, But I remember watching her very closely,” she says.

Chef Pom has also put her own spin on gaeng ron, which was regularly served to the Thai elite visiting Baan Phraya. Here, chef has replaced the glass noodles featured in the original recipe with thinly sliced slivers of squid and added smoked roe to the coconut broth to layer it with flavour.

The meal then progresses to coal-roasted fish cooked in bamboo with herbs and charred eggplant relish and river prawns grilled with tomalley (prawn fat), young tamarind and chillies. For the main act, coriander-root-marinated wagyu beef in curry highlights the tenderness of the beef.

To finish, the chef rolls out the dessert trolley groaning under the weight of 15 different classic Thai desserts including a pumpkin custard inspired by her grandmother.

“This pumpkin custard is very popular dessert in Thailand and it was also inspired by my kun yai. My grandmum never got to taste my food, but I think she would have been very proud of me.”

To book your visit to Baan Phraya, head to the Mandarin Oriental website.

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