Gaggan - "#1 restaurant in Asia" review

I would be hard pressed not to call it the best meal I've ever had. It lived up to its billing as "#1 restaurant in Asia" and "Top 10 in world". It was great. Perfectly executed, impeccable service and attention to detail.

We drank cocktails throughout the dinner. Wine in Thailand is heavily taxed so I usually just avoid it since I don't find value in it. The cocktails are all prepared at the table and feature some sort of gastronomy. Very well done. The bartender supposedly has won awards throughout Asia for some of his drinks.

The staff was from all over the world and all spoke at minimum conversational English. The chef, Anand Gaggan, who served on the research team at El Bulli, came and greeted each table. Nice touch.

Everything on the plate is edible. Even the foil, bark, flowers and wrappers.

I believe it came out to about ~$200USD/person including tip with 3 cocktails each. Dinner service lasted about 2.5 hours and consisted of 20 courses or so. Folks visiting Thailand often scoff at the idea of spending $200USD on a meal due to the abundance of cheap meals that can be had for $2-$10, but I'd argue that you won't find a meal of this quality anywhere else in the world where the food is only about $120 of the bill.

Sorry the pictures aren't top notch and I missed a few courses. It was more of a pick up phone/shoot and wasn't really paying too much attention to it. You definitely don't feel out of place taking pictures in a restaurant full of Asians, in fact, you're probably in the minority if you don't.
>




>