This month, chef Pam Soontornyanakij of Bangkok’s Potong restaurant, which has one Michelin star and is awarded 35th place on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, joined forces with Tatler Dining’s 2023 Chef of the Year Vicky Lau to create an 11-course tasting menu at the latter’s Tate Dining Room in Hong Kong.
The two chefs, who met and bonded at the 2022 Michelin Guide gala dinner in Bangkok, presented Thai Chinese and French Chinese flavours, with the philosophy of melding tradition and progressive flavours in mind: think Potong’s homemade egg noodles with morel and Oscietra caviar, and Tate Dining Room’s charcoal grilled sea bass with tomato beurre blanc and fermented cabbage.
Soontornyanakij, a rising star in the Thai capital’s fine-dining scene, opened Potong in 2021. Its food is a celebration of Soontornyanakij’s Thai Chinese heritage, and the restaurant is housed in a 120-year-old Sino-Portuguese building, which belongs to the chef’s family, in the heart of Bangkok’s Chinatown.
During her time in Hong Kong, Soontornyanakij sat down withTatler to talk about the collaboration and her culinary philosophies.
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On meeting Vicky Lau
I had known of chef Vicky for a long time—she’s very famous, and a really inspiring woman to me—but I hadn’t met her until the gala dinner. [Meeting her] inspired me more—her character, her style of cooking—it shows in her food. We got talking [and said]: “Let’s do something together.” Since borders are now open, this was a chance for me to come here [Hong Kong], to visit her kitchen, and cook here.
On the collaborative menu
Homemade egg noodle, morel and caviar by Potong. Photo: Gastrofilm
Chef Vicky does French Chinese cuisine—it is very similar [to what Potong does], but we are spicier, with a big punch.
We came up with a flow of food that is like a roller coaster. [It starts] with a hit of spice, and then mellows down.
The homemade egg noodle dish is one of my customers’ favourites [at Potong]. It is inspired by the Thai dish rad na [marinated pork, noodles and gravy], which is actually a Thai Chinese dish. I added morels and caviar on top, and it is in a silky broth. It reminds me of home.
On female chefs
From left: Vicky Lau of Tate Dining Room (Photo: Handout); Pam Soontornyanakij of Potong (Photo: Gastrofilm/Potong)
I hadn’t done a collaboration with a female chef before. The kitchens in Hong Kong, run by female chefs, have similar tools to what we use. I don’t want to generalise, but I feel women are more thoughtful when it comes to ergonomics in the kitchen. I like to buy small pans and trays—everything is more detailed [compared to what male chefs use]. We go to extra lengths in search of the right tools.
On Potong’s cuisine
Photo: Gastrofilm
Photo: Gastrofilm
What we do at Potong is progressive Thai Chinese cuisine.
Thai Chinese cuisine is a one-word cuisine for me. It is Thai food that has been influenced by Chinese immigrants [in Thailand], and it has become another cuisine in itself. Nowadays, it is also becoming part of Thai cuisine.
At Potong, we highlight Thai Chinese cuisine with techniques that I learned throughout my career and through [culinary] school—which is more European, and a little bit French.
On creating menus
For me, creating a menu starts with what I like to eat, Thai Chinese culture, and the produce I’m using. Then there is also customer feedback. I try to create something that has never been done before—something that is of my own—which is really hard nowadays, because so many [new] restaurants are opening. And then there’s the internet—you see things that are hard to get out of your head.
On learning the traditional ways of cooking
Ten years ago, I tried to create a fish maw dish. The traditional way is to simmer it in a flavourful broth, because fish maw doesn’t have any flavour. I wanted to skip that and do something else, like deep fry it. My mum told me: “The Chinese have been doing it for thousands of years. Why would you change that?” I didn’t believe her. I tested it and tested it, and it never turned out right. I came back to the original, authentic way—and it was so much better.
So I learned, from my own experience, that you have to respect the traditional way—because there must be a reason for it. And if you want to create something new or something of your own, then you can do so after that.
On what she wanted guests to take from the collaboration
Photo: Dofskyground
My intention is for the guests enjoy the food, not be intimidated by it, and be connected with it, like you’re eating at home with your family.
It is a glimpse of what we do at Potong. People ask me if I want to open Potong in Singapore or Tokyo, but Potong can only be in that building. The history and stories there are linked to the building, which belongs to my family—I am the fifth generation. And so in order to understand what we do, it has to be at Potong.
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