Wana Yook—which made it onto Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 51-100 for the first time this year and into BK’s Top Tables 2022—has launched a new menu in its classic homage to khao gaeng.

 

Designed by Chef Chalee Kader of 100 Mahaseth, Mahaniyom, and incidentally one of Bangkok’s sexiest male chefs in 2018, the new menu will be live through September and features a fulsome list of khao gaeng treats ranging from nostalgic snacks to classic takes on Thai treats. 

 

The meal kicks off with three snacks from the past. First is khao maew (meaning “cat food”) with fillets of mackerel with hill-tribe rice, shallots, and chili, served with crispy kai pen. This is followed by their puffy beef curry pillows with a curry of beef and potatoes and a seasonal lychee miang with minced pork and fried shallots. 

 

This is followed by a crowd favorite tom kah gai with chicken thighs braised in coconut cream, marble goby with a thin filling of minced pork and salted mackerel steamed with soy sauce, ginger, and sesame, with taypo curry. Meat lovers can indulge in a tom jiew herbal stew with beef shank, shrimp paste, and sweet potatoes. This is followed by a grilled pork belly with chamuang curry.

 

The main course is the “Khao Gaeng Wana Yook,” which changes weekly depending on the available ingredients; it’s a spread of Thai dishes served with rice from North and Northeastern Thailand.

 

Wana Yook rounds out the experience as it began: with three familiar but elevated bites. Look forward to banana braised in coconut, longan sticky rice, and an egg yolk choux. 

 

The new menu (B4,500) is found inside a lavish two-floor space exuding a sense of elegance, with antique furnishings, stained glass panels, and an impressive art collection belonging to one of the owners.