“This is what we call fruit season. We’re utilizing lychee in our amuse bouche with a cashew nut relish. There’s also a lot of sala (snake-skin pear), which has an apricot-like flesh which we’re using in our kanom, nam prik plate and curries. Fruits like longans and rambutans are all going in our desserts, too.”

 

Eat this: Ocean prawn salad with snake-skin pear, served as part of the Bo.lan Balance Set (B2,680)

“You’ll also find sour leaves like bai makrok. We’re using that in a single plate dish—nam prik lang luang—as well as for garnish on our nam prik plate and our amuse plate.”

Eat this: Bo.lan amuse bouche, served before all set dinners.

 

 

“It’s fucking hot and wet, the soil is parched and then it gets flooded. But there is a local mushroom called hed tup tao available which is considered the Thai porcini. Ton from Le Du put me onto it. Adams Organics (02-234-6523) is now also producing western kale which is great.”

 

Eat this: Smoked burrata, kale and bottarga (B450)

 

 

“In the rainy season I think a lot about shoots and leaves, like tamarind leaves and hok plam leaves—a lot of the leaves we use don’t have specific names in English. There’s a sourness that comes in the rainy season; tamarind, kaffir lime, Asian citron, young galangal, young ginger, ginger leaves. These leaves can be really hard to buy on the street or in restaurants, so we grow them upstairs.”

 

Eat this: Pork and lobster with shredded ginger and Thai citron (B400); green mango salad with grilled pork and sour leaves (B590)

“This is also the time for wild mushrooms. They’re quite earthy, so local people use them in curries with a lot of spice and sour leaves to cover the earthy taste and balance it out.”

 

Eat this: Wild mushroom and ginger soup (B280); salad of wild mushroom with grilled prawns and chili jam (B620)

 

 

“Right now I’m using needle beans. They’re grown by the Royal Projects when it’s hot and wet. I compose them into salads: boil them, put in ice water to keep their crispness and color, or juice them and mix with a little bit of vegetable stock. When boiled you can just toss with vinaigrette and they go very well with creamy ingredients like ricotta, fetta, goat cheese and foie gras terrine.”

 

Eat this: Eggplant caviar salad (eggplant, cooked and blended with olive oil, topped with needle beans), served as part of the degustation menu (B3,500)

“The peaches are also still here. Royal Projects is developing many types that are suitable for this time of year. They’re a little bit firmer but very fragrant and with strong flavor. We make them into peach melba, turning the peach into a gel, as well as slicing them thinly like a carpaccio, served with raspberry, strawberry and vanilla cream, finished with wild sorrel.

 

Eat this: Peach melba, served as part of the degustation menu (B3,500)

 

 

“Now is really the best season for mushrooms! I’m using them a lot right now, especially earthstar mushroom (hed por). It has a unique, earthy flavor and crunchy texture—very flavorful!” Eat this: Tiger prawn, winged bean, red onion, poached farm egg, earthstar mushroom (B600)