THAILAND


ARUSS ‘JAI ’ LERLERSTKULL Charmgang At Charmgang, diners can hear the chefs grill, chop and grind ingredients in a pestle


and mortar in the open kitchen. The restaurant feels informal, even homely, but the skill that goes into the cookery is a cut above. “The food is more casual, but we


achieve the same quality as fi ne dining,” says Aruss ‘Jai’ Lerlerstkull, who helms the kitchen with his wife, Atcharaporn ‘Aew’ Kiatthanawat. But the restaurant’s popularity comes down to more than just cooking — it’s “the ambience, the people”, Lerlerstkull says. The chef, who met his wife while they


were working under David Thompson at Nahm, launched Charmgang as a retro-style ‘curry shop’. A rotating menu of Thai classics shows off his knack for curries and his love of coconut. “I know coconut cream very well; every season,


SUJIRA ‘AOM’ PONGMORN Khaan Sujira ‘Aom’ Pongmorn debuted on the Bangkok dining scene like a culinary supernova, becoming the


fi rst winner of Michelin’s Young Chef Award in 2021, while working at high-end restaurant Saawaan. The chef has now brought her talents to Khaan, a spot she co-owns in downtown Bangkok, devoted to “reimagining traditional Thai cuisine”. The move came about after the pandemic, when Pongmorn’s “ideas and experiences were quite diff erent”, she says. “I wanted to move out of my comfort zone, get inspiration from locals.” This inspiration has come from trips out of


Bangkok. “Every weekend, I go out to places like Rayong, Ranong, Phuket or Krabi,” Pongmorn says. It was on one of these sojourns that the chef found inspiration for Khaan in Southern Thai cuisine. “It’s not just spicy food — there are Muslim and Chinese elements, mixed cultures,” she says. As a result, many of Khaan’s creations are peppered with ingredients from the south. These include puu naa (rice fi eld crabs) with sticky rice, which Pongmorn says “tells a story about how farmers use whatever they can fi nd to create good food”. khaanbkk.com STREET-FOOD TIP: “Yoo Fishball is a stall open at night in Chinatown. I always order sen yai nam (rice noodles in a pink fermented tofu broth).” 433 Yaowarat Road


Clockwise from top: Hokkaido scallop, green mussel juice and makwaen at Khaan; chefs at Charmgang preparing for service; prawn cakes and local greens alongside a shrimp paste coconut relish, Charmgang


NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL 55


every taste, where it comes from,” he says. No surprise, then, that coconut-heavy fi sh curry and panang curry are both permanently on the menu. While these dishes seem traditional


— made ‘with a passion verging on obsession’, according to one reviewer — Lerlerstkull is happy to add his own touches, such as a sprinkling of peanuts to a Penang curry. After all, the ‘traditional’ dishes of today were the “fusions of 50 years ago”, he says. “Food always develops.” facebook.com/charmgangcurryshop STREET-FOOD TIP: “I love som tam (green papaya salad) shops. At Mae Nid Som Tum, in Si Phraya, I like the laab kua (minced meat salad) with sticky rice and tom saap (spicy Isaan-style clear soup) with bitter bile.” Surawong Road, close to Wat Hua Lamphong


HOW TO DO IT: Thai Airways and Eva Air both fly nonstop from Heathrow to Bangkok. Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok has doubles from £225, B&B. kimptonmaalaibangkok.com


IMAGES: DIEGO ARENAS; ZUPHACHA; ZUPHACHAI LAOKUNRAK


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