The problem with living in a city of amazing food is that it becomes harder and harder to be impressed. “Amazing” is basically the bare minimum a typical Bangkokian foodie expects from a restaurant in this city of flavour. 

We Bangkok foodies don't just want to be well-fed, we want to be entertained. Our city moves at lightning speed, with trends and crazes fading as quickly as they emerge. A few Instagram snaps of a “crab mousse with calamansi emulsion topped with ikura and gold leaves” will render it irrelevant, probably never to be re-ordered ever again. It’s brutal, but it’s true. So in a city that sees uni toast as common as avocado toast, chefs need to really step up their creativity game if they plan to survive. 

Luckily for us, Bangkok is full of culinary geniuses. Despite our short attention spans and constant cravings for the new, we’re continually being surprised and impressed by the incredible creativity in our restaurants. Here is a list of the mind-blowingly creative dishes that prove kitchen leaders in Bangkok restaurants aren't just top chefs; they're also amazing artists.

Inspired by the natural extraction process in perfume making, Chefs Michelle and Top of Mia have combined over 50 ingredients to recreate the incredible complexity and nuanced layers found in perfume in this dish. The star of this dish is a watermelon and tomato consommé, which looks clear and simple but punches with flavour. It’s set amongst a fruit salad with avocado cream and chopped lobster claw salad, topped with a poached lobster ballotine and a scoop of caviar, and sprinkled with an array of different herbs and flowers—not just for decoration, of course, but carefully selected for flavour.

30 Attha Kawi 1 Alley
Open Tuesday-Friday 5-11pm
Saturday-Sunday noon-2pm, 5-11pm
miarestaurantbkk.com, 098-862-9659

Bread, but make it ice cream. Sounds questionable, but genius often does. There’s a childhood joy to this dessert, brought about with its aroma and subtle taste of soft, airy bread fresh out the oven. Delightfully unexpected, and unexpectedly delightful. 

116, 8 Sukhumvit Soi 23
Open Tuesday 5:30-11pm
Wednesday-Saturday 4-11pm
fb.com/asok.pishop, 088-979-5436

Modern Indian cuisine is not for the faint of heart—whether you’re the chef or the diner. The infinite combinations that can be created with the infinite range of ingredients that Indian cuisine enlists definitely requires a powerful mind. We can find these powerful minds at Haoma, where creativity is showcased through all of their impossibly intricate and palette-punching dishes. The Khandavi is an amalgamation of lentils, pathan ka phool, and curry leaves, served with a scoop of fermented basmati sorbet and Hua Hin oscietra caviar. 

231, 3 Sukhumvit Soi 31
Open Tuesday-Sunday 5:30-10pm
haoma.dk, 02-258-4744

Don’t be fooled by its name and appearance, Ici’s chilli crab claw is a highly intricate sweet patisserie. The unique dessert is inspired by the zingy, balancing flavours of Thai cuisine. Slice the soft claw and you’ll discover an oozy mousse of sour orange with small slivers of young coconut meat, to be enjoyed paired with the coconut palm sugar crumble, sweet chilli gel, caramel sauce, salted egg, and tomato cake.

24 Sukhumvit Soi 27
Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm
fb.com/ici.bkk, 02-007-3113

Creative doesn’t have to mean complicated. A skilful and bold blend of a few ingredients can be all you need to create something surprising and delicious—especially if you give it an appropriate name to capture its essence. Never one to shy away from an ingredient, Gaggan takes pea protein powder out of the gym and into his restaurant (in partnership with Suhring) to create a simple yet new and indulgent addition to your standard coffee menu. The drink borrows its flavour from that irresistibly good milk left over after your morning cereal. In other words, it’s liquid granola.

G Floor, Siam Paragon 991 Rama 1 Road
Open daily 10am-10pm
fb.com/cdgre.bkk, 061-269-6711

No, Thailand’s most common street food did not just make it onto this list. But its plant-based alter ego did. How do you make a vegan version of an iconic dish which is literally centred around meat? Even more challenging, how do you make it taste just as good? The head chef at Vistro, one of Bangkok’s best vegan restaurants, has it figured out. The result has all the mesmerising aromas, textures, and flavours of your traditional moo ping, but with the twist of not being made without any moo. 

46/1 Sukhumvit Soi 24
Open daily 10am-8pm
vistrobkk.com, 065-998-2201

Known for his cheeky brand of creativity, Chef Buddy is one of few who can take something like Yo-yo (a Thai kid’s favourite candy), or Fanta, and make something utterly sophisticated with it. And that’s exactly what he’s done with this cool, playful dessert. With fizzy grapes, frozen Yo-yo, marshmallows, and Fanta granita, this dish is a dream whether you’re a child or a nostalgic grown-up foodie.

House No. 27/1 Yen Akat 2 Yaek 1-3 Alley
Open Wednesday-Sunday 11:30am-2:30pm, 6-10:30pm
fb.com/buddybkkofficial, 083-821-2161

The chefs at Baan Tepa have created a classic dish that perfectly exemplifies their core ethos: innovative Thai flavours and a passion for sustainable farming. The mousse is not your standard chicken liver. In this playful Thai version, the smoky aromas and subtle sweetness of our traditional and beloved grilled chicken street carts is deftly captured. It’s served with tamarind jaew glaze, toasted rice, and a side of preserved fruits and vegetables from last season.

2369 Ramkhamhaeng Road
Open Thursday-Sunday 11:30am-11pm
baantepabkk.com, 098-696-9074

There’s no end to the creativity that goes into plant-based cuisine. But sushi will always be a tough dish to replicate without the prerequisite fish and meats. Or so we thought. Golden State Vegan’s rendition of our favourite Japanese rolls are the exception. They have somehow managed to create the textures, aromas, and umami flavours of fish using only plants. The tuna is made from marinated watermelon, while the crab cakes are made from jackfruit.

40 Ekkamai Soi 12
Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-10pm
goldenstate-vegan.com, 084-174-7161

At Chef Riley’s appropriately named restaurant, Canvas, every dish is presented as a masterpiece fit for a museum. Ingredients, sauces, and dressings are splattered and swirled like paint on plates that act as the chefs’ blank canvases. Prawn, Sticky Rice, Vibrance (no prizes for guessing why it takes this name) features components of river prawns from Krab cooked in different ways. It’s paired with a paste of cured and dried taling pling, flavored with coriander root and garcinia. There are also confit red spur chilies to concentrate and bring out a fruity quality, which the chefs then make two sauces from to dress the rice and grilled tail. The dish is finished with pink peppercorns from Nahkon Nayok, and chips made from prawn and sticky rice.

113, 9-10 Thong Lo Road
Open Wednesday-Sunday 6-9:30pm
canvasbangkok.com, 099-614-1158