Chef David Thompson aims to revive traditional Thai customs

DAVID Thompson is a living legend in the world of Thai cuisine. Two decades ago, his restaurant Nahm in the Halkin in London became the first Thai restaurant ever to win a Michelin star, while the Bangkok iteration of Nahm reached No 1 on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and also won a star that it still holds today.

While he left Nahm in 2018, he went on to other projects including the Long Chim restaurants, Aaharn in Hong Kong and Aksorn in Bangkok. He will soon open a new concept – in a goldsmith’s shop in Bangkok’s Chinatown.

Thompson and his partner Tanongsak Yordwai – once Nahm’s pastry chef – have always been fascinated by all facets of Thai culinary culture. At his restaurant Long Dtai in Koh Samui, where as a young Australian backpacker Thompson discovered his affinity for khwambenthai – a sentiment often translated as Thainess – he showcases the flavourful, fiery, funky cuisine of the South. At Aksorn, located in Bangkok’s artsy Charoen Krung district, he takes a look at the mid-20th-century food of an emerging, urban middle-class, with fervour akin to that of a Siamese Fanny Cradock.