• Home
  • FOOD AND DRINK
    • AFTERNOON TEA
    • RESTAURANTS
    • BARS
    • SPECIAL INGREDIENTS
  • OUTSTANDING HOTELS
    • HISTORY OF HOTELS
    • HOTEL REVIEWS
    • SPAS
  • TRAVEL
  • PHOTO-VIDEO-ART
    • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
    • Photo Essays
    • Black And White
    • Fashion
    • ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • Tags

    afternoon tea Art Asia Bangkok Bar Buffet cambodia cocktail cocktails confession drink Europe favorite food food photography gallery Hanoi heritage hotel High tea History Hoi An Hotel hotel review Hotels Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Mandarin Oriental Melaka nature Penang photography Restaurant review Romantic getaway Siem Reap Singapore Slovenia Sofitel spirit Thailand the best travel Travel story Vietnam YTL
  • Follow Us

Wild 'n' Free Diary - travel food drink hotel review art photography
  • Home
  • FOOD AND DRINK
    • RESTAURANTS
    • AFTERNOON TEA
    • BARS
    • SPECIAL INGREDIENTS
  • OUTSTANDING HOTELS
    • HOTEL REVIEWS
    • SPAS
    • HISTORY OF HOTELS
  • TRAVEL
  • PHOTO-VIDEO-ART
    • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
      • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY VOL.1: FOOD IN PIXELS
      • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY VOL.2: PEOPLE PROVIDE FOOD
      • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY VOL.3: BLACK AND WHITE
      • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY VOL.4: LET ME HELP
      • Food Photography Vol.5: Sweet
      • Food Photography Vol.6: Stack Up
      • Food Photography Vol.7: Sunday Brunch
      • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY VOL. 8: STUDIO
      • Cocktail Photography Vol. 1: Get The Party Started
      • Cocktail Photography vol.2: Into The Details
    • Photo Essays
      • Arrogance Is The Real Pandemic Photo Essay
      • Photoreport: Bee Hive Bus
      • Wintertime in Vienna – Photo Essay
      • Photo essay: ROCK SHELLS PICKING IN VIETNAM
      • PHOTOREPORT: Singapore through my lens
      • Photo Essay: I Love Plants
      • Photo Essay: Children of Asia
      • Seaside Photography Vol. 1 – Wave After Wave
      • Seaside Photography Vol. 2 – Salt
      • Walking Through Venice – Photo Essay
      • Photo Essay: Pine Forest Walk
    • Fashion
      • Hoi An Dress Shooting Vol. 1
      • HOI AN FASHION SHOOTING VOL. 2
      • Shipwreck Fashion Photography Gallery
      • WALKING AROUND IMPERIAL CITY OF HUE
    • Black And White
      • Black and white photography Vol.1
      • Black and White Photography Vol.2
      • Black And White Vol. 3: Let’s Get Deep Into Shades
      • Black And White Vol. 4: Uncertain Times
    • ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY
      • Architecture Photography Gallery Vol. 1
      • ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY VOL. 2
      • ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY VOL. 3
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US

Saawaan Bangkok Review: One Michelin And More

December 1, 2019

It’s not a secret that we are in love with Thai food. Last time we did our Bo.lan Review and now we have another pearl – one Michelin star, Saawaan restaurant. We were thrilled to try a fine mix of Thai food prepared in a 9-course seasonal degustation menu. The taste of Thailand showed us a free-spirited take on local dishes ranging from Northern (Lanna) cuisine to the south. Our meal included not only locally sourced ingredients but also a fair amount of peaceful kitchen theatre. Are you interested in taking a tour of Saawaan’s offer with us? Then let’s start a detailed Saawaan Bangkok review.

Contents

  • Saawaan Drinks Menu
    • Saawaan Tea Pairing
    • Saawaan Wine Pairing
  • The Food at One Michelin Star, Saawaan Restaurant
    • Seasonal 9-Course Tasting Menu for Our Saawaan Bangkok Review
  • Amuse Buche
  • Raw
  • Dip
  • Fermented
  • Boiled
  • Palate Cleanser: Miang
  • Stir-Fry
  •  Charcoaled
  • Curry
  • Dessert
    • Deconstructed Traditional Thai Dessert ‘Gluai Buat Chii’
    • Sweet Farewell
  • Conclusion
  • Saawaan Bangkok Review Card
  • Price and Location
michelin star restaurant table
The modern setting fits contemporary Thai dishes.

Saawaan Drinks Menu

Saawaan drinks menu is oriented towards the world’s wines and Fhaang forest tea, but it also includes Bangkok soda, water, and beer. You’ll have the biggest freedom of choice when choosing the bottle of wine, although wine per glass is well thought out. 

Saawaan Tea Pairing

Saawaan is one of a few fine dining restaurants in Bangkok, where you can have your meal paired with tea. Probably the only one where you can taste six different specimens in one evening. To our slight disappointment, the tea repeated itself three times, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t fit with the dish. On the contrary, it paired wonderfully, but we longed for some extras. Maybe some smoked tea next to the charcoaled dish…

Gold cloud on black surface
The dark interior in the Saawaan restaurant reveals shiny details.

Forest Teas by Fhaang

To say nothing of the sustainable, forest-friendly Thai tea by Fhaang would be a crime; after all, they are focusing on freestyle growing tea trees and not the usual tea plantations. Their focus is to spread awareness of native Northern Thai tea plant (Camellia Sinensis Aassamica) through making high-quality tea. No logging, no pesticides, and no herbicides, with business in the hands of local people, sounds like a dream. Ian and I support the eco-friendly practice that brings local people a brighter future with all our hearts. That is why we were more than happy to toast to our dinner with some hot brew.

Interesting Facts

In truth, all Camellia Sinensis Assamica variations are as special as Geisha Coffee is. Hopefully, the trend of wild tea varieties will pick up and who knows what else is hidden in the forests. Well, whatever is left of them.
As a lovely tribute to the place of origin, some of the teas are named Lanna after the Lan Na in English this means Northern Thailand. Equally important is also the fact that the Thai Northern cuisine is known as Lanna Cuisine.

Saawaan Wine Pairing

At Saawan, you can enjoy your degustation menu with pairing wines. Presented wines are from France, Spain, Italy and Australia, but that can change as the seasonal menu changes.


The Food at One Michelin Star, Saawaan Restaurant

Given that Thai cuisine is known for its balance between salty-sweet-sour-spicy flavors expect all of them in many dishes. In the light of respecting the Thai cooking tradition Chef Sujira ‘Aom’ Pongmorn, prepares some of the dishes “old school style” using fermentation, grilling, steaming and stir-frying. While modern cooking techniques include foams and a slow cooking technique known as Sous vide, among others. Awareness that every dish is firstly enjoyed with eyes is also part of Thai food carvings, but at Saawaan, the art of plating is done only in the modern style, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Saawaan Bangkok chef
Chef arrived at our table with smoked quail inside a big clay pot. This Saawaan Review might water your mouth.

Seasonal 9-Course Tasting Menu for Our Saawaan Bangkok Review

In the Saawaan Bangkok review below we’ll go through individual dishes through Wild and Free diary experience. We loved spicy Thai flavors and aromatic dishes created by both Chef de cuisine and pastry Chef. Here we have to point out that not everything is produced in Thailand but the majority is.


Amuse Buche

Heart-warming first bite consisted of purple yam blini topped with a reduction of coconut chicken soup and Oscietra caviar finishing touch. By the way, Oscietra or Ossetra caviar is most prized and Saawaan imports it from France. This Thai take on the Russian classic is about creamy deliciousness refreshed by freshly grated kaffir lime zest. 

Sturia Caviar
Thai take on the Russian potato blini with caviar is about creamy deliciousness refreshed by aromatic kaffir lime zest.

Tea Pairing: Kombucha Tea

  Probably nothing fits better at the beginning of the meal than kombucha tea. I loved the tiny cuppa, which made absolute sense due to the strong homemade brew. By all means, it wasn’t kombucha vinegar, it still retained some sweetness and it provided a beneficial foundation for all that followed. 


Raw

Sea urchin resting on top of the fruit salad sure looked tempting, even though it was served inside its shell with still attached black spines. Quite a dramatic plate that might scare you a little, but eating it with a spoon was easy and safe. Leading taste without any doubt belonged to sea urchin’s creaminess and sweetness even when eaten with the powerful salad seasonings like ginger, lemongrass, chili, and mint. Although without delay Madan fruit added a firm yet sour crunch.

edible sea urchin
Watch the spikes when you eat sea urchin with sour fruit salad.

Tea Pairing: Steamed Assamica Green Tea

Tea with earthy and vegetal taste on the first note, but it also hides a hint of seaweed inside it. Precisely that was just the perfect match to this dish in addition to tea’s ability to prolong the creaminess. 


Dip

“See who you eat” approach also made sense when rice paddy crab’s shell converted into the dipping vessel. The thick dip was made of seasoned rice field crab’s guts and roe, known under catchier name crab butter or crab fat. Actually, this part of the crab gets discarded too often, but once you try the real deal, you’ll lick your fingers. We sure did! It was fun unwrapping the burned banana leaf before reaching the aromatic sticky rice cooked in coconut milk.

saawaan dip
Eating with hands is the best option for this thick crab butter dip with grilled sticky rice.
Saawaan Bangkok
Coconut milk is the only seasoning for this sticky rice and frankly, it’s all it needs.

Tea Pairing: Steamed Assamica Green Tea

Vegetal notes in the tea served as a light contrast towards the thick dip. 


Fermented

The star of the plate was the fermented Black Berkshire pig, also known as Kurobuta pork. This pork is celebrated for its juiciness coming from marbling texture and rich taste. Through a week-long fermentation, its taste only developed and meet got even more tender. Before we got it on the table it received yet another treatment with a quick dip in the hot oil. Another fermented item on the plate was the one-minute cucumber pickles with a really refreshing taste. In the light of intense flavors, even the fried rice stood its ground with the help of red curry seasonings.

fermented Kurobuta pork
Kurobuta pork at Saawaan Bangkok tenderized and deepened its flavor through the week-long fermentation.

Tea Pairing: Lanna Black Tea

Free-grown black tea from Chiang Mai cleaned the palate between the bites and revived the chili heat. Regardless of intensified heat, we tasted some dried plums while aroma indicated some dried figs.


Boiled

Slow-cooked beef soup seasoned with Thai herbs and leafy vine Bai Ya Nang. Although the Bai Ya Nang is known to be pretty much tasteless, it is packed with health benefits. No wonder it has been used in traditional Southeast Asian medicine! Honestly, this soup at large felt like a medicine, a very aromatic and intense rebound broth. After 8 hours of braising, a piece of hump beef released plenty of flavors and reached the desired tenderness. Indeed, marbled meat was so soft that we wouldn’t have known it was there without munching on it for a second. Separating it from the soup to taste it was the key, probably because the broth was too salty to our taste.

Thai beef soup
Soup is based on the beef hump and yanang leaves.

Tea Pairing: Lanna Black Tea

At this point, I must admit that the soup wasn’t my favorite Saawaan dish but tea fixed the biggest flaws. It not only lowered the saltiness and added a little bit of roasty flavor to the tongue but also presented slight sweetness to the aftertaste.


You Might Also like

Bo.lan Bangkok Review
Bo.lan Bangkok Review
Saneh Jaan Review
Saneh Jaan Review
Le Normandie Review
Le Normandie Review
Cuisine De Garden Review
Cuisine De Garden Review

Palate Cleanser: Miang

Miang literally means “food wrapped in leaf” and we got a neat quenelle in the middle of the shiny betel leaf. This type of snack is part of an old Northern Thai tradition that continues to this day. The minimalistic presentation left the expectations to roam free, but nothing could prepare us for the following; a combination of tangy sourness coming from fermented wild tea leaves and betel leaf’s sweetness. This bite leaves diners with only two options; love it or hate it. We loved it! I guess princess Dara Rasmi was hoping for the same “love it” feedback when she introduced her Miang version to King Rama V.

Saawaan restaurant Miang
Wrap fermented wild tea leaves in the betel leaf and expect unexpected.

Stir-Fry

If there would be an option to have one dish on the Saawaan degustation menu twice, this is the one Wild ‘n’ Free Diary would select. There are a few reasons for this with the first and most significant one affecting the wonderfully prepared sator beans or stinky beans. This was the first time Ian agreed to eat them, let’s say a miracle happened.

Stinky beans with crab
Stinky beans never tasted so good!

As we learned, the secret for diminishing bean’s pungent aroma lies in the preparation. The trick is to cook stinky beans over the charcoal, while seeds are still sealed inside the pod. Later Chef pealed and seasoned them with some coconut milk, cashew nuts and stir-fried everything together with some yellow curry paste. Freshly ground sprinkles of dried crab roe with kaffir lime leaves also didn’t hurt. Plus, they lifted the stir-fried Mud Crab claw.

Tea Pairing: Jungle Oolong

As the name indicates, this tea grows wild in the jungle so hand-picking it can be a challenge. After harvesting, the half-oxidized tea leaves develop slightly sour taste with hay connecting the grassy aroma. Its aroma of freshly cut grass caught me by surprise and indicated that a very special cuppa stands in front of me. Here we must admit that slight fermentation of wild tea leaves really enchanted us and made Jungle Oolong our favorite brew on the Saawaan tea pairing menu. 


 Charcoaled

Colorful papaya salad never looked better, and we loved some extra time for admiration. In no time chef arrived at our table with smoked quail inside a big clay pot. What is special about organic quails served at Saawaan is that they are fed coconut. I swear I could taste it! Maybe that was due to the stuffing or maybe the tomato sauce had a splash of coconut milk in it. It doesn’t really matter; the point is that charcoaled dish tasted great with noticeable charcoal characteristics.

Saawaan signature dish
Lanna Silver Needle tea paired perfectly with the Saawaan Bangkok signature dish.

Tea Pairing: Lanna Silver Needle

This fine tea has a slightly sweet aroma and vegetal character with a light astringent taste. Paring it next to the juvenile quail reduced the intense flavors and lengthened its sweetness simultaneously.

Saawaan Bangkok quail
Quail at Saawaan restaurant felt boneless despite the obvious claw.

Curry

Curry is a staple in Thai cuisine and is often eaten as a stand-alone dish just pored over rice. At one Michelin star Saawaan restaurant, we got to taste a few different curries before this one and none of them felt like Penang curry. This type of red Thai curry has peanuts in it and it’s sweeter than any other. Its sweetness matched the BBQ-ed eggplant and Andaman black Grouper file. If it weren’t for coconut milk in the curry, it would be overpowering but the fish had a backup. Solid enhancement appeared as the deep-fried fish crumble. 

Panang curry
Panang curry is a type of red Thai curry that has peanuts in it and is sweeter than any other Thai curry.

 Tea Pairing: Lanna Silver Needle

Velvety mouthfeel nourished the taste buds while tea’s lightness welcomed the perfectly cooked Grouper fish.

Wine Hint

If you skipped the wine pairing and crave a glass, we advise you to pair the Curry dish with Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Turckheim. It’s a great match.

Saawaan Bangkok
A glass of Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Turckheim is an excellent match to the sweet Panang curry.

Dessert

The final part of our Saawaan Bangkok Review is a dessert. This sweet journey started with refreshing tamarind sorbet beside aromatic jasmine meringue sticks. The last touch to this divine treat can easily escape the eye, but sprinkles of salt and chili are there for the wow factor. When we captured everything, they turned the sourness down a notch and deepened the taste. Tea pairing doesn’t come with this palate cleanser, but I dared to dream about iced jasmine tea.

Tamarind sorbet
Salted chili flakes are invisible to the eyes, yet straight forward when tasted with tamarind sorbet and aromatic jasmine meringue sticks.

Deconstructed Traditional Thai Dessert ‘Gluai Buat Chii’

Cooked banana in coconut milk is easy, actually idiot proof simple. Although this may be true for the Chef Paper’s inspiration, her creation is far from easy. It’s a show-stopping case with beautiful eye candy and complex tasting explosion of textures. Just like in the original, you can’t miss the comforting taste of cooked banana and sweet coconut cream is also right there. Then you get the Michelin star goodies that form a tropical dream with trendy caramelized white chocolate code-named the blond chocolate. 

Chef Paper Saawaan dessert
Tasty tropical dream with trendy caramelized white chocolate code-named the blond chocolate paired with iced Lanna Oolong Tea

Tea Pairing: Lanna Oolong Tea

Buttery tones go hand in hand with the fulfilling dessert and the same goes for a slight bitterness. In the end, it completely cleared the palate so we could have a fresh start whenever we pleased. 


Sweet Farewell

Flowers are important in Thai culture not only as a seasoning but also as an offering. Floral chains, for example, are present everywhere, not only at the Buddhist temples. We’ve seen the white crown flowers on many garlands but never an edible one. As expected, white crown flower-shaped meringue tasted like flowers. Well as a cloud of jasmine flowers, to be more specific. That was just one part of the floral chain and only one of the petit fours. This extended Saawaan Bangkok Review too long anyways, so I’ll say one more thing about the durian chocolate truffle. You’ll love it even if you don’t like durian.

Saawaan petit fours
Our dinner at Saawaan Bangkok ended with absolutely delicious petit fours.

Conclusion

Despite the apparent respect for the original food we felt at home with the modern presentation and attentive staff. Dinner at Saawaan will stay in our memory for a long time. If you are thinking about trying their food, we can only encourage you. I hope you liked our Saawaan Bangkok Review, see you next time.

bai ya nang soup
Slow-cooked beef soup with sliced bamboo shoot and lime basil puree.

Saawaan Bangkok Review Card

  • 8.6/10
    ATMOSPHERE – 8.6/10
  • 9.2/10
    SERVICE – 9.2/10
  • 9.4/10
    PRESENTATION – 9.4/10
  • 9.3/10
    FOOD – 9.3/10
  • 9.2/10
    DRINKS – 9.2/10
  • 9.3/10
    VALUE – 9.3/10
9.2/10

Price and Location

Degustation menu like we had for this delicious Saawaan Restaurant Review will cost you about 95 USD per person. For wine pairing, you will add an extra 75 USD, while tea pairing will settle at 26 USD. Here is the location of the Saawaan Restaurant.


AsiaBangkokMichelinmichelin starsRestaurantreviewThailand
Share

RESTAURANTS

Vivi
A culinary enthusiast who is prone to writing. She loves discovering new flavors, spiced with cultural differences. The fear of the unknown does not stop her exploring and learning new things.

You might also like

Tea in Vietnam
February 25, 2023
My Mai Chau Trip
January 21, 2023
Majestic Saigon Hotel Review
December 7, 2022
  • Categories

    • AFTERNOON TEA
    • ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY
    • BARS
    • BLACK AND WHITE
    • FASHION
    • FOOD AND DRINKS
    • FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
    • HISTORY OF HOTELS
    • HOTEL REVIEWS
    • OUTSTANDING HOTELS
    • PHOTO ESSAY
    • PHOTO-VIDEO-ART
    • RESTAURANTS
    • SPAS
    • SPECIAL INGREDIENTS
    • TRAVEL
    • XYZ
  • FOLLOW US

  • Tags

    afternoon tea Art Asia Bangkok Bar Buffet cambodia cocktail cocktails confession drink Europe favorite food food photography gallery Hanoi heritage hotel High tea History Hoi An Hotel hotel review Hotels Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Mandarin Oriental Melaka nature Penang photography Restaurant review Romantic getaway Siem Reap Singapore Slovenia Sofitel spirit Thailand the best travel Travel story Vietnam YTL
  • Archives

    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017


  • Recent Posts

    • Kurentovanje Carnival
      March 13, 2023
    • KURENT IN BLACK AND WHITE
      March 6, 2023
    • Tea in Vietnam
      February 25, 2023
  • Popular Posts

    • Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Hotel
      February 15, 2019
    • Four Seasons KL Review
      March 30, 2019
    • Majestic Hotel KL
      October 12, 2018

© Copyright Wild 'n' Free Diary Cookie settings Policy Page

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. The button is on the bottom of the page. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT