B Samcook Home16 is a restaurant in Chiang Mai that offers dinner set menus combining Thai flavors with Western, Japanese and Chinese influences. It is also open for lunch with a la carte menu. Let’s get this out of the way: Samcook is one of the most interesting and fulfilling dining experiences in Chiang Mai. Both the flavors and the service won me over and I ended up trying it twice. What they did on my second visit was remarkable.
The visit(s)
It is a popular restaurant and is often fully booked for dinner. I later discovered that, at the time of my visit, it was number 1 in a famous trip recommendation website that I truly despise but it is relied on by many tourists. In this case I can see why it attracts so many positive reviews. Spot totally deserved.
I made my reservation via their Facebook page.
The restaurant is located in a house in the Southern part of Chiang Mai. It is also a home stay (not to self: next time book a room there!). The interior is modern and with visually appealing decorations.
A notice at the entrance set the mood: Sam Cook is a family operation that strives to provide an intimate dining experience. The pillar of the kitchen is, of course, Sam that came to my table several times to explain the dishes.
The dinner opened with a cold herbal drink.
The starter was a spring roll with cream cheese and crab meat. Really delicious. This and all the dishes came with edible flowers coming from Sam’s garden.
The next dish was a brilliant cross-over between the classic tom yum Thai soup with coconut and the Vietnamese pho soup, with two skewered prawns. I could definitely detect the herbal flavors of a Vietnamese pho.
The next dish – and we are still in the appetizer part of the menu! – was a pork rib with garlic pepper sauce. The rib was described on the menu as a fusion between Chinese and Thai cuisine: the rib had been boiled with Chinese herbs for two hours, then stir-fried with fresh garlic and sweet chili sauce. To be eaten with your hand, the result was tender and flavorful.
Before proceeding with the mains, I was offered a tomato juice palate cleanser.
The first main was a salmon with a delicate lemon spicy sauce. Sam buys full salmons and cleans them himself. The dish was described as a fusion between Western cuisine (the grilled salmon) and Thai (the sauce).
The second main was a smoked duck leg with a mix-berry sauce and dragon fruit. The flavors all amalgamated splendidly.
At this point Sam asked me if I wanted an extra main… but I was almost full so I went for the next dish, the dessert that included a passion fruit drink and a classic Thai sticky rice dessert. On the plate there was a stuffed elephant that was a gift to keep.
Before living I was offered another gift, a cup of coconut ice cream. Finally, they asked me where my hotel was and called a Grab Car to take me back. What was amazing is that they insisted on paying for my trip back (it was almost 15% of the value of the bill!). They offered an amazing deal of care.
My first visit was at the end of January 2020. I went back in early March with a friend, again reserving my spot via Facebook. My friend got a menu quite similar to the one I had back in January. However, Sam offered me an alternative blind menu with all new dishes. This was unexpected (I did not mind eating again some of the original dishes) and, once again, a great example of real customer care.
My special menu started with an herbal infusion with a Thai flower. The initial dishes were a cocktail with meaty seared scallops with chili sauce and flowers, tenderloin beef with shiitake mushroom, and a mind-blowing avocado filled with crab meat ans crab roe (my favorite dish of the evening). The palate cleanser this time was a coconut drink. The first main was a colossal salmon dish, with big sashimi slices and oversize rolls with cream cheese (an organic soy sauce procured through a customer was provided). Then there was a Chinese/Thai fusion dish with shrimp ravioli in mussaman curry (this was the dish that I liked the least as the mussaman curry flavor took over, but still a good dish by all means). Finally, the dessert was poached apple jelly and a passion fruit drink. Even the final gift was different (a coin case this time)! I have included the pictures of this second menu in the slideshow above. Once again, we were offered the ride back to our hotel and some ice cream to take away.
The atmosphere was lively and on both visits there was a musical talent playing guitar and singing (but not too loud). Even during the second visit, at a time with very few visitors in Chiang Mai, there were quite a few people for dinner.
The check
This fully satisfying dinner cost me 990 THB (or around 30 USD, including the taxi ride back!). I am showing both the check of my first visit and the one of the second visit with a second diner. Water was included. The value was amazing.
Fusion cuisine is risky, It is easy to get silly and mess up a dish. But not here. All the dishes were substantial, featured top-shelf ingredients, and a lot of preparation. They were labor of love and the result was consistently palatable.
Needless to say, this is a great dining experience in Chiang Mai that I fully recommend.
Where in Chiang Mai:
5 Kampaengdin Road, Soi 3
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebfamilycnx.