Cuisine de Garden is a restaurant in Chiang Mai specializing in creative tasting menus using top-shelf Thai ingredients transformed into creative dishes with a Japanese influence. The chef-owner also operates a restaurant with the same name in Bangkok.
Let’s see the tasting menus for January 2020 and the summer 2020 menu.
The visit 1: January 2020
The restaurant is located in the Southern part of Chiang Mai in a house immersed in a lush garden.
The interior features a contemporary dining room with both tables and counter seats. I sat at the counter which was nice because all dishes were finished up, if not outright assembled, on the counter. It felt like a Japanese kaiseki, but with Thai ingredients.
During my first visit, on the blackboard above the kitchen area the main ingredients of the day were nicely drawn.
The drink menu was essential, but not a problem since I only drink water. There was a wine pairing available. I highly appreciated that water was not overpriced. A rare find these days!
The amuse bouche was a bite of a jelly with local spices.
The first appetizer was a sort of mille-feuille with crustacean meat and lime caviar (a very prized ingredient these days).
Next was oyster and calamansi.
The final appetizer was a Thai fish sashimi with herbs. Now that I look again at the plating, do I see a fish head shape?
The first main was a combination of figs, cream cheese, and a cat fish “bacon”. Basically the cat fish meat was dried and crispy like bacon. A very interesting and delicious solution.
Then there was their tartine with fermented fish and fruit. The tartine was made of Japanese floor and on the right there were goodberries.
Then I was brought an egg with a sort of nest. I was instructed to open the egg and pour the content on the dish. The next was just to place the egg shell.
Actually the result was not bad. What I got was a very interesting dish with three layers: the “onsen” egg, the fried noodles, and free-range chicken fibers with its juice. This is one of their signature dishes that is usually on the menu.
Then, hidden beneath a leaf, there was a piece of Buk Siam fish and green mustard leaves.
Finally, the mains were topped by a coffee glazed pork belly with winter pumpkin.
This last dish came with steamed rice and dashi broth to be eaten “Japanese style” (ochazuke). A rice dish is a classic ending also for traditional kaiseki. As always, the presentation was impressive.
The main dessert was a composition of different textures of white chocolate. It was an incredibly elegant dish and also nice to eat.
Then there was also a bucket or stones… with one edible. Well, I saw this trick from Gaggan, but who knows who invented it. I did not have the courage to ask.
Finally I was offered an herbal infusion…
…and a trio of petit four.
The visit 2: Summer 2020 menu
In my second visit I went with a friend in early March 2020 for dinner. There was a new tasting menu. The chef was in Bangkok, but his crew took well care of us and two other tourists… we were a couple of weeks away from the Covid-19 lockdown.
The menu had the same grammar but many new dishes.
The amuse bouche was a combination of three different bites with local spices.
The second dish was quite fun. We were given a bowl with tiny dried shrimps and various ingredients (coriander, Sichuan pepper, chili…) to be mixed and shaken together.
Then there was a deep fried frog leg with summer citrus. I am not a fan of frog, but the taste was good.
The next dish was a tartine with fermented cat fish (in garlic) and good berry and papaya jam. This is also a signature dish, a similar one was also in the previous menu.
Then we were served a piece of Buk Siam fish with pickled tomatoes and vinaigrette, to be soaked in a broth.
The signature onsen egg with free-range chicken fibers and dried noodles was again present.
The last dish was sliced beef with black rice and dashi stock. I was not particularly impressed by the beef.
The final part of the dinner started with a mango granita, figs, and cheese.
The next dessert was a delicious banana custard and ice cream.
Finally there was again the treasure hunt for the edible stone (filled with coconut milk) and petit four (to be mentioned the use of sticky rice, a nice kick back to the Thai tradition).
We were also offered some green tea to complete our meal.
The check(s)
The price after adding water was around 1,900 THB per person (58.5 USD). Same price on both occasions, even if in the second menu two dishes were lumped together with the amuse bouche. I think the price was more than reasonable for this kind of creative tasting menu.
Personally I liked it. I appreciated the impressive visual presentation of the dishes, the combination of Thai and Japanese flavors and techniques, and seeing the dishes completed on the counter was a nice plus. If you like multi-course menus, this is an unmissable stop in Chiang Mai.
Where in Chiang Mai:
99 Moo 11, Hang Dong.
Website (for reservations): www.cuisinedegarden.com.