Bangkok, Thailand, November 25, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / At the MICHELIN Star Revelation Ceremony, which also marks the official release of the MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2023 edition, Michelin unveiled recipients of the prestigious MICHELIN Star, the MICHELIN Green Star, the MICHELIN Young Chef Award, the MICHELIN Service Award, plus two special awards introduced for the first time in this newest edition of Thailand’s guide: the MICHELIN Opening of the Year Award, and the MICHELIN Sommelier Award.
• Discover Thailand and the World’s Best Fine Dining Restaurants at TOP25Restaurants.com
Featured in this sixth local edition are 441 dining venues – with 6 two MICHELIN Stars (all retained their status), 29 one MICHELIN Star, 189 Bib Gourmand, and 217 other recommended entries. New additions to the MICHELIN Guide consist of 5 in the one MICHELIN Star (4 newcomers, and 1 promotion), and 59 in the Bib Gourmand list (53 newcomers, and 6 promotions), together with another 54 in the Guide’s recommended selection. Out of 111 new entries, 69 are from four representative cities of Thailand’s Northeast or “Isan” region (Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, and Udon Thani), newly covered in the 2023 edition.
“After struggling with the pandemic for a couple years, Thailand’s culinary and hospitality landscapes have seen new openings around the country. In the restaurant sector, many new fine-dining restaurants have opened – not only by local chefs that focus more on their culinary roots and thus offer a variety of cuisine: Northern Thai, Sourthern Thai, Isan, authentic Thai, modern Thai, and so on; but also by big investors and world-famous chefs. Our MICHELIN Guide inspectors are very much excited to see such a development in Thailand’s culinary sector,” said Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the MICHELIN Guides.
“The increased number of entries in the newest edition of The MICHELIN Guide Thailand is partly a testament of restaurateurs’ achievement in striving to rise above challenges, and partly a result of our coverage expansion to Northeastern Thailand – or ‘Isan’ – the largest region of Thailand, rich in history, combined with beautiful geography and natural resources. We believe that extending the scope of the MICHELIN Guide to this region will make people know and understand more about Isan cuisine, as well as help stimulate travelling to this region. With this newest MICHELIN Guide Thailand edition, we hope to contribute to the post-pandemic recovery of both culinary and hospitality industries.”
5 New Entries (4 Newcomers & 1 Promotion) Joining the ‘One MICHELIN Star’ List
In the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Thailand edition, two MICHELIN Stars listing remains the same with 6 entries – namely, Chef’s Table, Le Normandie by Alain Roux, Mezzaluna, R-Haan, Sorn, and Sühring. The one MICHELIN Star selection welcomes 5 new entries, all located in Bangkok, namely: Baan Tepa, a Thai contemporary restaurant offering beautifully presented tasting menu, made with seasonal ingredients sourced from sustainably minded producers and its backyard; Haoma, an Indian restaurant using sustainable, seasonal, local ingredients sourced from farmers, breeders, fisherfolk, and its own garden, to create delicious, beautifully plated Indian dishes in à la carte and seasonal tasting menus (including a vegetarian one); Maison Dunand, a French contemporary restaurant offering tasting menu inspired by the chef’s Alpine origins, childhood trips to Brittany, and glittering international culinary journey; Potong, a Thai-Chinese restaurant where traditional and novel converge, offering progressive 20-course set menu that is infused with storytelling and hits its peak with aged duck breast; and Signature, a French restaurant promoted from the previous MICHELIN Guide Thailand edition’s recommended selection, offering classic French flavors using imported herbs and edible flowers that evoke their terroir, through the Flower Bouquet set menus that rotate with the seasons.
2 New Additions Bringing the Total of MICHELIN Green Star Venues to 3
Joining PRU, the one MICHELIN Star restaurant in Phuket, that retains the MICHELIN Green Star for the third consecutive years, are Haoma – an Indian restaurant in Bangkok that enters the one MICHELIN Star list for the first time this year – growing fish in rainwater conserved throughout the year for its own aquaponics farm and for recycling using Nordaq water systems for guests to consume and, during the pandemic, starting a farm in Bangkok to raise chicken, goats, and cows for use in its ever-evolving menus; and Jampa, a newcomer on the MICHELIN Guide’s recommended list for Phuket that strives to educate guests on the benefits of eating fresh and local – serving European contemporary dishes using herbs and vegetables from its own organic farm, seafood sourced from the island fishermen, as well as nutritious and balanced ingredients that contribute to better eating.
2023 MICHELIN Thailand Young Chef Award:
Mr. Davide Garavaglia from Côte by Mauro Colagreco. Italian Chef Davide Garavaglia brings the cooking philosophy of Chef Mauro Colagreco from the Mediterranean to the Chao Phraya, working hand-in-hand with Chef Marc Vasseur. After working at D’O – a two MICHELIN Stars restaurant under Chef Davide Oldani in Milan, and later on at Sketch – a three MICHELIN Stars restaurant under Chef Pierre Gagnaire in London, Mr. Garavaglia then joined Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur in 2015 where he played a major part in the restaurant’s three MICHELIN Stars achievement.
2023 MICHELIN Thailand Service Award:
Mr. Uthit Songtho from Baan Phraya. Uthit Songtho, the restaurant manager, provided an impressive Thai-style hospitality with high standard of The Mandarin Oriental. During the service, he was friendly, polite, and sincere. Mr. Songtho himself warmly welcomed the guests as they stepped down from the boat, and bid them farewell at the pier when they left. He also provided detailed information regarding the restaurant’s history, chef’s background, information about the dishes and Thai food in general, and always asked for feedback about the dishes.
2 New Special Awards for the First Time in Thailand
2023 MICHELIN Thailand Opening of the Year Award:
Ms. Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij from Potong. The MICHELIN Opening of the Year Award is given to a chef, host, or restaurant manager, for the successful opening of a dining venue over the past 12 months, with creative degustation concept and cuisine approach, which has had an impact on the local gastronomic scene.
Being the first recipient of this special award in Thailand, Chef Pam is recognized for her successful opening of the restaurant, Potong, in the heart of Chinatown. She has renovated her family’s ancestral building that used to be a pharmacy, in spite of trying times during the Covid-19 period. It was the first restaurant of its kind to serve innovative/progressive Thai-Chinese cuisine in Thailand, with a 20-course Tasting Menu, whereby each dish embodies the 5-Element philosophy of “Salt, Acid, Spice, Texture, and Millard Reaction”.
2023 MICHELIN Thailand Sommelier Award:
Mr. Guillaume Perdigues from Mezzaluna. The MICHELIN Sommelier Award is granted in recognition for the sommelier’s expertise in recommending a food and wine pairing to enhance the customer experience.
Mr. Perdigues, Thailand’s first winner of the award, is very passionate and knowledgeable about wine. He is a professional sommelier, who takes great pleasure in advising guests – based on their personal tastes and food choices – on wine selection and food pairing. With a gentle but welcoming attitude in serving wine, he engaged well with his guests, and loved to share wine knowledge during his service.
The full restaurant selection for Thailand is available free of charge on the MICHELIN Guide website and app. They join the MICHELIN Guide selection of hotels, which features the most unique and exciting places to stay in Thailand and throughout the world.
• Discover Thailand and the World’s Best Fine Dining Restaurants at TOP25Restaurants.com
Every hotel in the Guide is chosen for its extraordinary style, service, and personality — with options for all budgets — and each hotel can be booked directly through the MICHELIN Guide website and app. The selection for Thailand features the country’s most spectacular hotels, including luxury boutique trailblazers like Amanpuri, sustainability pioneers like Rayavadee, standouts from our “Plus” collection like The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, and treetop pool villa wonderlands like Keemala.
The MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2023 at a Glance:
– 6 Two MICHELIN Stars
– 29 One MICHELIN Star (4 new, 1 promoted)
– 3 MICHELIN Green Star (2 new)
– 189 Bib Gourmand (53 new, 6 promoted)