Restaurant Review: Haoma in Bangkok, Thailand

The Pan-Indo-European cuisine at Haoma in Bangkok is an experience par excellence. The restaurant believes in presenting food that looks good, tastes good, and makes you feel good. It delivers a superlative dining experience, and sustainable too!

On the first evening in Thailand, the prospect of a fantastic fusion dinner awaited us – at Haoma. The name of the restaurant is derived from the semi-mythical elixir of life sacred in many cultures. Once we reached the restaurant with its soft lights and intimate interiors, I was happy with the ambience and curious about the much-talked about meal.

The pleasant hostess ushered us in and I could see a garden outdoors. After settling down and choosing a white wine, our maitre d’ hotel for the evening presented us the menu for dinner. It had just two pages – a 9-course option and a 13-course tasting dinner menu, and of course, we opted for the grander version.

Bite-sized gastronomy

Each course is served with absolute class and finesse, making it a truly fabulous dining experience and a treat for the senses. The serving dishes are creative – ranging from a square box with pebbles that look edible, to an oval-shaped slab-like dish, to rocks and wooden boards. The initial courses are bite-sized that explode with flavours in your mouth. The first course is a tiny Galauti Kornet (a kebab), followed by a golgappa (an Indian savoury); then comes the boullabaise served in an artistic white shell!

The initial courses continue getting better and better, each more exotic and exquisite than the other, leaving you desirous of more. Next came the duck mousse, the local melons and then the shrimps. Giving a break in the middle of the fantastic meal, the maitre d’ walks you to the herb garden outside and explains the sustainability features of urban farming; even the fish is home grown – and we are back to the table to savour precisely this – the Haoma fish.

An array of flavours indulge your palate and the pinnacle was the Chettinad (a region in South India) beef curry served with marrow. The grand finale was a double whammy of desserts – sorbet and black and white. And at the end of the awesome experience, I am feeling good, full of great food.

A window to the culture and cuisine

Each course is served with a tiny explanation by the team on the origin and philosophy behind the dish. After a couple of courses, Chef Deepanker Khosla, the executive chef and co-owner graces the table. He is passionate about food, bringing his growing-up experiences and his roots into the cuisine, and his enthusiasm is infectious.

Haoma, for him, is a dream-come-true project that began with an online course in Aquaponics and just a year later had bloomed into a full-blown, functioning urban farm in the heart of Bangkok. But it was a year of toiling in the earth, coaxing fish to grow in new waters and of experimenting through many trials and errors to optimize flavours – all the while working to create a food system that can truly be called sustainable.

Chef Deepanker Khosla, the executive chef and co-owner is passionate about food, bringing his growing-up experiences and his roots into the cuisine

Dinner goes on for about two hours, so book when you have the time to relax and savour each flavour. Chef Deepanker grew up in northern India, but has a natural penchant for fusing Eurasian flavours from far and near.

Hailing from Allahabad, Deepanker is committed to finding the perfect way to create something completely different and introduce the new sense of hand-crafted perfection to discerning diners. Haoma prides itself for tending quite literally to most of its own needs, cultivating the fertile environment via aquaponics, hydroponics and soil to create menus of elegant dishes that shift naturally with the seasons.

An all-time favourite

The greenhouse is the place to spend a pleasant late morning enjoying your brunch with fresh ingredients growing right beside you. The bar is the more relaxed spot to make acquaintances while enjoying a cocktail or the selection of appetizers. Finally, the romantic corner and the private dining area is where the hanging greenery from the ceiling and the dim lighting create a magical and intimate atmosphere to comfortably share an evening full of stories and memories, over good food and great wine.