Wow Place #297: Mahanakhon Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand
I don’t often write about restaurants in these posts, but this place definitely deserves mention.
Set in 100-year-old, teakwood, colonial house just a hop, skip and a jump from the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Mahanakhon might be the best vegan restaurant in Bangkok, if not in all of Thailand. The décor has a slightly Himalayan feeling, with colored flags that bring to mind a temple in Kathmandu. The service is friendly and impeccable. And the presentation is Micheline Star quality.
But the food, oh my, the food!
My wife and I start with the Assorted Thai Appetizer Plate, a tower of odd and wonderful flavors and textures including: flower-shaped steamed dumplings, Galloping Horse (pineapple morsels with a sweet-savory filling), vegan deep fried dough, vegan pandanus chicken, and vegan pork and wrapped in noodles. We move on to the vegan khao soi, a savory noodle soup in curry broth, topped with crispy fried noodles.
We try the pad thai (excellent). We munch on sauted vegetables (yum). We sip fancy drinks (delish). We order not one, but two different types of dessert (to die for).
And here’s the kicker. Our total bill for two: just $40 US!
Is this the cheapest restaurant in Thailand? Not by a long shot. It’s actually a bit pricey by Thai standards. But given the quality of the food, the service and the overall ambience, Mahanakhon feels like something of a miracle. It’s one of the best epicurean experiences of my life, for the price tag of taking one’s family to McDonalds. Wow.
(To explain why I went vegan 10+ years ago would be a longer story than I want to go into here. Suffice it to say I felt it was healthy for me personally, good for the environment and humane to animals. What interests me most, however, about veganism is why non-veg. eaters assume that plant-based food won’t taste good. Beans, veggies and tofu happily accept all the spices we’re familiar with. You can bake/broil/deep fry them. You can make them fatty, oily, or sugary. In short, vegan food (like any food) done right, is delicious. In the end, it comes down to assumptions and conditioning. And isn’t that just like life? We all need to start thinking like scientists…to try new things, to experiment, to go into new situations with curiosity and an open mind… to trust our own vigorous testing before making blanket statements inherited from others. Don’t take my word for it! Try a high-end vegan restaurant like Mahanakhon sometime and see for yourself!)