Latest news with #Potong
Time Out
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Review: What to expect from the Shake Shack x Potong collab
Since landing at Central World in 2023, Shake Shack has been winning over Bangkokians at lightning speed! With its sleek vibe and premium menu, this iconic American burger chain has already expanded to three more locations across the city. While it's on the pricier side, Shake Shack feels less like a burger pit stop and more like a cosy escape from Bangkok's bustling streets. While the signature ShackBurger is a solid option, it doesn't quite steal the spotlight from the competition. But Shake Shack seems determined to up its game. The brand has joined forces with Pichaya 'Pam' Soontornyanakij – recently crowned the World's Best Female Chef 2025 and the talent behind Michelin-starred Potong – to create a limited-edition menu infused with bold Thai flavours. Naturally, we couldn't resist giving it a try. Available at all Shake Shack locations across Bangkok through July 6, the collaboration features two special burgers, a snack, and a dessert that showcase Chef Pam's culinary creativity. First on the list is the Jaew BBQ Pork Burger (B235), created as a thoughtful alternative for locals who don't eat beef. This burger debuts Shake Shack's all-natural applewood-smoked pork patty, which is topped with Chef Pam's tangy jaew BBQ sauce, melted cheese, fresh shallots, culantro and crispy pork crackling – all sandwiched in a toasted potato bun. The standout element of this burger is undoubtedly the pork crackling (kaeb moo), a popular Thai snack made from deep-fried pork skin, often found at noodle shops. While not something you'd expect in a burger, it pairs surprisingly well with the jaew BBQ sauce, which is sweet, slightly spicy, and packed with flavours of fish sauce, chili and tamarind. It's like a bite of Thai street food in burger form. That said, if you're sensitive to spice, tread carefully – this one brings a bit of heat. The real star of the menu, however, is the Black Pepper Burger (B265 for a single, B375 for a double). Featuring a juicy 100% Angus beef patty smothered in Chef Pam's rich black pepper sauce, double cheese, fresh onions and crispy shallots. Shake Shack describes it as a tribute to classic Thai-Chinese black pepper dishes found in old-school Bangkok shophouses, and I couldn't agree more. Though I haven't yet had the pleasure of dining at Potong, the combination of freshly cracked black pepper, scallions, soy sauce and oyster sauce delivers a wok-fried, caramelised depth that's both nostalgic and utterly satisfying. For a snack, the limited menu offers seafood mayo fries (B130). These crinkle-cut fries are topped with Chef Pam's tangy seafood mayo, crispy pork crackling and fresh cilantro. The sauce, inspired by Thai street food dipping sauces, is a clever nod to local flavours, as Thais often pair fried foods with zesty dips. However, this dish didn't quite hit the mark for me – the sauce made the fries soggy quickly and the mix of flavours left a lingering sweet-and-sour aftertaste that felt somewhat unbalanced. To end the meal, there's the mango sticky rice shake (B210), a blend of vanilla frozen custard, fresh mango, glutinous sticky rice and salted coconut cream, topped with whipped cream, crispy mung beans and mango powder. Mango sticky rice is obviously a crowd favourite and this shake pulls it off well. The sticky rice texture really comes through and the coconut cream adds that rich, familiar taste. That said, it was a bit too sweet for me to finish on my own. I'd definitely suggest sharing it with a friend. Overall, I'd say the Shake Shack x Chef Pam collaboration is worth a try especially if you're curious about Chef Pam's cooking but don't want to wait for a table at Potong. It's a fun and accessible way to experience her flavour-packed style and honestly, it's worth the splurge.
Time Out
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
KHAO SAN SEK
Tucked into a narrow shophouse on Chinatown's Songwat Road, this latest venture from Chef Pichaya ''Pam'' Soontornyanakijr – better known for her boundary-bending fine dining venue Potong, only five minutes' walk from here – glows with the burnished charm of a bygone era and a reverence for tradition. The 70-year-old structure sets the tone with faded window shutters, creaking wooden stairs, and exposed-brick interior walls. In a nod to the neighbourhood's youthful grit, a vibrant three-storey graffiti mural by street artist JecksBKK displays a girl in space buns, Chinese tunic, jeans and sneakers, slyly promoting Takabb, a classic Thai-Chinese herbal lozenge. Inside, industrial light fixtures dangle over rough-hewn tables and padded banquettes arranged in small clusters divided among the three floors, an arrangement that promotes a casual sense of exclusivity. There's an ambience of cheeky nostalgia without kitsch – a delicate balance that mirrors Chef Pam's approach to food. The concept behind Khao San Sek – Thai for 'sacred milled rice', the stray grains that fall to the floor during milling and are blessed by monks for use in warding off evil spirits – is the celebration of five holy-grail ingredients representing Thai cuisine's primary flavour spectrum. These culinary building blocks – rice, chili, coconut, fish sauce, and palm sugar – divide dishes on the menu into sections accordingly. Lest this sound a bit academic, in practice Khao San Sek feels looser, funkier, and more down-to-earth than the more Thai-Chinese, Michelin-starred Potong. The dishes pay homage to Bangkok's street food roots while still bearing Pam's unmistakable flair for precision and colour. But don't mistake comfort for complacency. This is Pam we're talking about – the first Thai (and first Asian) woman to be crowned The World's Best Female Chef 2025 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 competition sponsored by S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna – and everything you'll taste here reflects intense focus on flavour, colour and texture. At the front of the clipboard, a house menu offers a set of nine courses for B1,800 (plus B500 for an optional two-glass sato pairing). For us the standouts are the crispy coconut taco with Suratthani oyster and chili sauce, the Thai eggplant relish chili, the six-hour smoked beef tongue satay with house pickles, and the southern Thai-style rice salad with young jasmine rice, mackerel, chilli paste, kaffir lime leaves, and sour mango. The rice extravaganza— khao khayam in the Thai translation – makes a strong impression, with crunchy textures alternating with mini-explosions of chilli and tart fruit, alongside smoky seafood umami. Sato – Thai artisan rice wines, hand-selected by Khao San Sek – make an exceptional coupling with dishes at the restaurant. We particularly enjoy Chiang Mai's Sun Pa Tong Sticky Rice Sato, available by the glass or by the bottle. Chef Grace-Worakan Kritsirikul, former sous chef at Potong, breezes by the tables, greeting guests and answering queries with disarming warmth. Her philosophy here is clear: make food that feels like home, while slyly nudging diners to reconsider what ''home'' tastes like. Khao San Sek isn't Potong's cerebral tasting menu, but that's the point. It's a love letter to Bangkok – loud, chaotic, heartfelt. In a city forever chasing the next culinary trend, Khao San Sek slows the tempo and reminds us of the simple joy of eating well, together. It's a place where memory meets innovation, and where Chef Pam proves, yet again, that she's one of Thailand's most compelling culinary storytellers.
