The philosophy behind nose to tail eating revolts against food waste by cherishing every part of an animal including the gruesome offal. The movement was trendy a few years ago when the Western gourmet scene was trying to look for ways to practice more sustainable dining. Nose to tail eating, however, has long been a common practice in the Southeast Asian and Chinese food cultures, where brains, entrails and internal organs have always been considered delicacies.
Chef Chalee Kader (the restaurateur behind French bistro Surface and pie place Holy Moly) and chef Randy Nopprapa (the co-owner of Japanese restaurant Fillets) veer away from the refined cuisines they’re used to and revives the global food trend with a nod to its humble Asian roots.
Brain, tripe and bone marrow lead the parade in a selection of thrilling and boldy flavored Asian dishes. There’s the khao poon, a creamy and slightly spicy dish that mixes fermented rice noodles with pig’s brain and coconut curry (B280). A charcoal-burnt bone marrow dish is crunchy in texture and benefits from the heat afforded by a pack of perilla seeds and spices (B320), while ox tail contributes to the gooey texture of a superbly indulgent soup of cassia and ya-nang leaves (B320).
The establishment goes easy on those who don’t have the stomach (pun intended) for this eating philosophy, and offers offal-free dishes like a tender pork jowl smoked with longan wood and paired with chili paste made from galangal and pineapple (B280). 100 Mahaseth also does fusion takes on a number of dishes, including a quirky hotdog version of sai uar (Northern sausage) with nam prik noom (spicy eggplant chili paste, B180).