Thiptara never enjoyed the prestige of being the first choice when thinking of eating at The Peninsula. The riverside Thai eatery is often overshadowed by the luxury hotel’s more famous Chinese restaurant, Mei Jiang, and its famed mooncakes. But now that Thai fine-dining is on the rise in Bangkok, Thiptara is finding ways to transform itself, albeit slowly.
Tasked to bring Thiptara to the new era is Kanokwan Jinuntuya, a Surin-born sous chef who has spent years working at restaurants in five-star hotels abroad, the Ritz-Carlton Shenzhen and Crowne Plaza Kunming, included. Instead of completely ditching the old for newer, more modern tastes and techniques, Chef Kanokwan is willing to compromise and work with what Thiptara already has.
To start off, she’s added a bit more complexity to the menu by tweaking each dish’s flavor profile. Her changes are subtle that they won’t drive away loyal diners but exciting enough to attract a new set of customers.
The chef’s tweaks are best experienced when you order one of the restaurant’s two set menus: Thiptara (B1,990) or Ruenthip (B2,100). Each one features different Thai staples such as spicy pomelo salad, northern-style beef soup, and green curry.
Chef Kanokwan injects more fun to every meal with the introduction of Thiptara Tid Lor (translated as “wheeled Thiptara”), which features five dishes that are prepared before your eyes on a Thai-style pushcart. These dishes include yum nua yang (spicy grilled wagyu striploin salad, B880), tom kha gai (sour coconut soup with black chicken, B500), chu chee lobster (grilled Boston lobster in red curry, B1,920), mango sticky rice (B380), and the chef-specialty yum som o goong phao (spicy pomelo salad with grilled river prawn served on grilled coconut shell with coconut meat, B620). Just a little side note: These dishes are also on the main menu at lower prices so we suggest ordering from Thiptara Tid Lor only if you want the special VIP presentation.
While the flavors are getting there (a little mild if you’re fond of hot and spicy fare), it’s Thiptara’s service that should be well-noted. Apart from having in-depth knowledge of the food they’re serving, the staff are friendly, efficient and comport themselves to to five-star standards. This is what makes Thai hospitality so unique, and while many restaurants have forgotten this, Thiptara remains cognizant of its appeal.