From Lon to Gaeng, SOMA Bangkok Revisits the Thai Table

A restaurant menu is never entirely fixed. Ingredients shift with the seasons, kitchens discover new techniques and certain dishes return because diners simply refuse to forget them. At SOMA Bangkok, the latest menu refresh reflects all three, bringing together new interpretations and familiar favourites rooted in Thailand’s regional cooking traditions.

Head Chef Pak Yamoo leads the kitchen, bringing each dish to life with bold creativity and a deep respect for tradition. Guided by Executive Chefs Chalee Kader and Num Weerawat, he approaches familiar preparations through their defining characteristics: the richness of coconut, the brightness of citrus, the pungency of fermented fish, the fragrance of fresh peppercorns and the comforting depth of a well-made curry. Techniques may change and ingredients may be reconsidered, but the flavours remain recognisably Thai.

Cold-Smoked Beef with Lemongrass and Coconut Cream Relish is a reinterpretation of lon tao jiao built around two distinct flavours brought together on the same plate. Chilled smoked beef carries a restrained smokiness, while the lon is rich with coconut milk and fragrant with lemongrass and Thai herbs. The pleasure comes from eating both components together, when the savoury beef meets the creamy relish to produce a balance of salinity, richness and gentle smoke. Neither element overwhelms the other; the beef gives the lon greater depth, while the coconut and aromatics soften and round out the meat. SOMA Bangkok’s presentation may be more composed than a conventional bowl of lon, but its appeal remains rooted in the familiar comfort and aromatic warmth of the original preparation.

Cured Fish with Citrus Dressing in Northern Style draws inspiration from sa, a northern preparation traditionally made with raw buffalo or beef and seasoned with herbs, spices and prik larb. SOMA Bangkok reinterprets it with delicately cured fish, introducing freshness and acidity through a bright citrus dressing before the fragrance of prik larb and northern spices begins to emerge. The seasoning is not aggressively hot, allowing the fish’s mild sweetness and soft texture to remain clear beneath the aromatics. It feels almost like a crudo expressed through the culinary language of Northern Thailand: clean and refreshing at first, followed by a deeper fragrance of spice, herbs and prik laab.

River Prawn Salad with Naam Yum Budu pairs grilled river prawn with a fresh salad dressed with naam yum budu. The fermented fish condiment closely associated with Southern Thai cooking appears through the accompanying salad rather than directly seasoning the prawn. The prawn’s natural sweetness and firm, succulent texture are balanced by the freshness of the vegetables, while the dressing contributes salinity, acidity, heat and the distinctive umami of budu. Eaten together, the elements move between sweet river prawn, crisp salad and the assertive flavours of the South. SOMA Bangkok does not soften budu beyond recognition; it uses the freshness of the salad to give its pungency and depth a more agile expression.

Together, the lon, sa and river prawn salad form a trio of appetisers that remain light despite their assertive seasonings. Smoke, citrus, herbs and budu stimulate the palate without exhausting it, preparing the way for the richer dishes that follow.

The richer half of the savoury meal starts with River Prawn with Garlic, Peppercorn, Chilli and Kaffir Lime Leaf draws on one of Thai cooking’s most familiar aromatic combinations. Garlic supplies savoury warmth, bird’s-eye chilli delivers direct heat and fresh peppercorns contribute a greener, more persistent spice, while kaffir lime leaf rises above them with an unmistakably Thai perfume. The river prawn has enough natural sweetness to carry these forceful flavours without being lost beneath them. Where the salad preparation is fresh, saline and sharpened by budu, this version is hot, fragrant and immediate, showing how the same ingredient can assume two distinctly different identities.

Gaeng Karee with Grilled Golden Pompano reworks a fragrant Thai curry influenced by Indian spices and traditionally prepared with beef or chicken. SOMA Bangkok pairs the curry with grilled golden pompano, whose clean richness and firm texture allow it to remain distinct beneath the sauce. Thai bitter orange, or som sa, provides the decisive finishing note, brightening the warm spices and cutting through the curry’s richness. The result respects the gentle, aromatic nature of gaeng karee while giving it a more coastal expression, with grilled fish, warm spice and citrus finding equilibrium within the same mouthful.

Sour Orange Curry with Barramundi, Salmon Roe and Crisp Vegetables is a contemporary interpretation of pla pae sa and one of the menu’s most personal dishes. The gaeng is based on a recipe from Head Chef Pak Yamoo’s grandmother, bringing family memory into a dish shaped by modern restaurant technique. Rather than poaching the barramundi directly in the curry, the kitchen oil-poaches it to achieve a soft, silken texture that remains distinct against the bright acidity of the broth. Salmon roe contributes delicate bursts of salinity, while crisp seasonal vegetables provide a satisfying contrast and prevent the dish from becoming uniformly soft. Although carefully constructed, it retains the warmth and generosity of the sour curries commonly placed at the centre of a Thai table and shared with rice.

To complement the savoury dishes, SOMA Bangkok serves Khao Phaya Luem Kaeng, an aromatic Thai rice variety whose name translates loosely as “the ruler forgets the curry”—a suggestion that the rice is delicious enough to command attention on its own. Its short, plump grains have a distinctive fragrance and a texture that is soft yet pleasantly chewy. Rather than functioning merely as a neutral accompaniment, the rice absorbs aromatic stir-fry and gaengs while contributing its own aroma and character. It is particularly convincing with the more assertive dishes, tempering their heat and salinity without becoming anonymous beside them.

Longan Mochi with Coconut Ice Cream, Dried Longan Caramel and Fried Khao Mao carries the menu’s interest in familiar Thai ingredients into dessert. The soft, yielding mochi draws attention to longan’s mellow, honeyed character, while coconut ice cream provides a cool, creamy counterpoint. Dried longan caramel concentrates the fruit’s deeper sweetness, and fried khao mao, or young pounded rice, introduces a crisp contrast to the otherwise soft composition. Longan, coconut and rice are immediately familiar ingredients, but their arrangement gives the dessert a playful contemporary form without losing the comforting flavours at its centre.

Across these seven dishes, SOMA Bangkok explores the coconut-rich comfort of lon, the spices of the North, the fermented intensity of the South, the enduring familiarity of Thai curries and a dessert shaped by longan, coconut and rice. The menu does not attempt to compress the country’s cooking into a single style. Its strength lies in recognising that Thai food is plural, shaped by different landscapes, preservation practices, ingredients and family histories.

What connects the dishes is not a rigid culinary formula but a consistent sensitivity towards their origins. Cold-smoked beef expands the experience of lon without concealing its coconut-rich foundation. Cured fish gives sa a lighter form while allowing prik larb to retain its authority. Golden pompano and oil-poached barramundi introduce new textures to familiar curries, while longan mochi carries the same spirit of reinterpretation into dessert.

SOMA Bangkok’s latest menu refresh is therefore less a departure than an ongoing conversation. Tradition supplies the language, while contemporary technique changes its cadence. The result is Thai cooking that remembers where it came from, yet remains curious about how much further it can travel.

SOMA Bangkok

Tel: +669 5372 2644

Website: https://www.somabangkok.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572400907206

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somabangkok/

Email: soma.kitchenbkk@gmail.com

Location: Siam Patumwan House, 414 Soi Kasem San 1, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330 Credits

Article: Wariya Intreyonk

Photos: Wariya Intreyonk