There are more offerings, of flowers, incense, candles, sweet treats fit for the gods, aubergine blooms, knives and ornately carved foods. All have their own precise symbolism. Everything has a role. And although David has explained it all in great detail, I give up trying to empirically understand and abandon myself to the primal thump of the drum. The cook is honoured. The gods are honoured. And we are honoured, to be here and see this, in this most stirring, otherworldly, baffling and delectable of rituals.
The Brahmin blows the sacred shell, and the spell is broken. The gods depart, and the wai khru ends. Cooking and life. Brahmin and Buddhist. One world and the next. It all blends into one exquisite, ethereal whole. We sit for a moment, lost in thought, drinking in the silence. “In Thailand, food offers more than nourishment alone,” says David, eventually. “It is sustenance, for the country and for the soul.”
The street eat spots to know about
The interior at CharmgangChris Schalkx
Charmgang Curry Shop, Bangkok
With its open kitchen, steel tables and reed mat-clad walls, this small, neon-lit spot may seem laid-back, but the cooking is anything but. Chef-proprietors Aruss “Jai” Lerlerstkull, Atcharaporn “Aew” Kiatthanawat and Geravich “Mew” Mesaengnilverakul all trained under David Thompson at Nahm and they have a similar obsession with traditional Thai recipes in a resolutely modern setting. Curries are the stars – smoked kingfish with Pennywort, say, or Phanaeng curry of braised beef cheek – at once rich, fragrant and complex. But the grills and salads are equally splendid, as beautiful as they are balanced. With a decent wine list, it has the sort of atmosphere that makes you want to linger for hours.
Address: 14, 35 Charoen Krung Road, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Nai Mong Hoi Thod, Bangkok
OK, so this 30-year-old Chinatown food shop is hardly a secret. It has a Michelin Bib Gourmand, for God’s sake, despite being little more than a tiny room off a busy Chinatown backstreet, with a few tables and chairs outside. But it’s adored for a reason, namely the oyster omelette, a great wobbling masterpiece. Eggs are mixed with tapioca flour, then thrown in hot pork fat in a sizzling, charcoal-powered wok. Just as things start to go golden, a handful of freshly shucked bivalves are thrown on top, and the whole thing is cooked for a few seconds more. The result is both chewy and crisp, elegant and robust, a five-bite feast to be eaten with a lusty jig of sweet chilli sauce. And a great greasy grin.
