World’s Best Restaurants chefs team up at Richmond’s Baan Lao

Soontornyanakij’s dishes at the Baan Lao dinner were a potato massaman curry tartlet with puffed rice; marinated squid in ink sauce; Mian fish maw, prized for its jellylike texture (as well as for skin-beautifying collagen), with morels, nine Thai grains, and shaoxing wine. For dessert, she made a pandan and coconut financier with coconut water sorbet and salted coconut sauce, plus a gorgeous salted egg yolk, white chocolate bonbon. She aims to balance heritage and creativity. “It’s about respecting where the flavours come from while also refining them with precision and intention.” For her, cooking demands a balance of salt, acid, spice, texture, and the Maillard reaction.