Meaning “season” in Thai, Le Du puts seasonality into the forefront of their culinary creations. The result is Le Du’s Tasting Menu. Le Du’s Chef Chef Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn, describes the food as ‘modern Thai cuisine’, re-imagined regional Thai dishes using 100% local ingredients, cooked using modern techniques. It’s this mission of sourcing seasonal and local Thai ingredients, coupled with the creativity of Ton that has helped Le Du achieve No. 4 in 2022’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Ton graduated from culinary school at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York. Following this, he held positions at world-class U.S. restaurants like Eleven Madison Park and The Modern before coming back to Thailand to open Le Du. Ton’s success with Le Du has helped jumpstart his own restaurant empire, with the likes of award-winning Nusara, focused on Thai fine dining, and traditional Thai-style Baan.
In February 2022, we had the chance to visit Le Du and experience their ‘Summer Paradise’ tasting menu.
Table of Contents
Le Du’s Tasting Menu: Summer Paradise
On offer are both 4-course and 6-course variations of Le Du’s Tasting Menu. Both menus feature the same items, but whereas with the 4-course menu you would have to pick between squid or Khao Chae and cobia or tiger prawn, the 6-course tasting menu lets you try everything!
In addition to the courses are a set of amuse-bouches, petit fours and a palate cleanser before the dessert. I also highly recommend adding Le Du’s Signature River Prawn to your tasting menu.
Le Du’s focus is on showcasing the very best of Thai ingredients. With a regularly changing menu, Le Du uses quality ingredients from local farmers, highlighting seasonal produce within Thailand. By combining these ingredients with modern cooking techniques, Le Du both elevates traditional Thai dishes to new heights and invents unique dishes that celebrate underutilized Thai foods.
1 – Amuse Bouche
Papaya Salad, Mussel, Peanuts, Chicken Curry
The menu began with 4 bites.
Firstly, a fruity take on a papaya salad with dragon fruit, jicama and cantaloupe mixed with the classic sour, peanut and shrimp flavours of the traditional dish.
Secondly, a sweet and slightly chewy mussel with a kaffir lime gel, adding herbal-vinegar notes.
Thirdly, sweet cold peanuts, wrapped in seaweed on top of a rice cracker.
Finally, a smooth chicken curry topped with a sweet pickled radish sat in a crispy golden case.
2 – Squid
Morning Glory, Fermented Tofu
Sweet squid marinated in fermented tofu, tasting like a sweet mustard-like sauce. Underneath the crunchy raspberry rice crackers was a spiced squid sausage. Morning glory and seagrapes garnished the dish, which popped in your mouth like plant caviar.
3 – Khao Chae
Rice, Jasmine, Shrimp
Khao Chae is a traditional Thai summer-time dish involving rice soaked in a bowl of cool jasmine-scented water and ice cubes, served with side dishes. Le Du’s take on the dish replaces the cooling jasmine rice with a smooth jasmine ice cream. On the side were a spiced, hot pork and shrimp ball, fried finger root, radish puree, chilli and a small shrimp paste ball. We combined everything together into one sweet and spicy bite, contrasting the hot side dishes with cooling jasmine ice cream. The shrimp paste flavour came through at the end.
4 – Cobia
Onion, Isaan Mint
Firm cobia rolled into a disc and dusted in onion powder sat in a buttery sauce of mint and fermented fish. This was one of the best dishes of the night, but mainly due to the side veg! It was a mixture of young coconut shoots, mushroom, lotus roots and Isaan mint oil, tasting like a coconut curry. You could really taste each component, and the combination of the vegetables with the complex, rich fermented fish sauce was great.
5 – Tiger Prawn
Northern-Style Vegetable Curry
A large, chargrilled, juicy tiger prawn, brushed with fermented strawberry jam and decorated with turmeric, cumin and crispy shallots. Contributing to this orange-coloured dish was a rose of tangy pumpkin, eggplant tempura and melon, topped with a creamy butter sauce. A warming vegetable curry sauce finished the dish.
6 – Signature River Prawn
We were a little sceptical at first, should we add the signature river prawn or not? We were already having a prawn dish on the menu. But, if you find yourself in the same situation – add the river prawn. River prawns are huge, like lobsters. Le Du grilled this monstrous river prawn and finished it with bits of crispy deep-fried egg and a silky yellow sauce made from prawn head juices and Tom Yum soup. On the side was creamy black organic rice laced with shrimp paste, topped with chillies, mango, and shallots that we could mix together into a fruity, spicy, umami flavour bomb.
6 – Aged Duck
Potatoes, Massaman
You can’t travel through Thailand without coming across Massaman curry. Le Du’s version uses aged duck that has been sous-vide and seared for crispy skin. Accompanying the funky duck was a purple sweet potato puree, grilled potatoes, scallion, onion, cooling cucumber ribbons, dill puree and a refreshingly tangy cucumber gel. Finally, the massaman curry sauce finished the dish, with flavours of orange and coconut. Definitely one of my favourites of the night.
7 – Watermelon
Kaffir Lime
A palate cleanser consisting of cubes of watermelon nestled underneath a refreshing watermelon sorbet, garnished with kaffir lime zest and mint. After the previous course’s rich duck massaman, this was the perfect way to transition into the desserts.
8 – Marian Plum
Young Ginger
This delicate dessert served chunks of the sweet marian plum, tasting similar to a mango, with a floral jasmine-syrup sorbet. Underneath the sorbet was a thick and creamy marian plum cream, contrasting with the spicy and crunchy ginger biscuit. Flecks of kaffir lime zest added a zingy undertone.
9 – Petit Four
Rice, Pandan, Fruits, Chocolate
We finished the night with three different petit fours.
Firstly, two traditional Thai desserts – slightly chewy rice and corn cakes, topped with sesame seeds and a cake made from pandan, tapioca and coconut. Next up was a plate of four different Thai fruits, my favourites being the sweet, tropical pineapple and the sour, crunchy green guava. Finally, the last bites of the meal were two smooth and creamy chocolate truffles, one milk and one dark.
The Drinks
Two drink pairings are offered for Le Du’s Tasting Menu – a wine pairing and a kombucha pairing. I haven’t had a sole kombucha pairing with a meal before so I was interested to give it a go!
What’s really cool about this kombucha pairing was how they emphasised the teas used in making the kombucha. Each kombucha was made from a different tea; oolong, green, black, jasmine and pu-erh. Overall there were six kombuchas, one pairing with each dish besides the watermelon palate cleanser and the signature river prawn.
‘Silver Jasmine’, a kombucha made from green and jasmine tea paired with the squid dish. Jasmine tea alone has a sweet floral flavour, but fermenting into kombucha transformed it into a sparkling, slightly acidic, fragrant brew.
‘Super Berry’ paired with the Khao Chae dish. Brewed from green tea and berries, this fizzy drink had a distinct berry flavour and a sharp acidity that contrasted well with the intense flavours of the Khao Chae’s shrimp paste.
Another great drink was the ‘Better Than Soda’ and for a kombucha lover, it definitely is. This kombucha made from pu-erh tea, a tea made from fermenting tea leaves, tasted like your quintessential kombucha – but elevated. Pairing with the aged duck and massaman curry, this sparkling brew added a tartness and subtle complexity to the dish.
The Experience
Nestled down a small side street off of the busy Silom Road in Bangkok, Le Du looks like a hidden gem.
The restaurant itself feels casual yet intimate in its small space. When you take your seat, you are given a chance to decide on which tasting menu you’ll be having, your drinks and whether you will take the plunge and add the signature river prawn or not.
The service is what you’d expect from a restaurant of this calibre. Smooth and seamless but friendly and non-pretentious. With each dish, they described the ingredients, the process and some Thai cultures and traditions that inspired the dish.
Closing Thoughts
Le Du takes you on a whirlwind trip around Thailand, showing the very best produce of the Thai dry season. Marian plums with jasmine and ginger, and the refined take on Khao Chae are the perfect cooling dishes during the Summer sun. And let’s not forget Le Du’s signature dish – a huge river prawn served with velvety Tom Yum and shrimp head sauce with a creamy shrimp paste risotto.
The tea-based kombucha pairing was an interesting play on a non-alcoholic wine pairing. However, I feel like some of the differences in the kombuchas were a bit too subtle, overpowered by the classic kombucha tartness. Maybe I just need to have a few more kombucha pairings!
After travelling around Thailand and trying many local dishes, it was great to see how Chef Ton and the team constructed Le Du’s Tasting Menu based on local ingredients and foods commonly found during the Summer season. But, I’ve only spent 2 months in Thailand and that’s certainly not enough time to truly achieve a full knowledge of Thai cuisine.
If you’ve eaten at Le Du, it would be great to know your thoughts!
Pricing and Details
4 – Course
- Tasting Menu: 2990฿ / £68 / $89 / €81
- Wine Pairing: 1500฿ / £34 / $45 / €41
- Kombucha Pairing: 800฿ / £18 / $24 / €22
6 – Course
- Tasting Menu: 3590฿ / £82 / $107 / €97
- Wine Pairing: 2000฿ / £46 / $60 / €54
- Kombucha Pairing: 1000฿ / £23 / $30 / €27
Signature River Prawn: 1000฿ / £23 / $30 / €27
Address: 399/3 Silom soi7 Silom Bangrak Bangkok
Book Here: https://guestbooking.seatris.ai/ledu
Thanks for reading this review of Le Du’s Summer Tasting Menu! Make sure to check out Le Du if you are in Bangkok!
If you want to see more South-East Asian fine dining, take a look at our review of Cuisine Wat Damnak in Cambodia.
