Restaurant Reviews
Chiang Mai’s Newest Up-and-Coming Restaurant is Worth Writing Home About
B Samcook Home16 restaurant in Chiang Mai, Thailand is not a name that rolls off the tongue easily, but it is arguably one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a while. So good in fact, that halfway through the $30 per-person seven course meal I was worried that our evening at Gaggan (ranked #5 in the world) later in the trip would fail to impress.
And I almost missed it!
Chiang Mai is a bit of a foodie paradise and with the city’s small size and a bunch of other travel planning on my plate, I didn’t research where we were going to eat. It would be easy to find something good.
It was only when I was started looking for a place to grab lunch the next day along our route that I stumbled across B Samcook Home16’s TripAdvisor and Facebook reviews. What I saw was so promising, I changed our lunch to dinner plans and contacted them via Facebook Messenger to see if they had an opening.
They did, and even offered to send a car to pick us up from our hotel (our driver wound up being the Chef Boy’s dad)! I was glad they did. Even though it was just a 15-minute walk from the hotel, it was sufficiently ensconced in some side streets that we might have missed it in the dark.
The entrance is appealing and modern, with a lush outdoor area with tables and chairs (and fortunately lots of fans). The restaurant itself is perfect — laid back, charming, and quirky with an open kitchen concept.
You’d be happy coming here for just a nibble or staying for the THB 990 seven courses.
Every new guest in greeted with a signature welcome drink featuring butterfly pea juice.
They serve Thai food with a modern twist. The menu is extensive, but there was no question what we were going to order. Chef Boy asked after food allergies, checked we were ok with having a lot of seafood, and the courses began. As you all know, I love good food but I’m rubbish at remembering all the details, but I’ll try my best.
One of the people in our group did not have a high spice tolerance and I appreciated how much of the spice was on the side or limited to sauce which could be avoided.
Started with an amazing soup with mushrooms.
Fresh steamed clams in a spicy coconut sauce.
Perfectly, lightly seared salmon
Grilled prawn with watermelon, veggies in a sauce made with Sprite.
Palate cleanser of fresh juices!
Perfectly cooked salmon in a delicious spicy Mexican sauce (wow the flavors!!).
Roasted duck leg over red dragon fruit
Chef Boy then came out and offered us a bonus 8th dish if we had enough stomach room. We didn’t, but everything had been so great we couldn’t resist the opportunity to try something else. It wound up being Wagyu beef with mushrooms and a fried egg. So good!
We finished with a traditional Thai dessert of coconut milk and pumpkin served with a hot lemongrass tea.
As for pairing wine with the meal, we wound up with a surprisingly good Chilean white blend.
Like most places in Thailand, B Samcook Home16’s alcohol selections were limited and expensive, but thoughtfully curated. I think there was one 1-2 choices for red or white wine, but we were quite happy with the white blend. Their beer selection even featured a few US breweries I’d be happy to see on any menu.
The staff is only a handful of people and many of the dishes were brought out by the chef. If you’re in a rush, this might not be the right fit, but we loved it. At the end of the meal it was quiet, and we got a chance to chat with Chef Boy, an incredibly humble guy who “cooks what is in his heart.” And we’re all the better for it!
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