Sühring (Bangkok, THAILAND) ★★★★☆

For every family trip, I get one chance to enjoy a meal on my own; and I decide to spend it at Sühring tonight.

Located in a beautiful private mansion surrounded by greenery in a quiet residential area of Bangkok, Sühring is the brainchild of twins Mathias and Thomas Sühring who used to run the kitchen at Mezzaluna at LeBua Tower. Unfortunately, I arrived amidst heavy rain tonight and didn't get to see the garden myself, not even from the window (I was seated at the chef's table. More on that later).

Sühring has been a steady climber in the Asia Best 50 Restaurants and The World's Best 50 Restaurants awards in recent years. Settling in at No. 7 in Asia and No.23 in the world this year, the modern German restaurant is now one of the most sought-after dining destinations in Bangkok. Needless to say, I have been seriously looking forward to this culinary experience for months. 

A few of us at the counter table got things started with a crunchy pretzel packed with Camembert cheese. The canapé looked like it was finished off with a nice sprinkle of paprika powder.

The second nibble was pickled herring, mustard seeds, dill and a savory jelly served on a cucumber tart. I overheard my neighbours asking for an alternative snack after they heard the word "herring". Personally, I wasn't a fan myself but decided to swallow it all in one bite as instructed by my server. As expected, it came with a fair amount of acidity along with some nice crunch.

My favorite snack was the last one, a small green pea tart with garden peas, mushroom cream and elderflower. I love the clean flavors coming from the crunchy green peas working well with the woody mushroom cream; backed up nicely by some smokiness.

"Enleta" – A clever play on the famous Hanuta hazelnut and chocolate waffles. This version of the waffle from Sühring came with duck liver mousse instead of chocolate, and was matched up with a relatively sweet apricot jam. It was a really rich and fatty snack.

Vinegar from Pfalz – The foie gras waffle was paired with a small glass of drinking vinegar, also infused with apricot. This tasted a bit sweeter than I thought, with moderate acidity.

Scallop, blue swimmer crab, kombu, tarragon – Thin slices of raw Hokkaido scallop were placed next to pieces of crunchy kombu cut into small circular shape and they were stacked on top of a pear disk, with blue swimmer crab meat on top. A few things I love about this dish, starting with the lovely crunch of the kombu, following by the sweetness of the pear flesh both complementing the crab meat from Northern Thailand relatively well. Last but not least, the small dabs of tarragon with its herbal notes added another dimension to the dish.

Tafelspitzsülze – Slow-cooked beef was made into a jelly with fruits and vegetables, very similar to a terrine, and it was paired with fresh herbs and edible flowers. A really refreshing dish that was perhaps missing an accompanying sauce. 

Some homemade country bread was presented along with German bread rolls and brioche. 

Arctic char, cauliflower, almond – Butter poached Arctic char was served on a bed of cauliflower purée and almond cream. At first glance, I thought it was a fried egg underneath the fish. 😆😅

While the butter poached Arctic char wasn't bad, the second serving of the dish was even more delicious. This came in the form of a bite-sized tartlet made with almond paste and inside the tartlet, there were sumptuous char roes, caviar and what I thought was char tartare.

Langoustine, summer squash, dill – Superbly cooked Norwegian langoustine, finished on wood fire, was met with a pretty powerful langoustine bisque and dill oil. Served on the side was zucchini done two ways, with a zucchini stick garnished with dabs of summer squash juice and a zucchini dome stuffed with langoustine tartare. 

I thought everything here was perfect except for the very intense sauce made with langoustine (which was good but not great).

At this point, Mathias (or was it Thomas) stepped into the limelight of the kitchen.

I was shown the duck which has been smoked with hay a little earlier.

Duck, peach, Grue de cacao, vanilla – Here, the duck has been aged for 10 days before cooking with hay. Now, it's ready to be served.

The duck breast was very nicely cooked with remarkable texture while the skin was brushed with some Grue de cacao and caramelized. The dish was finished off with duck jus reduction and a hint of vanilla. 

Seabuckthorn – After all our savory dishes, a palate cleanser of pink pepper sorbet was next.

Omas Käsekuchen – Or Grandma's cheesecake. A collection of white cream cheese and white chocolate, completed with a nice pour of strawberry and vanilla liquid nitrogen ice-cream and meringue.

A fresh strawberry on a stick with a touch of shiso.

They swear this was the last sweet treat of the night. The eggnog came from a secret recipe from the twins' grandma. The staff even brought out the old handwritten recipe which I got the chance to picture right behind my eggnog. This was really really strong and I just couldn't finish the whole thing.  

Right around the time I was about to finish things up and call it the night, both twins appeared in the kitchen just in the nick of time for me to take a photo of.

A fine selection of chocolate pralines put an end on a fantastic night filled with delicious food and a great vibe.

The 2-hour meal finished a little earlier than I thought, which I considered great work of pacing. So, was this one of the best meals I have ever had in Bangkok or better yet in the world? Disappointingly no. Without a question, everything was nicely cooked tonight but unlike some of the raving reviews that put the restaurant in the conversation of perhaps the best German restaurant in the world or three Michelin starred worthy, something seemed to be missing from start to finish. When I tried to think of the right word or phrase, I finally found one. It's the "wow" factor that was sorely missing throughout the meal; and for a restaurant with such pedigree (and price tag), it had to be disappointing. 

(I think having a great pastry chef would be a nice start. Cream cheese with liquid nitrogen ice-cream isn't anything new anymore).

Food Rating: 7.5/10

Price: ฿฿฿฿

Address: 10 Soi Yen Akat 3, Chong Nonsi, Yan Nawa, Bangkok, Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 2107-2777

Website: www.restaurantsuhring.com

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 1:30pm (Thu - Sun), 5:30pm - 8:30pm (Wed - Sun)

S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants: 23rd (2024)

S. Pellegrino Asia's 50 Best Restaurants: 7th (2024)