5 minute read
BAAN LAO FINE THAI CUISINE
Shooting For a Michelin Star
Dining at Baan Lao Fine Thai Cuisine is more than dinner; it is an experience. Each meal is an exquisite culinary journey, intricately prepared using fresh, organic ingredients, beautifully layered flavours, white-glove service, dramatic presentations, and lovely surprises.
Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng
Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng opened her waterfront restaurant on Bayview Street in February 2021; in the short time Baan Lao (which means “our home” in Thai) has been open, it has garnered impressive accolades.
In 2021 and 2022, Vancouver Golden Plates awarded Baan Lao Best Restaurant Overall, Best Fine Dining Restaurant, Best Thai Restaurant, Best Vancouver Hidden Gem, Best New Restaurant and Most Romantic Restaurant. In addition, Chef Nutcha was named Best Chef both years.
This year, Baan Lao was awarded #79 on the prestigious Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list and #14 on its Canada’s Best New Restaurants list, further elevating Steveston’s profile as a tourist and foodie destination.
Guests are treated like royalty as they enjoy award-winning dishes and take in a beautiful view of the Fraser River.
As a former registered nurse and cancer researcher, Chef Nutcha respects the impact food, and food sources can have on health and wellness. Everything is made with careful attention using pure, fresh, organic ingredients and whole foods.
Chef Nutcha realized her dream of becoming a professional chef by taking private cooking courses with Chef Chumpol Jangprai, the Iron Chef of Thailand and the only two Michelin star Thai chef in the world. She continued her training under Chef Vichit Mukura, who served the Thai Royal family, and now has his own restaurant that is celebrated with a coveted Michelin star. She then returned to Steveston, and Baan Lao Fine Thai Cuisine was born.
The media have noted her commitment to providing a memorable dining experience.
Mia Stainsby, restaurant critic for the Vancouver Sun and The Province, comments, “Baan Lao is the kind of place Michelin inspectors love to anoint with stars. I don’t know of any other Thai restaurant in North America where the food is styled, ready for said inspectors should they one day stumble upon a country called Canada.”
It is exciting to note that Michelin has recently announced it has expanded into the Canadian market, beginning with Toronto. Vancouver will be the next market for Michelin inspectors, and Baan Lao is hopeful to see a Michelin star awarded in Steveston.
Baan Lao currently offers two menus: “A Taste of Baan Lao” and” From the Fields of Thailand to the Shores of Canada.” Both menus are beautifully prepared and presented in Royal Thai Cuisine style. Each dish is created to the very exacting standards required by the Thai royal family; this includes using the highest quality of fresh organic ingredients and removing all pits, stones and bones.
“A Taste of Baan Lao” menu offers some of the most popular items from Chef Nutcha’s first Signature Dinner Experience menu (“Journey Throughout the Kingdom of Thailand”), including her Phat Thai and her Bplaa Salmon Sauce Khaaio Waan.
Bplaa Salmon Sauce Khaaio Waan is a showstopper. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also decadently adorned with edible gold leaf and caviar — the green curry sauce has people wanting to lick the plate! Both these dishes have been so popular with guests that Chef Nutcha incorporated them into her “A Taste of Baan Lao” compilation menu.
Also included are select items from her new Signature Dinner Experience menu, “From the Fields of Thailand to the Shores of Canada,” which launched in July 2022. This culinary experience chronicles Chef Nutcha’s journey from growing up in Thailand to building her life in Steveston.
This menu includes protein sources commonly found in the countryside region of Issan, Thailand, where Chef Nutcha was raised living the farm-to-table experience. It features handroasted insects and organic water buffalo. Additionally, fresh lobster is flown in weekly from the Maritimes to complement her signature Phat Thai.
“From the Fields of Thailand to the Shores of Canada” is available exclusively on Saturday evenings with limited seating. The highlight for many is the dessert, Wan Wan Kanom Hwan. Chef Nutcha spent months developing this magnificent, detailed dessert that evokes a visual representation of the landscape from her rural upbringing and childhood experience.
She adds, “Many guests visit us from the Lower Mainland and every corner of British Columbia. We’ve had guests from Alberta – including some who flew in just to join us for dinner! Visitors from Ontario and other parts of Canada are quite common, and from a number of locations across the United States as well.”
“While some people may have questioned our decision to launch a fine dining restaurant like Baan Lao in Steveston, we have remained steadfast that we would develop a following. We have been overwhelmed – and overjoyed – with the response.”
She concludes, “We love living in Steveston. We’re pleased Baan Lao is becoming a destination for guests and allows them to discover and explore Steveston.”
Baan Lao Fine Thai Cuisine
4100 Bayview Street
Richmond, BC V7E 6S8
Phone 778-839-5711
www.baanlao.ca
VISIT THE AWARD-WINNING BAAN LAO FINE THAI CUISINE #14 Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2022 #79 Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants 2022
Winner of Vancouver’s Golden Plates 2022 Best Chef – Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng Best Restaurant Overall • Best Fine Dining • Best Thai Restaurant Most Romantic Restaurant • Best Vancouver Hidden Gem
Reservations available online at baanlao.ca/reservations
