Is This Indian Restaurant the Best in Thailand?

Raised in Kolkata, India, Anand grew up eating daab chingri, or coconut prawns, one of West Bengal’s most traditional dishes. His interpretation presents freshly caught prawns in a bed of foamy coconut and coriander curry, witha shiny garnish of edible silver foil. Desserts, too, show the same wizardry. The highlight of the sweets is magnum, a twist on Gaggan’s favorite 7-Eleven ice cream treat. Homemade chocolate-covered ice cream balls arrive on a stick with a coating of colorful Pop Rocks that explode with each bite; it’s a delightful cap to a modern and experimental meal.

Diners have two tasting menus to choose from, but to get the full experience, order the Best of Gaggan ($115 per person), with a whopping 27 items. A smaller, more reasonably sized option is the Taste of Gaggan ($75 per person). The attentive staff presents a seemingly unending stream of artful dishes over the course of several hours, including Yogurt Explosion, the signature amuse-bouche. As advised by the wait staff, it should be eaten whole to experience the burst of mango chutney flavors in the spherified yogurt bomb.

As you wait for the 12 single-bite appetizers to arrive, sip on a cocktail that is, unsurprisingly, as Instagram-worthy as the food. Our pick: the Margari-Thai, a Tom-Yum spiced tequila with agave and fish sauce air—quintessential Thailand in a glass. A perfect pairing for it? Edible plastic that looks alarmingly like the real thing, which holds a homemade blend of nuts and spices (pictured). Fidgeting with wrappers isn’t an issue here; the nuts and wrapper should be eaten in the same bite.

Inspired by the Indian dish bheja fry and named after Pink Floyd, this artsy course is practically transcendent and beautifully presented. Inside the light-as-air macaroon is onion chutney and a smooth, richly flavored dollop of goat brain, which, as Gaggan explains, is like foie gras for Indians. This fantastic treat, both creative and bold, is a must-try.

The menu changes every three months, more to push the chefs creatively than to adapt to seasonal produce, Gaggan says. “In Bangkok, we don’t have four seasons, like in America or India. We just have hot, hotter and hottest,” he says. “Challenging my team and myself is crucial to success.” One of the most creative dishes on the long menu is called charcoal, the ingredients of which the staff won’t reveal. The staff is tightlipped about what’s under the smoky, crunchy exterior, mere telling diners to “Be surprised.”

Established in 2010 and set in a colonial-style house with white cane furniture in downtown Bangkok, Gaggan has made waves in the Thai capital for serving boundary-pushing food in a progressive and thought-provoking manner. But behind the gels, foams and mousse are a nod to the classic street food dishes he grew up eating. “Indian street food is a delicious experience that is impossible to replicate without the intense atmosphere,” he says. “The food at Gaggan is my fantasy version of my favorite classic dishes, like the Indian curry. It’s my dreams alive in food form.”