POTONG: A Culinary Time Machine, Engineered by Chef Pam

A restaurant review of the MICHELIN-starred POTONG in Bangkok. All images are courtesy of Adam Thompson | CSP Times.

To dine at POTONG is to surrender to time itself. Not just in the sense of the five-act, 20-course meal that unfolds like a meticulously plotted opera, but in the way that every element – every bite, every texture, every flicker of memory – is bound to the past while rewriting the future.

Set in a 120-year-old Sino-Portuguese building in Bangkok’s Sampeng Market, POTONG does not trade in nostalgia. Instead, it uses history as a raw material, deconstructing and reconstructing Thai-Chinese cuisine with a ferocity that is both intellectual and deeply personal.

At the helm is Chef Pichaya "Pam" Soontornyanakij, one of Thailand’s most exciting and uncompromising culinary voices. Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024, the first Thai female chef to win a Michelin Star and "Opening of the Year" in the same year, she has shattered ceilings while staying fiercely rooted in the traditions of her family.

Her story is written into the very bones of POTONG. This building once belonged to her great-great-grandparents, who ran a traditional medicine house here, prescribing herbs and remedies to the Chinese-Thai community.

The dining experience is as much about movement as it is about food. Guests ascend through multiple floors, each space revealing a new layer of POTONG’s identity. The atmosphere shifts – dark, moody, almost cinematic – as though the restaurant itself is leading you through a carefully choreographed sensory experiment.

At the summit, the Opium Bar waits – an intimate, almost clandestine space where cocktails echo the same philosophy as the food.

But before that, there is the journey of the meal itself.

It begins with Mission – a dish of black chicken, Chinese herbs, and broth, a quiet introduction that hints at the depth of what’s to come. Then comes Detail and Memories, where kuay chap (rolled rice noodles) meet pork tongue, broth, and caviar – a reimagination of Thai-Chinese comfort food, elevated into something intricate and cinematic.

With Historical Stories, scallops are anointed with satay sauce and brioche, a tribute to the flavours of Chinatown. Then, Heart and Soul takes Nakhon Si Thammarat shrimp and distills it into a Pad Thai "shot," a single bite that encapsulates an entire history of street food.

Forgotten is perhaps the most haunting course – a dish of Atlantic seabass with beurre blanc, where French technique meets a distinctly Thai understanding of balance. Bold, a 14-day aged duck, arrives as a study in texture and transformation, while Spiritual, a dish of Ganachai, kailan, and nhoom chili, brings fire and vegetal depth in equal measure.

The final movement – Humble, Happiness, Layers of Potong – is the restaurant writing its own story. "Ta Kop" and passion fruit play on contrast, while the final dessert layers together time itself – a deconstruction of flavours so ingrained in Chef Pam’s childhood that eating it feels like stepping into someone else’s memory.

The wine programme at POTONG is just as bold as the food – offering a Wine Odyssey that pairs eclectic, often unexpected selections with Pam’s layered dishes. And for those seeking a more rebellious route, the Opium Bar’s cocktails are crafted with the same obsession for balance, structure, and sensory manipulation.

The Verdict

POTONG is not a restaurant for the passive diner. It demands engagement, rewards curiosity, and challenges everything you think you know about Thai-Chinese cuisine.

It is, above all, a personal statement – a place where a chef reclaims her family’s past, rewires tradition, and pushes Bangkok’s dining scene into an uncharted future. This is not just one of the best restaurants in the city. It is an experience that lingers long after the last bite.

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Chef Pam:

Instagram: @chef.pam | YouTube: ChefPamOfficial 

Restaurant Potong

Website: restaurantpotong.com | Email: info@thexprojectbkk.com | Instagram: @restaurant.potong | Facebook: @restaurant.potong | Location: 422 Vanich Rd. Samphanthawong, Bangkok, 10100 | Phone: +66 082 979 3950