Menu
Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng’s Signature Dinner Experience menu, “From The Fields of Thailand To The Shores of Canada”, is a culinary experience that chronicles Chef Nutcha’s life journey from growing up in rural Thailand to building her life in Steveston on the coast of British Columbia.
This exquisite menu includes protein sources common for Chef Nutcha when she was a child, including hand-roasted insects, and organic water buffalo. Her love of lobster is represented on the menu as well, with fresh lobster being flown in each week from the east coast of Canada.
Common to both her time in Thailand and here in Steveston is represented in the fresh, organic ingredients she sources for each dish.
Organic Hom Mali Jasmine Rice from our Baan Lao rice fields in Thailand is used to make our home-made rice crackers. The rice is cooked, then dehydrated for 16+ hours, before being deep-fried in organic sunflower oil to create crispy, delicious crackers. Each cracker is topped with organic, crushed cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic, freshly squeezed lime juice, cilantro and zesty red rings of chilli pepper.
Organic Hom Mali Jasmine Rice from our Baan Lao rice fields in Thailand is used to make our home-made rice crackers. The rice is cooked, then dehydrated for 16+ hours, before being deep-fried in organic sunflower oil to create crispy, delicious crackers. Each cracker is topped with organic, crushed cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic, freshly squeezed lime juice, cilantro and zesty red rings of chilli pepper.
Nestled on top, in a tiny field of fresh dill and edible flowers from our Baan Lao garden, rests a hand-roasted, wild, organic insect, ranging from grasshopper, cricket, silk worm larvae or forest scorpion.
Growing up in rural Thailand, hand-roasted insects were a regular source of protein for Chef Nutcha and her family.
Fresh, juicy pomelo from Chef’s homeland is tossed with wild anchovy sauce, organic coconut sugar, lime juice, red onions, bell pepper, lemongrass, kaffir lime, and fresh chillies to create this exquisite salad.
Wild sockeye salmon caviar from Organic Ocean and edible flowers add decadence and beauty to this garden of flavours. Fresh organic coconut flakes, deep fried organic garlic, and raw wild jungle peanuts are hand-roasted at Baan Lao to add a tasty crunch and texture for the finish.
Sumas Mountain’s organic beef tenderloin is marinated for 24 hours, then grilled for a hint of smokiness. Paper-thin slices of fresh cucumber, along with cilantro, shallots, and grapes create a fresh layer of flavour. Raw glutinous rice from Chef Nutcha’s family farm is crushed using a mortar and pestle, then hand-roasted before being sprinkled on top, along with an organic mint garnish. A dressing of wild anchovy sauce, palm sugar and lime juice tingle the tastebuds.
Julienned fresh papaya is coated with gluten-free, organic rice flour batter and deep-fried in organic sunflower oil. An exotic blend of fresh microgreens from our indoor garden adds a beautiful freshness to blend with the hand-roasted organic cashew nuts, organic cherry tomatoes, wild anchovy sauce, palm sugar, tamarind and lime juice.
Fresh edible nasturtium grown by Baan Lao adds an eye-catching, faintly peppery topping.
Chef Nutcha’s home-made dressing is prepared tableside using a mortar and pestle, allowing you to choose the level of heat and spice that suits your palate. Wild anchovy sauce, palm sugar, lime juice, tamarind, cilantro, and dried chillies create a medley of flavours, while hand-roasted, crushed sticky rice adds a flavourful crunch.
This azure blue elixir is made each day using fresh butterfly peas, pandan and lemongrass.
This azure blue elixir is made each day using fresh butterfly peas, pandan and lemongrass.
Tip: Immerse the tip of the syringe before releasing the plunger to achieve the most vibrant tones.
One of the most popular and most photographed dishes from our first Signature Dinner Experience menu, guests were begging Chef Nutcha to keep her exquisite Phat Thai on the menu. She obliged, though added a new twist to her classic dish with the addition of fresh lobster
She has carefully curated a selection of herbs, seasonings, and hand-pressed fresh tamarind, and presents the Phat Thai elegantly wrapped in delicate, lacy cage made of egg.
Served beside it is fresh lobster flown in from Nova Scotia each Friday. The shell is carefully removed to keep the lobster intact, allowing Chef Nutcha to recreate the lobster, whole, on your plate, for an elegant presentation and making it easy for you to indulge in the sweet, steamed meat.
This popular Thai soup is crafted from organic coconut milk and fresh herbs.
Heated at your table, the broth travels up the siphon, capturing the flavours of the blend of fresh galangal, kaffir lime leaves, coriander and lemon grass that await above.
Once heated, the broth is introduced to the delicacies that await in your bowl, including grilled Hokkaido scallops, revered for their naturally sweet taste, decadence, and meatiness that just melts in your mouth, alongside straw mushrooms and assorted seasonal vegetables. Organic coconut lemon foam billows on top, while fresh Thai chilli adds a subtle bite. Chilli oil and cilantro caviar add to the texture and create a colourful palette.
This menu’s signature dish is known as the “King of Curries” and one of the most challenging and time-consuming curries to prepare. Chef Nutcha’s Massaman Curry is lovingly created using organic coconut milk, tamarind, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, red chilli, and more from the chef’s traditional recipe.
Fresh roasted cipollini onions and marinated vegetables surround the organic water buffalo that has been marinated for 24+ hours in Chef Nutcha’s handmade sauce before being grilled.
Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes are mashed with organic coconut milk to enhance the creaminess of the sauce, while Riceberry and Hom Mali Jasmine organic rice from Chef Nutcha’s rice fields in Thailand ensure you can soak up every drop of this decadent sauce.
As a child, water buffalo meat was a staple for Chef Nutcha’s family and she has brought that tradition to our menu at Baan Lao. Containing less fat and cholesterol and higher protein content than beef, water buffalo is considered to be a tasty, healthy alternative for those who enjoy red meat.
Our Baan Lao water buffalo meat is raised organically on McClintock’s Farm in Courtenay on Vancouver Island. While visiting the farm, Chef Nutcha’s children became so enamoured with the animals that they now own a young calf, “Koko”, as named by her children. Chef Nutcha is thrilled to be able to continue the family tradition of raising water buffalo with her young family, allowing them to understand and appreciate her upbringing in rural Thailand.
Hibiscus Roselle tea is brewed in-house, then blended with freshly squeezed lime juice and organic coconut sugar, creating this fresh sorbet to freshen your palate following the feast of flavours.
Chef Nutcha spent months developing this exquisite dessert that evokes a visible representation of the landscape from her rural upbringing.
Coconut sesame mousse represents the stones she overturned to forage for insects, while the charcoal rice cake mimics the rock formations of her homeland. Each ‘rock’ is stuffed with hand-roasted, fresh coconut. Chocolate-covered ants add to the bucolic vignette, with the earth element created from almond and charcoal coconut ash. The delicate branches of a chocolate tree support the clouds of cotton candy.
A dollop of hand-made coconut ice cream is a reminder of the sweet, decadent delight that Chef Nutcha enjoyed as a special treat when her family visited friends and villages who had the benefit of refrigeration.
To complete your Thai culinary journey, enjoy a serving of seasonal, fresh, hand-carved fruit, and luk chup. Luk chup has a similar taste to marzipan, though it is made using mung bean paste and beautifully hand-crafted into the shape of fruits and vegetables.
Fresh, organic mint is handpicked from our indoor garden, then steeped in hot water to provide the perfect aromatic finish, aiding digestion and leaving your taste buds refreshed.
Wine pairings are carefully curated by our award-winning Master Sommelier, Pier-Alexis Soulière.
Tea pairings are selected by our Certified Tea Sommelier, Emmanuelle Viennois
Please inform us if you have any dietary restrictions at least five days in advance.
BAAN LAO FINE THAI CUISINE ● 4100 Bayview Street, Richmond, BC
Dine With Us ●778.839.5711
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