One of the cool things we planned for our time in Bangkok was to eat at Gaggan. For most people it might sound familiar thanks to the Netflix show “Chef’s Table”, as Gaggan was featured in Season 2.

This is part of a broader trip report and you can find the other installments below:

• HK Airlines LAX – HKG – BKK
• HKG Autus Lounge
• St Regis Bangkok
• Gaggan (Asia’s top rated restaurant)
• Exploring and Activities – Bangkok
• Thai Airways – 777 for 40min flight
• Le Meridian Chiang Mai
• Elephant Sanctuary
• Exploring and Activities – Chiang Mai
• BKK Miracle Lounge
• Thai Smile and way home

We watched it again after the trip and a few of the chefs that took care of that night are showing up in the episode too. Anan Gaggan is an Indian chef that wanted to provide an Indian culinary experience without using traditional curry dishes. Gaggan has been rated as the Top restaurant in Asia for four years running from 2015-2018 by the Michelin guide. For the first time in 2018 an Asian restaurant made it into the Top 5 overall. Unfortunately Anan has also confirmed he will be closing this restaurant to open a new one in Japan to continue to challenge himself.

What can I expect from 22 emojis?

I don’t want to take too much away from people potentially visiting in the future. However I want to share some fun stuff that we experienced and might help you decide if you should give this a try. With most things in life I had done a fair bit of research on what to expect. The biggest take away was that during that time we should expect the Emoji menu. Each course is only described by an Emoji. At the end of the meal you actually get a sheet to lay on top that further describes the dishes. They are also changing the menu every few months, so I can’t guarantee this is still the case.

The “lab” is the place to sit if possible

They only do two sittings a day. One from 5:30pm and the second one at 9:30. Each guest has to do the tasting menu and we chose the first sitting. To our surprise we seated at the so called “Lab” or in most restaurants would call the Chef’s table. Here they could fit 14 people in a U-shape with three chefs preparing every dish for us. They explained that in the past they had used the open space for their Research and Development in terms of new menu items. Therefore the name the lab. Around the table we had a wide variety with people from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany (yours truly), Korea and the US. If you add on that the chefs were from Argentina, Singapore and HK, while the sommelier was from Japan it is safe to say it was quite the international affair.

7 wines to go along with the meal

We also decided to do the wine tasting along with the tasting menu. If you keep count that’s 29 different items, which makes me dizzy just typing. However all around I enjoyed the whole experience. People who know me, know that I am not a big fan of spicy food. To be honest I was worried before the meal that lots of dishes would be inedible for me. Luckily that couldn’t have been further from the truth. While there were a few on the spicy side for me I did eat every single dish.

Highlights of the Twenty-two courses

I did however have a few highlights, starting with the “lick it up” dish. Afterwards described as a foiegras mango. It was delicious and funny at the same time licking it off the plate, as no utensils were provided. Definitely not your everyday approach in a Michelin star restaurant. The sushi and prawn dishes were also high on my list. Overall it was incredible with how many different flavors they played around throughout the meal. Sounding like a true foodie here, but even for someone with a limited palate like myself it was noticeable. One of the really cool highlights was towards the end of the meal when they first darkened the whole room, so light the wood around the fish on fire to cook it in side.

Inspiration by Pink Floyd

During the desert piece we were treated to loud music from Pink Floyd to go along with the dish. You might recognized their album cover that inspired that dish. Being in the lab it gave it a cool feeling, then what they might have done at a small table in the main restaurant. And just like that the whole experience came to an end after a short lived 3 ½ hours. Luckily we picked the early time spot, as the second seating of the night, was not going to start until 9:30pm. Therefore would suggest to go early.

Summary

I can only repeat myself: We fully enjoyed our experience at Gaggan. It certainly was more of an experience than a meal. The preparation, presentation and everything around it, made it one of the more memorable meals we ever had. That coupled with so many crazy and delicious flavors really has us raving about this. Sometimes hype equals reality and for us that was the case at Gaggan. If you find yourself in Bangkok we would highly recommend to try Just note the emojis might be gone by then.

What have your favorite restaurant experiences been?