Le Du’s head chef on opening Niras in K11 Musea, Hong Kong: Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn, behind Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ No 1 ranking, chats authentic recipes and the diversity of Thai food

Arguably the most important Thai chef today, Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn is behind Bangkok’s Le Du and Nusara, which both rank on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list – at No 1 and No 3, respectively

The acclaimed chef opens his first overseas restaurant, Niras, in K11 Musea, Hong Kong, promising an ‘upscale, yet approachable’ style of Thai cooking

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Chef “Mia” Naruemon Ratiphuthilap (left), and chef “Bua” Sarocha Rajatanawin (right), with chef “Ton” ThiTid Tassanakajohn (middle). Photo: Le Du

Published: 12:11pm, 16 Jun 2023Updated: 5:36pm, 23 Nov 2023

Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn might arguably be the most important Thai chef of his generation. Frustrated by the conservatism that surrounded traditional Thai cooking, he transformed it, bringing it off the streets and unleashing its potential in his restaurants, which are now considered some of the finest in the world.

Le Du, the ground zero of Ton’s revolution, currently sits at the top of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants rankings, while Nusara, another of his concepts, sits third. Both restaurants are located in Bangkok.

Now, Ton is opening his first overseas restaurant here in Hong Kong. Niras, in K11 Musea, will offer a menu of Le Du signature dishes and will showcase Ton’s “upscale yet approachable” style of Thai cooking.

Banana prawn, seaweed, spicy beetroot at Le Du and Niras. Photo: Handout

In town to supervise the opening of Niras this month, chef Ton sat down with us to speak about his culinary philosophy, the soul of Thai food and why he hates cooking at home.

I worked in a bank for a short period and I absolutely hated it. I didn’t like sitting in an office and doing all the numbers and stuff. I got into cooking because I had a job in a kitchen one summer when I was in the US and I loved the three or four months I spent there. It was the happiest time in my life.

Hong Kong has one of the most exciting food scenes in the world. I think Hong Kong is a lot like New York. The cities have a lot of local culture, especially with food, and similar people. I have a lot of friends here and I always enjoy visiting. A lot of travellers come through Hong Kong, more than Bangkok. Now, even if they don’t have a chance to visit Bangkok, hopefully they will have the opportunity to try my Thai food here.

Niras will serve the heart and soul and the core of Thai cuisine. Of course, coming to Hong Kong, we will adapt to some local ingredients. But the flavour will be true to Thai food. In the future we hope to incorporate more local seafood and other suppliers and then we can make something slightly different from Le Du.

I went to New York to see how they elevated their cuisine. In the US, their history of cooking isn’t that long but they’ve managed to raise it to a very high level. In Thailand, you couldn’t change authentic recipes. And if you used local ingredients people would tell you you can’t charge that much for such food.

Le Du’s signature river prawn dish. Photo: Handout