Michelin-worthy Baan Lao escalates its culinary magic in Richmond

Once you have been served the best Thai cuisine imaginable at Baan Lao in Richmond, you’ve been spoiled by the Royal treatment.

Baan Lao’s award-winning Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng continues to wow diners from around the globe and locally. She strives for ways to escalate this experience to another level.

On September 6, 7, and 8, her mentor, Iron Chef and two-star Michelin Chef Chumpol Jangprai from Bangkok’s R-Haan restaurant, arrived from Thailand for an exclusive once-in-a-lifetime dining collaboration of Royal Thai Mastery. Together, they presented a seven-course Royal Thai tasting menu with four amuse-bouches and a choice of one of three curated beverage pairings.

Chef Nutcha prepares her 13-course tasting menu, Taste of Baan Lao – Celebrating the Bounty and Beauty of Thailand. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Chef Nutcha’s background as a nurse and cancer researcher before training with Michelin chefs in Thailand makes her highly focused on health and wellness and food’s important role in achieving this. She goes above and beyond to source the highest quality food and to know exactly where it comes from. Her use of ethnically sourced, sustainable, organic, farm-to-table natural ingredients is to be applauded.

Where some of the foods are currently sourced:

• Three types of organic rice are grown on the Chef’s family farm in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The 150-acre farm has been in the family for over 80 years.
• Premium organic water buffalo meat from Vancouver Island’s McClintock Farm is sweet and tender in flavour, high in omega-3, iron and B Vitamins, lower in cholesterol, and more protein-rich.
• Abbotsford’s Sumas Mountain Farms is the only certified-organic and SPCA-certified beef farm in the Fraser Valley, and it provides the restaurant with 100% grass-fed beef tenderloin and sustainably raised duck, chicken and pork.
• Flavourful organic microgreens cultivated personally by Chef Nutcha.

Baan Lao fine Thai cuisine in Richmond

I first visited Baan Lao for the world’s first Royal high tea Thai experience. Nothing was overlooked. The service, quality, and presentation were phenomenal. It was truly the full royal treatment. The elevated afternoon tea stimulated all five taste senses: sweet, bitter, savoury, salty, and sour. The three courses served—Arun/Dawn, Athit/Sun, and Bulan/Moon—brilliantly glided through these flavours.

I returned recently to the restaurant to try one of Chef Nutcha’s curated dinners, the 13-course tasting menu Taste of Baan Lao—Celebrating the Bounty and Beauty of Thailand. I shared this elevated experience with my daughter Melanie, who was blown away by the explosion of tastes that awakened and refined her palette. It was an experience like no other.

A Special Culinary Collaboration: Baan Lao x The Cocochine x Phantom Creek
 – August 1, 7, 8, 2025

Experience a rare and refined culinary journey as Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng of Baan Lao joins forces with Chef Larry Jayasekara of London’s acclaimed The Cocochine and the award-winning winemaking team at Phantom Creek Estates. This exclusive three-night dinner series features a 10-course tasting menu paired with biodynamic wines from Phantom Creek’s private cellar.

Celebrated for their precision, ingredient integrity, and artistic presentation, both chefs bring a shared philosophy to the table—showcasing what’s possible when diverse culinary traditions meet at the highest level. • August 1 – Phantom Creek Estates, Oliver (5:00 & 7:00 pm) • August 7 & 8 – Baan Lao, Richmond (5:00 & 6:30 pm) Tickets and details: baanlao.ca

A Taste of Baan Lao—Celebrating the Bounty and Beauty of Thailand

Let’s begin the journey of culinary delights with the outstanding 13-course tasting menu, “Celebrating the Bounty and Beauty of Thailand”. The rare and unique ingredients provide an unforgettable gastronomic adventure of the flavours of Thailand.

The presentation is divine and artfully styled. Many items arrive on handcrafted pottery created by Thai artisans. The refined white-glove service can’t be beat.

Amuse-Bouche Trio

When the servers raised the cloche (the artistically weaved dome), the Amuse-Bouche Trio was revealed as we pondered the menu items.

• Watermelon with hand-roasted, dried wild rockfish flakes freshly sprinkled on top at the table.
• Cha Plu Leaf Wrap with hand-roasted organic cashew, herbs and organic coconut flakes.
• MacClintok’s Farm organic water buffalo meatball with fresh pineapple spoon.

Baan Lao Amuse-Bouche Trio presentation before and after. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Our Sommelier serves the first Mocktail Pairing at Baan Lao. The Garden Bloom appetizer pairing Ma-Li cordial meticulously fuses the aromas and flavours of jasmine tea, plum juice, and lemongrass in preparation for savouring your first dish. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Appetizers

Fraser Valley Organic Chicken Thai Dumpling

It takes 30 minutes to make one little bird-shaped Chicken Thai Dumpling. We were each served a dumpling in two different colours. One was coloured yellow from turmeric extract, and the other was coloured pink from beetroot extract. The beak is a chili pepper and the eyes are black sesame seeds from India. The dumpling is made from three types of flour to surround the organic chicken.

Fraser Valley Organic Chicken Thai Dumpling. Photo: Melanie©

Yellow Curried Alaska King Crab with Crispy Golden Pastry

This offering presents a complex tapestry of salty and sweet. The 11 ingredient crispy golden pastry has so much flavour. Three types of bell peppers with different tastes are layered in the shell. The crowning jewel is the Alaska King Crab topped with caviar and the handmade yellow curry paste with garden flowers and herbs picked from Chef Nutcha’s garden that morning.

Yellow Curried Alaska King Crab with Crispy Golden Pastry. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Soup

Organic Coconut Galangal Soup with Crispy Wild Sockeye Salmon

This dish is rimmed with a visually stunning artistic and edible handpainted flower screen. The colour is derived from the highest quality natural ingredients, which have powerful health benefits. For example, the blue shade comes from the Butterfly Pea flower native to Thailand and is rich in antioxidants.

It is almost too pretty to eat; it is suggested to tap it gently with a spoon, and it will break and fall into the soup or break it apart by hand.

The silky smooth, rich Coconut Galangal soup is poured over the crispy wild sockeye salmon that has been steamed and dehydrated. Two button mushrooms are inside the salmon.

Baan Lao’s exquisite Organic Coconut Galangal Soup with Crispy Wild Sockeye Salmon. Photo: Melanie and Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Palate Cleanser

Lemongrass Pandan with Elixir

The lemongrass pandan elixir is a cold tea designed by Chef Nutcha. Its purpose is to be a palette activator to prepare your mouth for the new flavours. Made from fresh lemongrass and pandan leaf, the sweet, citrusy, caffeine-free iced herbal tea was my favourite. I wish it could be bottled and sold.

Lemongrass Pandan with Elixir Palate Cleanser. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Mains

Seared Hokkaido Scallop with Thai Herbs

The large seared Hokkaido Scallop is a treasure. It is tender and mild, with a slight sweetness. It is topped with caviar and 23 Karat edible gold from Giusto Manetti in Italy. The fish sauce is fermented over two years and made from pure anchovy from the Gulf of Thailand. Chef Nutcha adds tamarind to it for its unique flavour.

The intricately carved showcase of vegetables is a time-honoured Royal Thai tradition believed to have started in the 14th century. Carving all three takes 30 minutes.

Seared Hokkaido Scallop with Thai Herbs and 23 Karat edible gold. Our knowledgeable sommelier discusses the wine pairing with Melanie. Photo: Wendy Norvdik-Carr©

Phat Thai with Mangrove Black Tiger Prawn

This phat Thai, made from fresh noodles, has a lot of layering. It takes Chef Nutcha four hours to make the sauce from scratch. The method she uses to perfect this dish is why the process takes so long. Using cheesecloth, she squeezes the chili pepper so she only gets the liquid, then takes a fresh tamarind pod instead of the paste and squeezes it with the cheesecloth.

Usually, when making phat Thai, the egg is added to the noodles and then stir-fried. Instead, the Chef makes an egg lacing with more than 100 lines before delicately wrapping the phat Thai for this beautiful presentation.

Placed on top is an Ocean Wise Mangrove Tiger Prawn from Thailand that has been naturally raised in the Mangrove forest.

Melanie takes her first bits of the fine Thai Cuisine with a delicate egg lacing wrapped Phat Thai with Mangrove Black Tiger Prawn garnished with garden fresh bean sprouts. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Grilled Sumas Mountain Beef Tenderloin in Red Curry

Baan Lao exclusively serves Sumas Mountain organic beef tenderloin. It is from the only certified-organic and SPCA-certified beef farm in the Fraser Valley. The meat is incredibly tender and flavourful.

The two types of organic rice on the plate are from Chef Nutcha’s family farm in Thailand, where it is harvested by hand. The rice is very fragrant and free of chemicals. The white one is Thai Jasmine rice, and the purple one is riceberry rice. Riceberry is low in sugar and high in antioxidants.

In the middle of the dish is coconut caviar surrounded by a silky red curry coconut sauce that was simmered for about two hours.

Fine Thai Cuisine Grilled Sumas Mountain Beef Tenderloin in Red Curry. Wendy Nordvik-Carr enjoys the Moonlight with the Clouds Bu-Lan mocktail, which features a fusion of the refreshing aromas of yuzu and Thai coriander seed blended with pineapple. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr and Melanie©

Palate Cleanser

Lemon Sorbet

The Lemon Sorbet consists of simple, pure ingredients: alkaline water, sugar, lemon juice, and lime zest. The grated lime enhances the flavour. Alkaline water is used because it has a higher pH level than tap water, and some studies show that it can help prevent disease and increase bone mineral density.

James, our server, explained that Chef Nutcha had used this type of container to make sorbet growing up on the family farm in Thailand. Once a week, ice was delivered to the farm to fill the container. Her mother would then add water, lemon juice, and coconut sugar to fill the inside cylinders.

The Chef’s job was to hold on to the lid’s handles and move it back and forth for one hour, which would freeze the liquid and turn it into a lovely sorbet. This process is still used today at Baan Lao.

James explains the history of the sorbet at Baan Lao. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Desserts

Pumpkin Egg Custard and Smoked Ice Cream

The Smoked Ice Cream is coconut-based and smoked for two hours using a candle’s flame, giving it a unique divine flavour. Underneath is an almond crumble, which complements the dish perfectly with a mix of salt and sweetness.

The Pumpkin Egg Custard is complex. The delicate, sweet pumpkin puree and the salty coconut puree offer a marriage of contrasts. The base takes 30 minutes to carve into a daisy flower. The egg custard is made using pandan for its savoury, sweet flavour, topped with a golden egg thread and a lovely nasturtium.

Chef Natcha chose to use golden egg thread for spiritual reasons and its significance in Asian culture, where it is believed that the longer the thread, the longer life.

Fresh Fruit Dish with Chili Pepper

The fruit dish features a hand-carved pineapple and cantaloupe with a red chili pepper that takes three hours to make.

Making the red chilli pepper starts with crushing a yellow mung bean with a mortar and pestle. Then, it’s put in a pan on very low heat and stirred for one hour to soften it into a paste. The paste is hand-rolled, dipped in seaweed agar, set in the fridge to dry, and handpainted. This process is repeated three times.

Melanie is ready to enjoy the fine Thai cuisine dessert of Pumpkin Egg Custard and Smoked Ice Cream with a glass of paired ice wine. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr

We highly recommend this unique culinary journey at one of the best restaurants we have been to in the Vancouver area. To complete your adventure, curated beverage pairings are offered and designed to complement the tasting menu.

Baan Lao’s talented mixologists create cocktail pairings. Chef Nutcha creates the mocktail pairings. Award-winning master sommelier Pier-Alexis Soulière selects the wine pairing. Certified TAC tea sommelier Lena Pan determines the Gong Fu Cha Tea pairings.

Tea Sommelier Lena Pan presents five carefully selected tea pairings at Baan Lao for the Royal High Tea Experience. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

If you go:

Relax and enjoy. This elegant fine dining experience should not be missed. The 13-course tasting menu Taste of Baan Lao—Celebrating the Bounty and Beauty of Thailand is available Wednesday through Sunday, with seatings at 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

Baan Lao is located at 4100 Bayview Street in Richmond and overlooks the Fraser River as it flows out to the ocean.

We hope this information is helpful. Subscribe below to be alerted to the next article as soon as it’s published. We pride ourselves on writing informative articles with interesting tips. If you found this article informative, please share it and leave any comments, questions, or suggestions below.

Planning a trip? Search for accommodation using Booking.Com or book a sightseeing tour using Viator. Any commissions earned will help keep this website running.

Discover other incredible travel destinations: Where to see the best fall colours,

Explore Nova Scotia Travel Guide for all your trip planning needs, Discover 23 of the best waterfalls in BC, and the best of British Columbia.

Work with us:

If you are a destination, PR agency or brand and would like us to review a travel destination, vehicle, restaurant, product or service, please send us an email wnordvikcarr@gmail.com