Bangkok 101
  • TRENDING
  • PEOPLE, PLACES & BEYOND
    • PLACES & BEYOND
    • PEOPLE
  • COLUMNS
    • Joe’s Bangkok
    • Now New Next
    • Bitchin’ in the Kitchen
    • Kitchen Backstories
    • Eat Like Nym
    • Into the Hood
  • FOOD, DRINKS, ENTERTAINMENTS
  • ART, DESIGN & CULTURE
    • BAM! BANGKOK ART MAP IS ONLINE!
    • Bangkok Art Map Facebook Page
  • TRAVEL
    • Pattaya101
    • Hua Hin 101
    • Phuket101
  • MARKET 101
  • ABOUT US
    • ADVERTISING
    • CAREER
Top Posts
All Thai’d Up: Luxurious Thai Menu at Decanter
Escape to SO Sofitel Hua Hin for a...
Treat your Love to a Splendid Valentine’s Voyage...
Number 1 Gallery Presents ‘The Opera of Metafiction’
Escape to Five-Star Pimalai Resort & Spa on...
La Lanta Fine Art Presents Group Exhibition Featuring...
Centara Grand at CentralWorld Rolls Out ‘The Place...
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort Wraps Up Challenging Year...
Emirates takes A380 experience to new heights
Kathmandu Gallery Examines Race Issues in New Photo...
100 Tonson Gallery Presents ‘House Calls’ by Pinaree...

Bangkok 101

  • TRENDING
  • PEOPLE, PLACES & BEYOND
    • PLACES & BEYOND
    • PEOPLE
  • COLUMNS
    • Joe’s Bangkok
    • Now New Next
    • Bitchin’ in the Kitchen
    • Kitchen Backstories
    • Eat Like Nym
    • Into the Hood
  • FOOD, DRINKS, ENTERTAINMENTS
  • ART, DESIGN & CULTURE
    • BAM! BANGKOK ART MAP IS ONLINE!
    • Bangkok Art Map Facebook Page
  • TRAVEL
    • Pattaya101
    • Hua Hin 101
    • Phuket101
  • MARKET 101
  • ABOUT US
    • ADVERTISING
    • CAREER
PEOPLE

Breaking Bread with Tanaporn Markawat

written by Fha Kanch June 6, 2019
The Local restaurant Bangkok owner and chef

Old-school Thai cuisine that withstands the test of time


A collection of antique Thai kitchenware and pottery, sepia photographs of neighbourhoods, and furnishings spreads across the main hallway of the restaurant like a tiny museum. Each piece has a history, as Chef Tanaporn (Kan) Markawat narrates, tracing back to the origins of his parents and grandparents from Trang and Ratchaburi provinces. Treating his grandmother’s old four-legged wooden stove with love and respect, he honours the way that the previous generations cooked and ate.

What makes The Local “local” is deeply rooted in more than the use of local ingredients. It is the old recipes passed down to form the restaurant’s current identity: the embedded cultural aspects that represent Thainess, the simplicity of traditional Thai way of life, the subtle art of Thai cooking, and the act of learning through tasting. A brief background of each dish can be read in the menu upon ordering.

Before The Local, Oamthong restaurant was born in Phahonyothin Soi 11. Chef Kan recalls his mother’s tuk tuk trips to the market in the morning for grocery shopping. The least he could do back then was carry ice buckets back and forth and witness the dedicated searches for rare components such as a particular type of coconut shells and tamarind leaves. This routine formed a pursuit of mastering everything hands-on including experimenting with edible and inedible vegetation.

Chef Kan has grown up and accustomed to Thai cookery, furthering his knowledge and skill set by learning from some of the Thai cooking masters Khun Srisamorn Kongpun as well as local professionals from southern Thai villages. He also studied restaurant management at French Culinary Institute (FCI) in New York before returning to Bangkok to superintend The Local by Oamthong Thai Cuisine. However, he prefers implementing regional supplies to imported foreign goods. He thinks that many uncommon plants with medicinal benefits deserve to be recognised and introduced to diners, for instance, the aromatic Kayang leaf can help ease the stomach, skin, fever, and bloating. Chef Kan organically matches it with savoury fish broth for a full, round taste, and balance out the fishy odour.

Education may lead to a bigger picture, but food is memory. His personal experience in hand picking side road plants and flowers plays a part in developing menus and recipes served at his restaurant. “We cook with local foodstuffs as a real and ongoing formality, not as a trend.” Chef Kan continues, “Each person’s definition of authenticity varies, so we create our family’s own version based on the gurus’ classic recipes.”

The Local aims to keep unpretentious homestyle dishes the way they were originally represented. Chef Kan initially noticed the scarcity of decent kao gang (savoury sides served on top of rice) in Sukhumvit area, therefore, he fostered a place where urbanites can enjoy that. When the line between food evidence and wisdom is blurred, the kitchen team here revives old-fashioned cooking methods relying on today’s practicality. Behind the kitchen doors, the art of Thai cookery is led by small details that matter. Traditional granite mortars are still utilised to make chili paste although blenders are known to be a more realistic method when serving a larger group of clients during peak hours.

The first recommended dish is Gaeng Run Chuan Pork, an ancient recipe curry from King Rama V period (B240). Khun Kan has been practicing and improving The Local’s own recipe for over eight years. He explains, the flavour profile needs to be a blend of piquant, sweet, and sharp, hence spicy, in order to complete the charm of Gaeng Run Chuan. Each piece of aromatic garnish, herb, and spice is precisely and uniformly cut in proportions that give just enough mouthfeel, the pork is tenderly marinated, and the liquid consistency does not split even in room temperature after resting on the table for a while. Overall when eaten alongside warm rice, the heat soothes with a gripping aftertaste.

Ox Tongue Stewed Overnight in Homemade Massaman Curry, a true delight and special recipe from King Rama II era (B450) follows. Needless to say that it was diligently stewed for many hours, it definitely tastes that way. The meat is juicy and the curry texture also lasts in the original condition as time passes, without excessive oil or fat.

Last but not least, Mom’s Recipe Spicy Southern Fried Fish presents whole sea bass stir-fried until crispy then mixed and rolled in a hot wok with homemade Southern yellow curry paste and Thai herbs or kua kling (B580). The crispiness of every fish cube is thoroughly coated with hot umami character, accompanied by Thai stink beans that are actually more ripe and succulent than pungent and chewy.


www.thelocalthaicuisine.com
Breaking Bread with Tanaporn Markawat was last modified: November 14th, 2019 by Fha Kanch

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
bangkokBangkok 101Breaking BreadchefinterviewinterviewsprofilesS.Pellegrinothai restaurant
0 comment
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Fha Kanch
Fha Kanch

Fha has a background in arts, language and culture alongside a master's degree in food from New York. She was also a pizza and pasta commis and a proofreading/editing intern for the United Nations. Now she gets her foot in the door with food media.

previous post
Italian Michelin-Starred Dining at La Tavola
next post
S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2020 Regional Finalists Revealed

You may also like

Marino Braccu interview

Catching Up with Marino Braccu

November 14, 2019
Chef Som - Jutamas Theantae

Breaking Bread with Chef Som Jutamas Theantae

October 25, 2019
Appia chefs

Breaking Bread with Chef Miro Mattalia

October 22, 2019
haoma bangkok

“Rise of the Indian Orient”

October 1, 2019
marriott executive apartments sukhumvit

An Exclusive Interview with Alexander Kellermann

September 4, 2019
water library chamchuri

Breaking Bread with Chef Puvadej Teachajirattakarn

July 4, 2019
Chef Ice

Breaking Bread with Supaksorn Jongsiri

March 5, 2019
Chef Chumpol Jangprai photo

Breaking Bread with Chumpol Jangprai

February 7, 2019

An Interview With Thanaruek Laoraowirodge

December 5, 2018
chef Nick Natthapol Pavapaiboon photo

Breaking Bread with Nick Natthapol Pavapaiboon

November 15, 2018

Michelin* Chefs Joe and Saki of 80/20 fishing in Koh Libong

Read the latest issue of Bangkok 101 Online Now!

Bangkok101 Mar-Apr 2020

Bangkok 101 Magazine Archive

Bangkok101 magazine archive

Follow Us

Bangkok 101 Magazine

Book Your Next Trip

About Us

  • Work with us
  • Subscribe to the magazine
  • Contact us
  • Advertise with us

Sign up for our newsletter

Keep in touch

Facebook Twitter Instagram Email RSS

© Copyright 2016 - Bangkok101 - developed by Webmajors

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.