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Lisa Cam

Chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn is all about mixing things up.
“Thais have a long history of taking whatever ingredients we have and making something delicious,” the 33-year-old chef says. “Our Chinese food is barely recognisable any more because of this philosophy.”
This free-spirited creativity has seen the chef establish two highly acclaimed restaurants in the Thai capital of Bangkok, Le Du and Nusara, which hold the number one and three spots on the 2023 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, respectively.
His latest venture, Niras, will open in Hong Kong’s K11 Musea shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui this month.

As a third-generation Thai-Chinese, he explains that, like many chefs, a lot of his favourite food memories are of his grandmother’s cooking.
“My favourite was pork with pickled mustard greens and salted fish on rice that’s steamed in the rice cooker. My grandparents are Hakka but neither my parents nor myself were taught to speak Chinese,” he says.
Thailand has had a long and sometimes complicated history with Chinese immigrants, dating back centuries.
‘There is no substitute’: people behind Hong Kong’s enduring food traditions
In modern Thai history there have been several periods during which Chinese and Chinese descendants were the target of discriminatory policies: such as being labelled “Jews of the East” by Thai nationalist King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1914, and a campaign of assimilation through property confiscation, forced expropriation, coercive social policies and anti-Chinese cultural suppression from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Today, Thai-Chinese make up between 10 and 14 per cent of the population in Thailand, while it is estimated that about 40 per cent have at least partial Chinese ancestry.
“Half the people of Thailand are at least part Chinese. We all get along,” Thitid claims. “We’ve had so many influences from different parts of China and other countries mixed with our own ingredients that the Chinese food isn’t very recognisable as Chinese any more, but we make it delicious.”

This spirit of deliciousness has made its way into Thitid’s menu at the new Niras as well.
The crab with crab roe, Chinese olive and house-made hot sauce is a classic example of how the chef mixes ingredients, styles and influences on one plate. The crabmeat sits on top of a purple glutinous rice mix, while the Chinese olive is combined with the roe and the restaurant’s own take on the famed commercial hot sauce, Sriracha.
Thitid in fact graduated with a degree in economics from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, but a career in finance was never meant to be.
“I worked for a month in an investment bank and hated it. So I quit and went to the US to study at the Culinary Institute of America.”

From there he worked at a number of top restaurants, including the three-Michelin-star Eleven Madison Park in New York City, where he claims he learned the importance of discipline in the kitchen and witnessed first-hand how innovative cuisine is made.
“It’s how to discipline yourself, the discipline to apply to your food and the technique we learned there. It was very interesting to observe the ideas and how they compose the food too.”
As for his own discipline, he explains: “My mission as a chef is to first make delicious food. Then comes sustainability and championing local ingredients and farmers.”
We have started talking to Hong Kong farmers to see how we can work together and gradually change our ingredients
Chef Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn
He sees all three as going hand in hand. “When I first started, Thai ingredients were seen as cheap, even by Thai people,” he says. “I wanted to not only elevate Thai cuisine but also the ingredients.”
He says the Thai farmers he worked with initially didn’t give much thought to organic or sustainable produce, so he paid them more to produce better-quality ingredients. He now works with around 10 farms for his restaurants in Bangkok, but the ripple effect of his methods have changed the industry.
“A lady came to our restaurant to see if we were interested in her vegetables, but I already had a good vendor,” he says. “But we were still importing edible flowers. So I asked her to grow edible flowers for me and when I started using them in my restaurant, other chefs started asking where I sourced them from.”
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That farmer now supplies edible flowers to many fine-dining establishments in Bangkok.
Experiences like this are incredibly satisfying, Thitid says. But how are these values going to translate into the new Hong Kong establishment?
He has two trusted female chefs who will be looking after Niras. There’s chef Naruemon “Mai” Ratiphuthilap, his right hand, who brings eight years of invaluable experience from Le Du. Meanwhile, chef Sarocha “Bua” Rajatanawin is a seasoned chef with an impressive background at some of Thailand’s top restaurants, including Siwilai City Club at the Central Embassy shopping mall, and The House on Sathorn at the W Bangkok hotel.

With the first part of Thitid’s mission being “delicious food”, many of Niras’ dishes, such as Le Du’s signature banana prawn with seaweed and spicy beetroot, will still use produce sourced from around the world.
But the chef has faith in his team to apply the Thai creative spirit to eventually produce dishes using more locally grown ingredients.
“We have started talking to Hong Kong farmers to see how we can work together and gradually change our ingredients,” he says. “I will also let my chefs take the wheel to create new dishes. Give them some time, with local ingredients to play with, I want them to mix things and see where the creativity flows.”


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Food and Drinks

Top Thai-Chinese chef of new Hong Kong restaurant Niras: ‘First make delicious food,’ then focus on sustainability and local ingredients

Crab, crab roe, chinese olive and house made Sriracha. Photo: Niras

Thai-Chinese chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn at his new restaurant, Niras, in the K11 Musea shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Crab with crab roe, Chinese olive and house-made hot sauce at Niras. Photo: Niras

Chef Ton says that when he started out he wanted to not only elevate Thai cuisine but also the ingredients. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Banana prawn with seaweed and spicy beetroot at Niras. Photo: Niras

Chef Naruemon “Mai” Ratiphuthilap (left) and Chef Sarocha “Bua” Rajatanawin will look after Niras when Thitid is not there. Photo: Niras

9 of the best sticky rice dumplings to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival 2023 in Hong Kong, from traditional ones to spicy versions with a kick

Vegetarian rice dumplings with porcini mushroom and mixed bean filling, served at Regal Hotels citywide, are one option as Hong Kong celebrates the 2023 Dragon Boat Festival. Photo: Regal Hotel

Lung King Heen is celebrating Dragon Boat Festival 2023 with two rice dumpling gift sets. Photo: Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong 

Man Ho’s Hokkien rice dumpling is available at the Chinese restaurant at JW Marriott Hotel. Photo: Man Ho

The Legacy House at the Rosewood Hong Kong is honouring the Dragon Boat Festival with sweet and savoury rice dumplings. Photo: courtesy of The Legacy House 

The Summer Palace at the Island Shangri-La has a boat full of treats for this year’s festival. Photo: Summer Palace at Island Shangri-La

Dashijie has a 20-year vintage tangerine peel, red bean paste and Bentong ginger dumpling this year.

Why Hong Kong’s taste for an endangered reef fish is a problem, and how to eat seafood sustainably

A humphead wrasse in the waters of West Papua, Indonesia. Photo: Getty Images

Hong Kong University researcher Yvonne Sadovy with a humphead wrasse in French Polynesia. The species is considered a delicacy in Hong Kong despite its endangered status. Photo: George Mitcheson

WWF Hong Kong oceans sustainability assistant manager Loby Hau Cheuk-yu. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A page from WWF Hong Kong’s sustainable seafood guide, which covers more than 70 popular species found in the city’s wet markets, supermarkets, frozen food shops and restaurants. Photo: WWF Hong Kong

Chef Richard Ekkebus of The Landmark Oriental, Hong Kong. Photo: Discovery 

Line-caught aji – Japanese horse mackerel – at Amber, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Staunton’s bar and restaurant in Hong Kong reopens under new management with blessings from the former owner

Staunton’s former owner Nick Bryant (left) and new owner Vinay Kapoor at Staunton’s in SoHo, Central, in Hong Kong. Staunton’s closed during the fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, but has now reopened. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The outside of Staunton’s. Photo: Staunton’s

Hummus trio at Staunton’s. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Bangers and mash at Staunton’s. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Korean fried chicken at Staunton’s. Photo: Staunton’s

Sticky adobo wings at Staunton’s. Photo: Staunton’s

A range of food at Staunton’s, which will continue to peddle British classics, but include some international dishes too. Photo: Staunton’s

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Chef Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn of the 2023 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list winner Le Du, and third-place Nusara, will open Niras in Hong Kong this month
He says the Niras team will use produce sourced from around the world at first, but will apply their creative spirit to eventually use more local ingredients


Thai-Chinese chef Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn of the 2023 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list winner Le Du talks about prioritising taste over sustainability ahead of his new Hong Kong restaurant Niras.


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Profile | Top Thai-Chinese chef of new Hong Kong restaurant Niras: ‘First make delicious food,’ then focus on sustainability and local ingredients