The namesake of Bangkok’s Haoma restaurant – nothing less than the elixir of life – and Haoma’s myth-like origin story wind like sacred vines through an urban oasis unlike any other
Not many restaurants along Sukhumvit Road serve to remind you that this Skytrain-topped thoroughfare means “Road of Wisdom”. But few restaurants evoke wit quite like Haoma.
Named for the elixir of life that’s sacred in timeless Zoroastrian and Hindu traditions and credited with the ability to promote health, wisdom, power, and even immortality, Haoma also brings to mind how the word “paradise” stems from a Persian term for a “walled-in garden”. The simple elegance of “reduction, reusing, recycling, degustation” flows through every one of the 5,000-some plants that have been placed in this enchanting farm-to-table oasis committed to good taste and good environmental practices, with the vision of by 2020 becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral restaurant. “We indulge in growing world-class, sustainable cuisine,” says Deepankar “DK” Khosla, the brainchild whose thoughtful attention to environmentalism is evident throughout the simple yet refined environs. “This is just as important as pleasing our diners. This isn’t just a restaurant.”
This Cool Season, Haoma is proud to present the new 13-course Nature menu (Bt2,590), which features specials like Melon Terrine, Haoma farm tomato, whey, Indian borage, blueberry and celery; and the Cured Wheel, Haoma-raised fish, dashi, Haoma greens and raisin jam. Tempting dishes in the nine-course Nature menu (Bt1,990), and which are also featured on the 13-course version, include Galauti Cornets, featuring wild mushrooms, spices, citrus gel and fresh truffles; Prawn on the Rocks, river prawns with peanut, chilli, tamarind and seaweed; and Tikka Masala, charbroiled chicken, cottage cheese, Makhani sorbet and pickles.
Deepanker – whose name denotes a “carrier of lamps” woke up one night on the deck of a cruise ship in Vietnam’s gorgeous Halong Bay a few years ago to find himself all alone after a night of exuberance. Awestruck by the natural beauty of the morning light shining on karst outcropping islands, he was stuck with the epiphanous vision of wanting to lead a very different life, more conscious of and positively contributing to the greater world he was suddenly feeling renewed respect for. “The experience dragged me out of my shell. I realized that was so much more to come.”
Not many restaurants along Sukhumvit Road serve to remind you that this Skytrain-topped thoroughfare means “Road of Wisdom”. But few restaurants evoke wit quite like Haoma.
Named for the elixir of life that’s sacred in timeless Zoroastrian and Hindu traditions and credited with the ability to promote health, wisdom, power, and even immortality, Haoma also brings to mind how the word “paradise” stems from a Persian term for a “walled-in garden”. The simple elegance of “reduction, reusing, recycling, degustation” flows through every one of the 5,000-some plants that have been placed in this enchanting farm-to-table oasis committed to good taste and good environmental practices, with the vision of by 2020 becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral restaurant. “We indulge in growing world-class, sustainable cuisine,” says Deepankar “DK” Khosla, the brainchild whose thoughtful attention to environmentalism is evident throughout the simple yet refined environs. “This is just as important as pleasing our diners. This isn’t just a restaurant.”
This Cool Season, Haoma is proud to present the new 13-course Nature menu (Bt2,590), which features specials like Melon Terrine, Haoma farm tomato, whey, Indian borage, blueberry and celery; and the Cured Wheel, Haoma-raised fish, dashi, Haoma greens and raisin jam. Tempting dishes in the nine-course Nature menu (Bt1,990), and which are also featured on the 13-course version, include Galauti Cornets, featuring wild mushrooms, spices, citrus gel and fresh truffles; Prawn on the Rocks, river prawns with peanut, chilli, tamarind and seaweed; and Tikka Masala, charbroiled chicken, cottage cheese, Makhani sorbet and pickles.
Deepanker – whose name denotes a “carrier of lamps” woke up one night on the deck of a cruise ship in Vietnam’s gorgeous Halong Bay a few years ago to find himself all alone after a night of exuberance. Awestruck by the natural beauty of the morning light shining on karst outcropping islands, he was stuck with the epiphanous vision of wanting to lead a very different life, more conscious of and positively contributing to the greater world he was suddenly feeling renewed respect for. “The experience dragged me out of my shell. I realized that was so much more to come.”
The results began fully sinking roots in late 2017, when Haoma opened as a restaurant unlike any other, pulsating with a green ethos that flows through the rainwater collected in six large vats are channeled through an intricate DYI system of more piping in which plants of all kinds are grown via organic soil or aquaponics, creating a vegetable factory amidst a concrete jungle.
On a walking tour of these wonder-filled hanging gardens of Bangkok, DK snaps off fragrant samples. Handing over one, he says, “This is thyme, oregano, basil and a touch of cucumber, in a leaf,” and of another, an emboldened daikon radish, “this is a ‘live catch’ with a surprise ending, which ends up being a ticklishly spicy sensation reflecting the restaurant’s focus on uniquely flavored indigenous microorganisms (IMOs), which unlike GMOs work with nature rather than trying to improve upon it, in which through an-all natural R&D, plants are mated to come up with ingenious hybrids. There’s a lot of science involved. For example, potassium, which is collected from burning banana peels flavor various planted. We are constantly experimenting to find out what produce grows best under specific conditions.”
DK calls Haoma both a neighborhood restaurant and a sanctuary worthy of pilgrimage as well as “a complete ecosystem.
The collected rainwater shows this and is used to tend to all of the restaurant’s needs and is recycled for reuse through a catchment system. “A highly creative kitchen,” says the chef and owner with piercing hazel eyes matching Haoma’s predominant color, “does not need to be the slave of a pretentious dining room.”
All meals are completely natural, prepared with no pesticides, no shipping and minimal storage, Everything is fresh, and served around the idea that fruits and vegetables reach their prime nutrient density 48 hours after being harvested. “The cuisine is progressive because I don’t have a particular cuisine. Our dishes are seasonal and embody the produce of the region,” says the Michelin-star French chef. Sowing the seeds of compassion in the spirit of the elixir of life Haoma is named for, the restaurant gives its valuable seeds away to local farmers around Bangkok, to more systematically provide local farmers with valuable options for planting the likes of avocado or other things they wouldn’t otherwise think of growing or have access to. “A larger pilot project for this is underway at Greens Garden in Chiang Mai. It will have to be foolproof.”
“We want to attract diners looking for a unique experience in an urban farm setting,” DK says in summary. “This is a true sensory experience.
For more information, please visit http://haoma.dk/ or https://www.facebook.com/HaomaBKK/, email reservations@haoma.dk or call 02 258 4744
On a walking tour of these wonder-filled hanging gardens of Bangkok, DK snaps off fragrant samples. Handing over one, he says, “This is thyme, oregano, basil and a touch of cucumber, in a leaf,” and of another, an emboldened daikon radish, “this is a ‘live catch’ with a surprise ending, which ends up being a ticklishly spicy sensation reflecting the restaurant’s focus on uniquely flavored indigenous microorganisms (IMOs), which unlike GMOs work with nature rather than trying to improve upon it, in which through an-all natural R&D, plants are mated to come up with ingenious hybrids. There’s a lot of science involved. For example, potassium, which is collected from burning banana peels flavor various planted. We are constantly experimenting to find out what produce grows best under specific conditions.”
DK calls Haoma both a neighborhood restaurant and a sanctuary worthy of pilgrimage as well as “a complete ecosystem.
The collected rainwater shows this and is used to tend to all of the restaurant’s needs and is recycled for reuse through a catchment system. “A highly creative kitchen,” says the chef and owner with piercing hazel eyes matching Haoma’s predominant color, “does not need to be the slave of a pretentious dining room.”
All meals are completely natural, prepared with no pesticides, no shipping and minimal storage, Everything is fresh, and served around the idea that fruits and vegetables reach their prime nutrient density 48 hours after being harvested. “The cuisine is progressive because I don’t have a particular cuisine. Our dishes are seasonal and embody the produce of the region,” says the Michelin-star French chef. Sowing the seeds of compassion in the spirit of the elixir of life Haoma is named for, the restaurant gives its valuable seeds away to local farmers around Bangkok, to more systematically provide local farmers with valuable options for planting the likes of avocado or other things they wouldn’t otherwise think of growing or have access to. “A larger pilot project for this is underway at Greens Garden in Chiang Mai. It will have to be foolproof.”
“We want to attract diners looking for a unique experience in an urban farm setting,” DK says in summary. “This is a true sensory experience.
For more information, please visit http://haoma.dk/ or https://www.facebook.com/HaomaBKK/, email reservations@haoma.dk or call 02 258 4744