Hom Restaurant in Phuket offers a spectacular feast of upscale fermentation cuisine

With its gorgeous interior and exterior views, coupled with a culinary credo that embraces local produce, micro-seasonality, experimentation and fermentation, the gourmet experience at Hom is truly unique.

Since its official opening in January 2020, the beautifully designed InterContinental Phuket Resort has established itself as one of the best 5-star hotels in Phuket – despite a pesky pandemic. And while it’s definitely worth booking a stay in one of the 221 elegant accommodations, it’s also a treat to treat yourself to a gourmet experience at Hom, the resort’s stunning 24-seat fine-dining restaurant.

But before we talk about the food at Hom, one must praise the gleaming white building that houses the restaurant. Originally called the Sawan Heavenly Pavilion and intended as a lavish spa, it is – like the rest of the property – the work of award-winning Bangkok-based Habita Architects. At first glance, it looks more like a mythical temple than a fine dining restaurant, as it rises majestically from the lush greenery that surrounds it. Unsurprisingly, it is the hotel’s most photographed attraction.

Of course, for those lucky souls who get the chance to dine here, the interior is also stunning. After we step inside, we hardly know where to look, so captivating is everything. The floors are decorated with intricate black and white patterned tiles, while above us, a large chandelier – resembling an oversized white wicker basket – hangs weightlessly from the high ceiling. The wall to our left, meanwhile, is lined with shelves holding jars of pickled and fermented ingredients – central to the restaurant’s culinary ethos – while a brilliant white peacock statue looks on. A row of sleek white columns then draws the eye to the perfectly set tables in the romantically lit main dining area.

Once seated, we’re handed refreshing, damp towels, both of which have been sprayed with the scent of grapefruit. The idea of ​​wonderful scents fits well with the restaurant’s name – which means “fragrant” in Thai – but the focus of the food here is clearly fermentation. And while that’s a popular trend these days, chef Ricardo Nunes and his talented team take it to dizzying new heights.

“We tell our guests to keep an open mind, it’s not a normal gourmet meal,” warns restaurant manager Peter Lucas, who some Bangkok foodies may know from his time at Baan Tepa, Savelberg and others. “We only use local ingredients, mainly from Phuket but also from other parts of Thailand, and we refine the flavours through fermentation.”

He then informs us about Hom’s juice pairing of six glasses – all fermented – that we are invited to try along with our wine pairing. It starts with “dragon fruit juice,” a mixture of fermented coconut water and mangosteen that is chilled, strained and then mixed with a garum of locust (yes, you read that right) and nutmeg. They add pink guava juice and crushed pink peppercorns to the glass. It really is a sophisticated elixir and a very fitting combination for the first course of our “10 Moments” menu; a dish listed in the printed menu as “Oyster & SCOBY”.

For the uninitiated: SCOBY is an acronym for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast” and transforms sweet tea into KombuchaHere it is served with plump Surat Thani oysters, all in the bowl surrounded by pieces of pickled fruit. To this our waiter adds a dollop cha muang Leaf granita, which “gives a sour taste,” we’re told. It’s a bizarre combination, but also quite tasty, reminiscent of a spicy ceviche.

As the evening progresses, we learn more about different fermentation processes, as well as some of the lesser-known Thai ingredients. One course consists of eggplant, sorrel and two types of snail, all dramatically skewered on a shell with a long, unicorn-like horn. It is served in a small bowl, the bottom layer of which is made of egg yolk cured with soy sauce and saffron, while the top layer is made of egg white foam. garumAnother dish, the very tasty taco-shaped appetizer made of soft shell crabs and koji (cooked rice or barley inoculated with a fermentation culture) is artfully presented on a plate overflowing with dried grain stalks.

As the courses become more detailed, so do the explanations. A large piece of fried cobia fish (still attached to the extended fin) is served with Crème fraîche and Hua Hin caviar, served on the plate with finger limes and a selection of pickles. This is followed by wafer-thin slices of salty, cured fish – in this case barracuda and cobia – accompanied by squid sausages, a small bowl of crab fat butter with fresh crab meat on top and a fabulous cupcake-shaped loaf of rice bread known as Subscribe (sometimes called Japanese sourdough).

While awaiting the next course – a fabulous Phuket lobster tail – we are presented with the penultimate juice combination of the evening, made from “sticky rice grain” mixed with olive leaves and seasoned with kumquat vinegar and honey. As Peter said… this is not your average gourmet meal.

With the lobster comes Chef Ricardo, who gives it the finishing touches at the minute“We grill it and then coat it with fermented jackfruit syrup and combine it with a sauce made from kumquat kosho (a spicy fermented Japanese spice) that has been fermenting for a year now. And on top I add a foam made from young coconut water and a little kaffir lime peel. The sauce has a spicy kick, but is also fruity and aromatic.”

The chef also serves our venison black durian paste, the last savoury course. On the plate are two pieces of meat – loin and fillet – which, we are told, are first cooked in oil and brown butter. “Then we grill it and cover it with black durian paste, which is durian that has been in the rice cooker for up to a month,” explains chef Ricardo. “The process is similar to making black garlic. The result is a completely black sweet paste with no durian smell.”

The incredibly tender game meat is then served at the table with only made from deer bones, seasoned with cashew fruit vinegar. Also adorning the plate are garlic chives and sugar snap peas, which rest in a vinaigrette made from durian and durian vinegar, as well as a stalk of baby corn, which, according to the chef, is “smeared with deer meat”. garum.“ At this point the term garum has been used three times already, so I thought now was the perfect opportunity to admit that I have no idea what it is.

“It’s an amino sauce with a very umami-like taste that we make from deer meat, bones, etc.,” says the chef, adding that it is similar to the way Thai fish sauce is made and used (a quick Google search defines garum as: a fermented fish sauce whose origins date back to Roman times).

The whole thing is very educational, but what really blows me away is when Chef Ricardo tells us that the deer are from Trang Province. “They come from a farm called Cervidae. The owner brought the deer here about 23 years ago, so they’re basically native deer now. The property is over 80 hectares, they eat grass and there’s minimal human interference.”

When our first dessert is served, we find ourselves staring at a coconut shell containing what looks exactly like three fat coconut worms (the larvae of the Asian palm weevil, to be precise). The replacement bugs are thankfully made of ice cream—a mix of coconut, durian, and tamarind—making this the most entertaining dish yet. I loved it!

The second dessert – another eye-catcher – consists of a large flower arrangement, with a sunflower in the middle, containing a mixture of sunflower heart jam and sunflower seed ice cream, with a black banana tuile crispy topping. Then there is a portion of tea, which we also get a classic pancake pudding – a nod to Chef Ricardo’s Portuguese origins – and a piece of white chocolate garnished with candied ants.

“Thai people have been eating insects for a long time,” the chef notes as he joins us for a post-meal chat. “And that’s where global sustainability is heading these days. At Hom, we’ve had insects on the menu since day one. However, we also have people who pre-order and say ‘no insects,'” he admits with a slight chuckle.

The soft-spoken 30-year-old – who previously worked at both Gaggan and Potong in Bangkok – goes on to say that he has been offering a fermentation menu at Hom since the restaurant opened, and that he likes to continue to explore and experiment. “Most of what you’ve tried tonight will be here next month,” he adds, “although perhaps in a different format or interpretation.”

hom-restaurant.com