What began as a private supper club where only close friends could meet for delicious food and social fun has blossomed into a hidden restaurant called Kate’s Place (official Facebook page) where anyone can experience “uplifting Thai comfort food” in an intimate supper setting. My gal and I were invited to check out their first dinner tasting menu (which changes monthly) and we were both very impressed with the flavor of all of the dishes, the amount of food you receive, and the overall value of the tasting menu.
For their current tasting menu introductory price of 990 baht per head, diners are treated to 2 individual snacks, 3 individual starters, 4 shared main dishes and an individual dessert. At that price and with that many dishes, you’d think there would be a few duds. There weren’t. Every dish we tried was inventive, beautifully presented, and left us excited to further explore the menu.
Giant prawns!
But let me show you our experience so that you can decide to make your next social dinner destination Kate’s Place!
Welcome to Kate’s Place!
Welcome to the Supper Club!
Are you wondering just what the heck a “Supper Club” is? In a nutshell, it’s a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. They’re generally presented as having a high-class image, though the price is usually affordable to all.
Kate’s Place is a hidden supper club in that the swanky private dining area is hidden within another restaurant while its tasting menus are both affordable and fuel for conversation.
I’ll begin with our menu experience…
The Snacks
One of the things that I enjoyed about our dining experience was that we never felt like we were spending our dinner waiting for food. We always had something to nosh on or were in deep conversation with our other table guests talking about what we’d just eaten.
As an example, our meal began with a snack of two bite-sized treats, one crispy “Golden Bag” Tung Thong with a savory filling and a spicy larb stuffed squid bite. It was the perfect snack to whet the appetite and get the flow of conversation going!
The Starters
Stuffed Chicken Wing “Sai Auu Peek Kai Yang”
After the snack, the starters started rolling out. Our first was this addictive chicken wing stuffed with herbs and spicy Isaan sausage.
The ultimate comfort snack!
I say it’s addictive because once you eat one all you’ll want is more. The only thing this stuffed wing of deliciousness is missing is 11 more just like it and a tall ice-cold glass of malty suds to wash it down with. Seriously, find me a place in Bangkok that serves this a-la-carte just like Kate’s Place and I’ll lay claim to a seat at the bar.
Needless to say, this had everyone at the table drooling for more.
But we had to save room for other dishes such as the next starter, a noodle dish…
Chinese Vermicelli and Crab Meat “Mee Sua Poo”
The second starter was this Chinese Vermicelli noodle dish called “Mee Sua Poo“. For a real conversation starter, try saying the dish name 5 times real fast and see how many giggles you get.
Big chuncks of crab meat…
The noodles are coated with a thick sauce (with hints of spiciness and peanutty khao soi flavor) and topped with large chunks of fresh crab claw meat. This was a deliciously satisfying dish, but the starter that followed it completely blew my mind…
The best Tom Kha I’ve ever had!
“Tom Kha Galam Plee Yad Sai”
The final starter was this “Tom Kha Galam Plee Yad Sai” soup with a cabbage leaf stuffed with minced squid and pork filling and tender scallop. It is the creamiest and most delicious Tom Kha soup I have had to date. Unlike its watery counterparts, this soup has a chowder consistency that is pure flavor with all of the seasonings and herbs sliced so thinly they, too, can be enjoyed.
But the real show stopper was that scallop. If you ever have an opportunity to try Tom Kha with a scallop (which I’ve never seen) do it. A little scallop makes a world of difference that can make a good soup GREAT!
The Mains
The 4 main dishes are brought out simultaneously in portions suitable for sharing with your table mates. Don’t worry, no one is going home hungry from Kate’s Place…
Prawns Chili and Lime “Kung Pad Prik Manao”
Any meal that includes giant perfectly seasoned fried prawns gets high marks in my book. These HUGE prawns were coated in a delicious spicy chili and tangy lime sauce. Peel, eat and hope that someone at the table doesn’t want theirs (everyone wanted theirs…).
Salted Soybean Paste “Nam Prik Tour Nao”
No Thai “comfort food” experience would be complete without an assortment of seasonal veggies and a homemade Nam Prik dipping sauce. This “Nam Prik Tour Nao” dipping sauce was made with salty fermented soybean paste, minced prawns with spices, and chili. A very tasty topper!
Steamed Fish Pickle Lime “Pla Neung Manaw Dong”
The type of fish varies based on what Kay finds fresh from Rayong’s fish market. For this particular meal guests were treated to a flaky filet of steamed red grouper in a savory pickle lime sauce with shredded veggies and marinated shitake mushrooms.
A Beef Penang like no other!
Beef Panang Seasonal Fruit “Panang Nue”
I enjoy a good Penang curry. This Beef Penang curry was like no other I’ve ever had. If you’re looking at the picture you’re probably wondering, “Are those strawberries?”. Yes, they are!
With most Penang curries I’ve had, it’s spicy or sweet that my taste buds usually pick up on. Kate’s Place makes a more traditional Penang curry that uses tamarind and lemon juice to also bring out a sour flavor. The seasonal strawberries in this curry bring a little more sour and sweetness to this dish!
The Dessert
Wild Tapioca “Saa Koo Kati”
Our dinner was capped off with this wild tapioca dessert dish called “Saa Koo Kati“. The dessert is a complex mix of flavors and textures with squishy tapioca, crunchy water chestnut, creamy coconut sauce, and kernels of corn, topped with refreshing lemon zest.
I am not ashamed to admit I was scraping the bowl to polish off the last remnants of this dessert.
A chat with the owner/chef…
Owner/Chef, Pikun “Kate” Wangsantia
During the visit, we got to meet and chat with the owner and chef, Pikun “Kate” Wangsantia. Kate has many years of history in the F&B industry with service experience working in Michelin-starred restaurants such as Suhring and Canvas. Working with creative top-tiered chefs and being surrounded by fine dining ignited her passion for cooking and inspired her kitchen creativity.
With no traditional culinary training, Kate decided to learn from the famous Thai Food Scholar, Hanuman, to learn about the origins of traditional Thai homestyle cooking and what doors were open to her to experiment with. Many of our favorite dishes that we tried on the menu were successful results of her bold experimentation.
With Kate’s Place, she’s paired her experience with the Thai food master and her previous work in the fine dining industry to elevate traditional homestyle Thai cooking with its presentation and what it is paired with to the delight of guests. She doesn’t consider her food “simply traditional or fancy but somewhere in between“. Kate labels her food “uplifting” after a guest commented that her food altered their bad mood to feel “so happy”.
It’s funny because she considers Kate’s Place a “happy accident“.
An accidental supper club…
Private dining…
Kate began her restauranteur career buying an old noodle shop, refurbishing it, and expanding the menu. Boonlang Noodles was born and was well received by fans of braised chicken and traditional Thai noodle dishes. During one of the COVID restriction periods, she had friends that would just pop-in to socialize which usually resulted in feeding them, too.
Eventually, this arrangement turned into a private supper club situation above Boonlang Noodles in which small groups of her friends (and invited guests of those friends) would meet at “Kate’s Place” to safely socialize and eat whatever menu Kate wanted to put together with what she had fresh on hand. In November 2021 with the encouragement of many friends, she decided to refurbish the little speakeasy dining area to its current layout more suitable for an intimate fine dining experience amongst friends.
If you’re looking for a special dining experience to share with your friends you will find it at Kate’s Place!
I’m hungry. Where is it?
A restaurant within a restaurant…
Kate’s Place is located on the second floor of Boonlang Noodles on Sukhumvit Soi 36. Simply go in and if you want to wait for your friends at the downstairs bar you will be pretty happy with the wine selection at this “simple Thai noodle house“. On the second floor, Kate’s Place is entered via a speakeasy-style entrance. It’s not too difficult to figure out…and honestly, I don’t want to spoil the adventure by telling you more about it.
But suffice it to say, if you’re looking for a culinary adventure you will not be disappointed with your visit to Kate’s Place!
I want to hear from you!
Should you decide to experience Kate’s Place, I’d love to hear your feedback in the comment section below, directly to me, or via message on either the Chow Traveller Facebook page or Chow Traveller Instagram (and feel free to like/follow these pages if you want to learn about more foodie gems). However you choose to reach out, I’d love to hear from you!
