Potong

Potong occupies a five-storey shophouse on Vanich 1 Road in Chinatown that once housed a traditional Chinese pharmacy run by the family of chef Pichaya Soontornyanakij, known as Chef Pam. She trained in New York and returned to Bangkok to open the restaurant in her family's old building, restoring its tiled floors, wooden staircases and old fittings and turning the floors into dining rooms, a bar and a fermentation room. The restaurant holds one star in the Michelin Guide Thailand 2026.

The cooking is described as progressive Thai-Chinese, drawing on Chef Pam's family heritage and on the flavours of the neighbourhood. The tasting menu is structured around five elements of taste and around techniques such as fermentation, ageing, smoking and dry-ageing, and courses move through the building's history as well as through flavours. Look out for the house signature of duck, which is aged for several days before being roasted, and for small bites that reinterpret Chinatown snacks. A wine pairing and a non-alcoholic pairing are offered alongside, and the fermentation room is part of the story the team tell during the meal.

At the top of the building, the Opium Bar is a cocktail bar with views over the rooftops of Chinatown, and it can be visited for a drink before or after dinner. Reservations for the restaurant are made through the booking link on the official website, and private events can be arranged through the contact page. Tasting menus last several hours, so allow a full evening. Let the team know about dietary requirements when you book.

Potong suits couples, food lovers and anyone curious about the Chinese-Thai heritage of Bangkok. It works well as the centrepiece of an evening in Chinatown, followed by a walk along the stalls of Yaowarat. Prices are in the fine-dining bracket.

The restaurant is at 422 Vanich 1 Road in Samphanthawong, in the heart of the old Sampeng trading quarter. Wat Mangkon MRT station is about ten minutes' walk away, and Ratchawong Pier on the Chao Phraya Express Boat is a few minutes on foot. Yaowarat Road, Sampeng Lane and the riverside streets of Talat Noi are close by.