Food has always been my comfort place. While I have my dependable pick-me-ups, I’m always curious about what culinary experiences a new place might offer. In fact, I’ve even tried things that my family (read: mom) would never approve of.
But recently, I experienced something that gave me a deeper perspective on what good food — and the joy of eating — what it truly means.
Exactly a year ago, I visited Restaurant Gaa in Bangkok. Run by an Indian celebrity chef I’d heard about on a TV show, it immediately piqued my interest. I went alone — excited, curious — and the food turned out to be mind-blowing. Each dish hit different notes: surprising, comforting, thrilling. Since then, I had often dreamt of returning, but this time with someone I loved — someone with whom I could share that magic.
Recently, I got that chance.
I brought my mom to Bangkok, and we booked a table at Gaa. We treated it like an occasion — skipping lunch, dressing up, building anticipation. By 8:30 p.m., we were seated. I felt a quiet mix of excitement and hope: that she’d love the food as much as I did, that she’d feel happy, and a bit proud. Well, I feel happy to say that, she felt much more that that!
As the courses started arriving and she took her first few bites, something unexpected happened. She began reminiscing — not about fine dining, but about the simple, heartfelt meals of her childhood. Breakfasts of rotis and tea, rice and vegetables fresh from nearby fields, curry made from freshly caught fish! Each course that Gaa had to offer, in its own way, seemed to unlock a new memory. As the evening unfolded, her face lit up with childlike excitement!
I was instantly reminded of that scene in Ratatouille — where the food critic Anton Ego is transported back to his childhood with a single bite of the unconventional ratatouille. That same magic was happening right in front of me.
That night, the dinner wasn’t just an exceptional culinary experience for my mom — it was a portal. A journey back to some of her most precious memories. And for me, the joy wasn’t just in revisiting a restaurant I loved — it was in witnessing someone I love rediscover the food that once nourished her soul.
We were so engrossed in the food and the memories it evoked that, out of the ten-odd courses served, we only remembered to click photos of these four!