When you walk into Bolan at Bangkok the first thing that hits you is how organic the feel is. The interior is mainly wood from woven baskets to paper boxes to the ceiling fans. Bolan is the place when you’re up for a spicy Thai course. The interior matches the menu mimicking the warmth of a home. Lunch starts from 980++ baht, and dinner 2280++.

It starts off with a Bolan amuse bouche that will surprise you with how much can be packed in such a small bite. With bits of mango, pork, seafood and spices, it sets you off to a great start.

There are 4 parts to the meal and they will be served together on a tray made from a cross-section of a log: salad, soup, stir-fried and curry. It surprised me as the other restaurants serve it one at a time but this had all 4 served together and there is a reason why.

In the picture, clockwise you see:
Salad: Ocean prawn with Mea Klong samphire.
Soup: “Po Tak” style soup of squid and holy basil
Stir fried: ocean dish with spicy red curry and water bamboo
Curry: red curry of chicken with local Marian plum.

Looking at this you would have thought only 1 or 2 dishes are spicy. But each one is spicy in its own way and the flavors of shallots, basil leaves and red pepper will come together across all 4 as you can simultaneously sample each one with your white rice. This complimentary tastes cutting across, I think is the strength of this menu. If I was up for spicy Thai with dishes that compliment each other’s tastes then this is the place to go.

Bo.lan Bangkok

24 Soi Sukhumvit 53, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana Bangkok 10110
T: +66 2 260 2962
Th-Sun 12pm-2.30pm, T-Sun Dinner till 11.30pm

Original article first appeared at Jonathan Ventura Facebook. Jonathan is a fitness model and has contributed this review. All words and photos belong to him. You may contact him via his facebook. His future reviews will be catalogued under Jonathan Ventura.