Avant by Haikal Johari: A Quiet Revolution in Contemporary Dining

The artist - Chef Haikal Johari; and his stage - Avant; Hero Image: 36-month Comte

Dining at the Michelin-starred Avant by Chef Haikal Johari was more than a culinary experience – it was a reconnection with the genius of Chef Haikal Johari. For those who remember, Haikal was the visionary behind Bangkok’s first chef’s table-only restaurant, the 10-seater Water Library Thonglor, which opened back in 2012. Bold, intimate, and lightyears ahead of its time.

Fast forward to today, and we’re at the one-Michelin star Avant, a 12-seater where contemporary French cuisine is filtered through Japanese refinement and Singaporean clarity. Each course, presented omakase-style, feels unmistakably Haikal: restrained, layered, personal.

He was ahead of the curve then. Now, he’s rewriting it altogether.

Says Haikal, “Avant is French contemporary with Asian sensibilities in terms of flavours, in terms of ingredients. We are mostly seafood forward with 90 percent of our seafood sourced from Japan.” It is also a caviar-forward menu as I discovered.

If you haven’t reserved your seat at AVANT, you’re missing one of Bangkok’s most quietly transformative dining experiences. Avant isn’t a restaurant. It’s a quiet seduction. A steady revelation – in bites.

The menu might be a single sheet of paper with a list of ingredients connecting the Prelude to the Mignardise, but don’t be fooled. You’ll ignore it soon enough. Haikal constantly veers off-piste, and the only thing to do is surrender to instinct – his and yours. (My review attempts to mirror the pared-down simplicity of the menu).

It begins with the PRELUDE – canapés that arrive with no small sense of theatre. Time-sensitive, they demand full attention.

The Scallop Tart is diced raw Hokkaido scallop. Piquillo chilli sauce. Crisp tart shell. A single, clean hit of ocean and fire. It wakes up the palate and sets the tone.

Langoustine Meringue hasNorwegian langoustine, fresh apple, goat cheese atop a tomato meringue. Lift, bite, done. A fleeting moment of crunch and cream.

Smoked pepper is the base the Bouillabaisse Taco. Tom yum gel the finish. A Franco-Thai crossover in a crisp shell. Intense, cheeky, and gone in seconds.

Lean Akami is paired withblack garlic. And caviar. Topped with citrusy wood sorrel. The taco? Japanese beetroot. Ruby red and razor sharp. It’s earthy, bright, and bracing.

Kamasu Potato is the base forlightly torched Japanese barracuda. The potato brushed with Korean gochujang. Bold, playful, textural. Comfort and heat, perfectly measured.

The prelude ends with Consommé.A sip. A pause. An interlude. Clears the path for what’s to come.

WHERE IT ALL STARTS

The opening is 36-Month Comté.Ice cream of aged Comté! Artisanal tofu cream. Kaluga caviar. Arbequina olive oil. One bite. Sweet, savoury, silken, saline. It shouldn’t work – but it absolutely does. I’m tempted to ask for more.

Haikal then turns to Tokutani Tomato. Raw and rare. Shikoku-grown tomatoes with tomato essence, kumquat, tomato ice cream, and caviar. Intense. Sun-ripened. Pure. The umami hum lingers.

Amaebi plates, obviously, Japanese sweet shrimp, uni, caviar, and parsley oil. Rich, raw, and oceanic. A reverie. Every ingredient sings, but together they soar.

His signature Brioche is then served (Haikal going off-script) with a pat of butter. Embedded with Japanese seaweed. Bottarga and buckwheat. French butter infused with sake and mirin. An umami-laced intermission. A moment of stillness between waves.

THE HEART OF THE MEAL: THE MAIN EVENT
What could be labelled mains, for those that seek definite stages in their meal, come next.

Starting with the David Hervé Oyster.Here, heat meets brine: gently poached oyster, Umami custard. Sea greens. Deep broth. A quiet flex from Chef Haikal Johari. You taste the tide and the fire.

Ankimo orMonkfish liver is paired with Truffle sauce. The foie gras of the sea meets earth. Decadence, pared down.

Crab & Mochi-Gome has Haikal going off script again with Taraba (Japanese king crab) and Thai swimmer crab. Wrapped in glutinous rice wrapper. Tomato-crab sauce. Basil purée. Surf, sweetness, and chew. Like a dim sum memory, elevated.

Still off-piste, Haikal serves Beef Tongue – Wagyu tongue. Fried onions. Deeply savoury. Comfort food with class. Rich, nostalgic, yet completely new.

Back on track its Samegarei orRoughscale sole. Brown butter sauce with tomato, peppers, and just a whisper of chilli. Fragile and fiery. The spice kicks just as it melts.

It’s all a sensory overload but there’s a f aint memory of an unusual palate cleanser: Kintoki carrot sorbet with a vanilla-passion fruit sauce.

Lumina Lamb from New Zealand is next. Served with lamb jus, a floret of broccoli, and either Gratin Dauphinois or Pommes Anna (memory blurred by bliss). Classic, measured, perfect. Meat, potato, and memory.

THE SWEET FINALE
Kotoko Strawberry leads the way – Strawberries, red tuile, sabayon (citron, I think). A coulis. Florals on top. The fruit is the star; the rest, a flawless supporting cast. Freshness wrapped in finesse.

Satsuma Imo is a delightful surprise – sweet potato mousse. Toasted rice ice cream. Crunchy caramelised nuts. And – surprisingly – truffle. The only dessert where truffle feels earned. Texture meets earth in the most unexpected harmony.

The Mignardise keep you on a roller coaster of flavours: Raspberry gochujang with lychee foam; White chocolate-wasabi-pistachio; Black sesame Mont Blanc; a financier disguised as a canelé. A sweet goodbye. Each one lingers just long enough to remember.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Avant isn’t just about food. It’s about tempo. Texture. Restraint. Risk. It’s about trusting that when the menu disappears, the experience only sharpens. Haikal Johari doesn’t serve dinner. He stages memory.

Oh! And this review is frankly meaningless – the menu changes every two weeks.

Next time you are at@kimptonmaalaibangkok, you know where you need to be.

30/F,Kimpton Maa-Lai, 78 Soi Ton Son. 082-466-4962. Mon-Sat 6-10pm.