Two-MICHELIN-Starred Gaa Maps India Through Its Menu

Words: Pasuta Phongam Photos: Pasuta Phongam & Gaa

Gaa does not treat Indian cuisine as a single, fixed idea. At the two-MICHELIN-starred Bangkok restaurant, Chef Garima Arora looks instead at its regional dialects, domestic rituals and street-side pleasures, then gives them contemporary form through seasonal Thai produce.

The restaurant occupies a transformed 60-year-old Thai house on Sukhumvit 53. Its pitched roof and timber character remain legible, but the interiors avoid nostalgia. Upstairs, curved ceilings are traced by a white-string installation inspired by sai sin, the sacred thread used in Thai ceremonies. Below, metallic curtains wrap the Garden Room tables in soft, gold-toned privacy. The architecture creates a useful dialogue: Indian food served in a recognisably Thai setting, with neither culture reduced to decoration.

Her latest tasting menu, India in Many Bites, draws particular inspiration from Bihar, moving through seven sections and 16 courses without losing the directness that makes the food immediately pleasurable.

Arora’s route to the kitchen was similarly layered. The Mumbai-born chef first trained as a journalist before studying at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, followed by formative periods at Noma and Gaggan. She opened Gaa in 2017; its first MICHELIN star arrived in 2018 and its second in the 2024 guide, making Arora the first female Indian chef to lead a two-star restaurant.

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India in Many Bites begins with Chaat. Aloo, Anar, Tuna Bhel and Puchka compress the noise and immediacy of Indian street food into four concise bites: crisp potato, bright pomegranate, raw tuna folded through bhel and a sharply seasoned puchka.

Chakna, named after India’s drinking snacks, follows with crayfish, fish floss and rasam, and smoked lamb tartare—small constructions moving between sweetness, spice and savoury intensity.

Chef Arora's Grandmother, box of Memory

The more personal Nani aur Dadi refers to Arora’s grandmothers. A warm cauliflower paratha arrives with Oscietra caviar and three whipped butters, placing luxury against the familiarity of bread and cultured dairy.

Atte ki Khichdi then revisits a resourceful Bihari preparation: hand-rolled whole-wheat dumplings stand in for rice, accompanied by nine house-made chutneys, pickles and condiments. For this dish, we have tried hand rolled by ourselves too.

Under Curry and Kebabs, the temperature and weight of familiar forms are reconsidered.

Summer Curry is served chilled; Morel, Malai, Total Masala combines Kashmiri morels, rich cream, buffalo-milk brown cheese and Gaa’s proprietary 16-spice blend; while Beef Kebab returns the menu to fire and char.

Beef Kebab

The deliberately cryptic Tandoori Story keeps its details off the printed card, allowing the tandoor to make its point at the table.

Processed Durian served in form of Tandoori Story

Dessert begins with Malai Toast, followed by Ice Cream, Tadka, where hot tempered spices are poured over daal payasam ice cream within a crisp banana papadum.

Malai Toast

Milk & Honey softens the pace before Miang Kham X Paan connects Thai and Indian betel-leaf traditions in a final aromatic bite.

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The Non-Alcoholic Pairing is treated with equal seriousness. Fruit Kombucha gives way to Mango & Jasmine, Not a Wine, Mulberry & Spices and Physalis & Chili, each building acidity, perfume or gentle heat around the food. Coconut Milk & Tonka brings a clean, fragrant conclusion. It is not an imitation of the wine programme, but a parallel reading of the same meal—considered, expressive and fully part of Gaa’s experience.

The six-glass Signature Pairing follows the menu’s movement from brightness to spice and sweetness. Demière Divin Blanc de Blancs Brut opens with fine acidity, followed by Heinrich Welschriesling Freyheit, Yoshidagura u Hyakumangoku no Shiro Kijoshu, Elena Casadei Le Anfore Syrah and Château La Coste’s Les Pentes Douces Blanc. Dario Coos Picolit closes the sequence with the concentration expected of a dessert wine.

The restaurant, Michelin and menu details were checked against Gaa’s official website, the 2026 MICHELIN Guide and reporting on the current Bihar-inspired menu from Spirited Asia. GAA Contact: +66 (0)63 987 4747 Reserve: reservation@gaabkk.com Location: 46/1 Sukhumvit 53, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok Socials: https://www.instagram.com/restaurant_gaa/ https://www.gaabkk.com/