BOON NAM Restaurant from the very entrance attracts with warm and elegant atmosphere of sunny Thailand, known for its vibrant food culture rich in fresh flavors and spicy aromas.
Thai cuisine is all about traditional culinary techniques and recipes that create the vibrant and sophisticated whole that lies at the heart of BOON NAM.
BOON NAM Restaurant is located in the magnificent St. George Hotel on one of the central streets of Helsinki city. The founders of the restaurant are Tomi Björck, Serko Rantanen, Ronny Malmberg, Kevin Manu, Hoang Nguyen and Minka Björck, who have combined experience and skills to show their sincere passion for the diversity of the Thai world of food.
“The biggest and only reason is PASSION, it’s a huge fire to constantly evolve and discover new things, to cook and learn new methods”, — says executive chef and concept visionary Tomi Björck, one of Finland’s most known and cherished restaurateurs, who has lived around the world and opened restaurants in Finland, Sweden and Australia, — When I first came to Thailand in 2001, I worked in a 2-star restaurant and did not understand at all how food cooked on the street on several stoves was more interesting the one that we cook in the kitchen for 18 hours with the help of many chefs. This mysterious world of tastes has become the driving force behind my passion and fire”.
In the Photo: Boon Nam tasting menu
At BOON NAM, all menu courses are prepared using the highest quality raw ingredients (both local products and from Thailand).
“I have been working in the restaurant industry for 25 years”, — continues Tomi, “and, of course, raw ingredients are always very important to me, they must not only be fresh, but also interesting, so that there is a desire to create something new and unusual out of them”.
In the Photo: TURMERIC SATAY — turmeric Satay chicken legs, Nahm Jim, a little bit of green mango
Fiery, sour, salty and sweet is the perfect balance of the four main pillars of Thai cuisine.
In the Photo: CHA PLU — yellowfin tuna, lemongrass, red coconut-Nahm Jim, herbal Thai salad
In the Photo: 555 DAISY — Braastad VSOP cognac, Aperol, jackfruit, passionfruit, chamomile
BOON NAM offers to make a fascinating journey into the world of unusually interesting aromas combined with original cocktails and great wines.
Tomi Björck: “My desire was to open such a restaurant in Finland, because I grew up in this beautiful northern country and I wanted to bring something new and exotic to the world of Finnish tastes. I am also grateful to all my team, with whom we managed to do this. The team is one of the most important components of our concept”.
In the Photo: Head Chef Serko Rantanen
Passionate Head Chef Serko Rantanen has been Tomi’s trusted left hand for over a decade. Serko has traveled around the world seeking for new culinary experiences. Serko owns a very extensive knowledge in Thai cooking.
In the Photo: LARB TOD MOO — fried iberico pork steak, roasted rice, lime dressing, lime leaf
In addition to À la carte menu, BOON NAM presents the so-called “visiting card” — a degustation set menu, which includes almost all the bestsellers presented in the main menu, but in a more miniature interpretation, which fully reflects the entire palette of Thai cuisine tastes.
“This set is very popular with guests”, — says Serko, “and it is “little sips full of Thai cuisine”. Having tasted the entire assortment, for the next visit everyone can choose their favorite dish, or maybe several”.
In the Photo: NAN E GIMLET — Absolut vodka, green spice lime cordial, pandan leaf
Before the start of the tasting, you will be offered refreshing and extraordinary aperitif cocktails, developed by chef bartender Jere Vihervaara.
TUMZAAB SOFTSHELL — salad of green mango, soft shell crab, creamy red chilli coconut dressing
IBERICO SECRETO NAM JIM JAEW — roasted iberico pork, roasted coconut, herb salad
WOK FRIED GREENS — thick and long beans, coconut Chilli Jam, Sambali
PRAWN TOM JAM — grilled tiger crab, Tom Jam butter; Coconut Bread (not included in tasting menu)
Cocktail: SATAY SOUR — J.Walker Black Label, Amontillado sherry, salted peanut caramel
KAENG HANG LAY — a full-bodied and aromatic Burmese pot of overcooked veal, Thai jasmine rice
Served with YAM SOMO — salad with pomelo, watermelon, grilled coconut, Chilli Jam dressing, Thai basilica
“The BOON NAM wine cellar has a wide selection of drinks from different parts of the world. In addition to the classics, we offer lighter fruit wines, as well as sake, which, in our opinion, is especially suited to Thai cuisine. Our signature cocktails are the most popular among guests”, — says restaurant managing director Ronny Malmberg.
In the Photo: restaurant managing director Ronny Malmberg
Ronny owns a long and vivid career from hotel industry and high class restaurants. Ronny ensures a beautiful flow in the restaurant.
An amazing in taste and serving cocktail BOON KOPITINI has been developed as a dessert drink — Absolut vodka, Thai coffee, coconut & orange blossom water foam.
KHANON BUANG & ICE CREAM — Panda coconut ice cream, crispy sesame biscuits, limemarenki, sesame
JACK FRUIT & KOPI — Thai coffee mousse, jack fruit sorbet, fruit mango salad, orange cream
“My team and I strongly believe that a restaurant is about much more than just food and drink. It’s like a trip abroad to some new place, when you forget about everything for a moment and just enjoy the time given to you. And we really hope that we succeed, seeing how guests come back to us again and again for these sensations”, — smiles Tomi.
BOON NAM
Address: Lönnrotinkatu 4 00120, Helsinki
Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday 17.00-23.00; Friday-Saturday 16:30-23.00
Contact: info@boonnam.fi / 020 1555 919
Instagram: @boonnamrestaurant
Editor-in-chief: Patricia Kolari
Text Writer: Marina Timoshevskaya
Technical Director: Evgeny Fedorov Photos: EATWEEK
