Review

Loin, a recent arrival to the Chiang Mai dining scene, is experiential and experimental, reinterpreting Thai dishes to innovate radical combinations and presentations. Arriving through an industrial, rock and mirror tiled entrance to an almost foreboding lobby, one enters a dimly lit dining room, dominated by a communal dining table. At one end of the room is a small feng shui fish pond and rocky feature. The kitchen is helmed by Kunakorn Thongkham, Chef Jay, who narrates the menu; this season titled Life Dump. Drinks-wise there is an innovative cocktail pairing which is good value. Lights are occasionally switched off to create maximum impact with dish presentation, often also lit. An open kitchen sheds some light onto proceedings. Dishes range from one entitled vaccination, featuring pork belly and a syringe, to another served on a china skull, named multipolar and topped with a multi-layered bite of chicken, various vegetables and seasonings. More mainstream offerings include poached pacific prawn with tom yum and a combined duck and pork dish. Culinary execution is admirable, combinations have been well thought through and dishes flow well throughout the seven-course journey. The dessert of "Sweet Pain", a plate of aged rum, banana, coconut and raspberry, the latter providing the visual representation of pain, is exceptional.