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“To live is the rarest thing in this world. Most people exist, that is all.” Oscar Wilde.
There are great restaurants and chefs all over the world. They embody fine dining, technical expertise, and receive Michelin stars for their work. Their restaurants are full, reservations hard to come by, and I’ve eaten at my fair share of them. None compare to what you will experience at Gaggan.
My desire to experience Gaggan was probably similar to most: I’d watched Chef’s Table. After seeing it…I knew I would go. It wasn’t an if, I just knew I would.
It’s often the case that great stories are told of a place or person, only to have the real thing fall short. This was not the case, and if anything, the experience was exponentially greater than expectation and became the highlight of our trip to Bangkok.
Gaggan is a story. A “work of fiction,” as he describes.
Gaggan, named after the creator, owner, and executive chef Gaggan Anand is an experience. A Story. The man himself, Gaggan, is a vibrant, shoot from the hip, insanely engaging, and generous chef who aims to pull you into his story rather than have you observe his excellence 3rd person from the table.
The setting is a home and you’re welcomed as such. You’re approached and continuously interacted with in a fresh and fun way – one of our favorite people was Vladimir Kojic – Gaggan’s “wine boy 🙂 ” who loves sharing the wine experience as if you’re part of his family. Yes, the staff describe and educate you to the dish, but it’s done in a way that is effortlessly accessible, and makes you feel as though you are a character in their adventure story. Ever had that at Le Bernadin?
This is what makes this experience so special. Yes, the food is insanely delicious and Chef bends your mind in terms of presentation and preparation, and like any good mystery novel your expectations are toyed with purposefully at every turn.
But, it’s the 1st person experience that makes Gaggan unique.
You’re not just eating 25 courses that have been prepared and brought to your table. You’re taken on a journey with 25 destinations – each incapsulated in a bite, of which more than 20 of them are experienced with your hands.
Stories get retold. Made into folklore. And so will Gaggan.
Gaggan is closing in 2020
Gaggan lives, he doesn’t exist. In order to live you have to seek new challenges, new view points, and summits to see them from. He thirsts for the next adventure, but he also does so charitably. The physical restaurant will be handed over to someone else to pursue their dreams, and he will open a new restaurant in Japan.
When have you ever heard of a restaurant, or its Executive Chef, achieving such notoriety and then handing the baton over to someone else to pursue their dream? He’ll do this, and challenge himself to tell a new story, from a new perspective, fusing culture, food, and the expectations those ingredients bring to table.
I’d be remiss in trying to tell the story of Gaggan myself, it’s yours to experience. Instead, I’ll leave you with its cover.
- Los Angeles International Lounge
- Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350 Los Angeles to Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines business class lounge – Club Autus
- American Express Centurion Lounge – Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
- Waldorf Astoria Bangkok during its soft opening
- What it’s like eating in Asia’s #1 Restaurant – Gaggan
- Bangkok’s floating markets – Dumnoen
- Diora Spa – Thai massage and Ayurvedic treatments
- Peninsula Bangkok – Grand Deluxe Suite with River View
- Smalls Bar – the hidden Sathorn IT bar
- Miracle Lounge Bangkok BKK
- Sky City Marriott Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350 Hong Kong to Los Angeles
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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