Chef Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij, who was just named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024, will pick up her prize at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants event in Seoul on Tuesday, March 26.  A meal at Potong is about more than just the contemporary Thai-Chinese cuisine of chef Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij; it’s also about the famous, multi-story building and the generations who have lived there.As she ascends to the title of Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024, Chef Pam’s fame is only going to grow, and she will undoubtedly serve as an inspiration to future generations of chefs.

Visitors are offered a glass of kombucha upon entering the first floor of the former store in Bangkok and are given background information about the property. Their first taste is an edible leaf, inspired by a Thai-Chinese welcome of luck and wealth, made from dried plum smoked with cinnamon. It has views of Chinatown from the rooftop and is served with wine made locally. They are then brought to the fifth floor. Finally, guests are served for a 20-course meal on the second or third floor that highlights the chef’s family history.

Recognizing The Chinese Food
Potong, which opened in 2021, has garnered numerous accolades. In 2023, it debuted at No. 35 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and was included in the expanded list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants that same year. The reason for this is the deft way in which Chef Pam incorporates the tales of her family into her stimulating tasting menu, which features Thai-Chinese food prepared with inventive twists on age-old recipes.

Aspiring Women ın Gastronomy

Another quality she picked up while living in the US is discipline, which she tries to instill in aspiring chefs. As the 2024 Asia’s Best Female Chef, Chef Pam hopes to inspire and uplift other women.
“I am a role model for many of the young female chefs on our team,” she says. “They will be even more motivated by this honor, able to dream large and believe that they will eventually have a place of their own in the profession. It also represents my views on the value of hard effort and sacrifice, respect for cultural traditions, and culinary prowess.

About Pam” Soontornyanakij
Thai-Chinese chef Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij was born in Bangkok and spent six years training at Jean-Georges in New York before relocating to her hometown to launch her first eatery, The Table. Pam went on to become the first-ever and youngest female chef to be recognized by the Michelin Guide with both an Opening of the Year award and a Michelin star simultaneously. Thanks to her work as a culinary consultant and frequent appearances on Thai cooking shows, Pam is currently one of the most well-known faces in the Thai culinary industry. One of the busiest tables in Bangkok right now is her restaurant Potong, housed in her family’s five-story heritage structure in Chinatown.