Haoma

Bangkok

An urban oasis leading Bangkok’s eco-revolution

The heart of Bangkok’s bustling metropolis might not be where you’d expect to find a hyper-local, hyper-seasonal restaurant focused on farm-to-plate cooking; but Haoma is no ordinary restaurant. Created with a simple mission of ‘grow to give back,’ chef Deepanker Khosla, better known as ‘DK’, has woven sustainability into every fibre of Haoma’s being.

Across its tasting menus, available in both vegetarian, meat and fish variants, Khosla looks to his heritage to guide his diners through an exploration of neo-Indian gastronomy re-created using local Thai ingredients, many of which are grown on-site in its impressive hydroponic farm.

For ingredients that can’t be grown within the perimeter of the restaurant’s walls, Khosla and his team source directly from Haoma’s own farm a few kilometres north of Bangkok, which houses more than 750 chickens, 12 goats and four cows. Most of the restaurant’s fruit and vegetables also come from here with herbs and green flowers plucked straight from the estate. Recently, this piece of pastoral heaven and been furnished with 150 fruit trees, including mango, coconut, guava and pomegranate.

For diners, the provenance of each individual ingredient is listed in every plate of food, with the restaurant’s highly knowledgeable staff on hand to explain each component part and its point of origin.

Haoma’s drinks offering follows the restaurant’s guiding principles, with a range that spans biodynamic and natural wines to local tea and coffee produced by boutique farmers.

The often-discarded elements that don’t make it onto the plate are reused across the ecosystem. Organic waste is composted or frozen and transformed into fish food; greywater is recycled to water the plants on the driveway; even old tablecloths are refashioned into carrier bags for suppliers to transport produce to the restaurant. While Haoma’s waste sits at around three percent currently, the team has its eyes firmly set on becoming net zero for waste within the next few years.

Outside of Haoma itself, Khosla and his team give back to the community through a plethora of social initiatives such as its NoOneHungry campaign, providing cooked meals for underprivileged migrant workers in Bangkok. The chef also partners with the Thai Scholars of Sustenance, which takes in surplus stock from supermarkets to create free hot food for less fortunate communities.

Haoma is living proof that the pursuit of gastronomic excellence and fine dining need not be wasteful or inaccessible. For its eco-friendly and community-forward practices, it is duly awarded the Sustainable Restaurant Award 2024.

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