I went Friday night, and was lucky enough to have also been to the Paris iteration in its first week as well. Thoughts below...
Atmosphere/Service/MiscOne of the things I was most impressed with at Paris 1906 was that in just their 3rd or 4th day open, everything was firing on all cylinders. You always expect some kinks in the first days of a new restaurant, and for us, there were none. So we expected the same from the Thai iteration, and were somewhat surprised to find it operating, well, kind of like a restaurant's first night. Which isn't to say that it was a mess, but that there were much longer waits between courses, we were at one point served the wrong pairing with a particular course, etc. It wasn't a big deal, but compared to the flawless service we'd had previously, it was a step down.
Atmosphere - I noticed this both times that I've eaten there, that the vast majority of the crowd appears to be almost the same age. It's kind of bizarre, though makes sense given how the ticketing/fb updates/etc are set up. But seriously, everyone in there seems to be between the ages of 28-45. Most people I'd guess early 30's. Not a positive or a negative, just an observation
Pacing - as I mentioned above, the courses were staggered somewhat inconsistently, sometimes one followed another fairly quickly, other times we waited awhile. And unlike with the previous menu, where the order that dishes were served in was, or appeared, extremely well thought through, with lighter dishes following heavy ones, and where together as a whole they added up to an incredible meal, without each dish vying to be the super star (thinking here especially of the consomme and the salad courses, which were not particular highlights, but absolutely served their purpose in an otherwise very rich meal). Here there was so much food, very rich, very large portions, that I was uncomfortably full less than half way through. The biggest miss was to have a course that essentially consisted of rice with different condiments to add on top, before getting to the two 'main' courses. It was way too filling and not terribly interesting and just seemed... odd... to make its appearance at that point in the meal.
The food -Thai street food (small bites course) - These were all highlights of the meal for us. In particular loved the sweet raw shrimp with chilis and garlic - all of the flavors were so bright and continued to stand out on their own even as they mixed together. The banana was also a highlight, and for much the same reason - together, everything combined into a flavorful and unique bite, with a good mix of tastes and textures. My least favorite was probably the prawn cake, as it was somewhat greasy (fried) and the lime zest didn't shine through as well as I'd have expected. But that may be a matter of expectations, I'd been expecting something closer to a crab cake. I enjoyed the sausage and bao, not blown away, but enjoyed
Hot & sour soup - deliciously rich and flavorful broth, and the pork belly was wonderfully cooked - it appeared to be pan seared (?), with a good crispness on the outside. I could eat a lot of this.
Condiments course - this was kind of bizarre to me. Following the soup, we were brought a container of rice and four bowls of what were essentially condiments, and told to mix some condiments with the rice and enjoy. One - I believe described in the menu as 'chili, shallot, garlic' was kind of like a Thai ketchup. Somewhat tangy, ketchup-y in texture. Sorry I can't remember much beyond that. The pickled fruits and veggies w/basil were...fine, I guess. Not memorable, and didn't seem to go with the rice particularly well. The preserved duck egg - if that's really what they used - looked a little like scrambled egg w/some other stuff in them -- not what I was expecting. It was a fairly loose consistency and not as pungent as I thought preserved egg would be (have never tried before). Not bad, though. Overall my reaction was 'huh?' to this course, which filled us up and seemed as though it belonged either after the first course or after the last savory course, not in between. Not even sure it belongs in this menu at all.
Catfish course - unless you're a huge fan of celery, you probably won't like this course. I am not a huge fan, so I know that my reaction to the course is different than it would have been otherwise. But the celery was very overpowering, even if you didn't eat it. The flavor made its way through every bite, and overpowered everything else. I could barely taste the caramel. The fish was well prepared and a generous portion, though. I just couldn't get past the celery.
Beef cheek/curry course - I don't eat beef cheek that often, so maybe it is supposed to taste this way, but to me this tasted like over salted chipped beef. I love salt and it takes a lot for me to find something too salty, but this really was. And it also overwhelmed the delicate, not particularly assertive curry it was served with. I liked the curry well enough, and the dish wasn't a total miss, but it felt out of balance.
1st dessert course (corn, licorice, coconut, pickled mango) - THIS, this was the dish I'd been waiting for all night. Totally blew me away for how unexpectedly well everything worked together, the mix of such different temperatures, flavors, textures that came together perfectly. I have no idea if this is something that would ever be served in Thailand -- to me, it seemed the most unique and daring of the courses (yes, I know, the point of the other courses was not necessarily to be unique or daring). I can't even describe how the combination of corn and egg formed into something that had a consistency not unlike the yolk of a hard boiled egg, laid on top of thin strips of pickled mango, with pleasantly gummy (lightly) licorice-infused tapioca balls, and a sort of shaved ice of coconut milk. Incredible. This is the dish I'll be talking about for months.
2nd dessert course - rosewater infused dragon fruit - to me, the rose flavor overwhelmed the dish to the point that it tasted rather like eating perfume...
Overall - I have a feeling that this review comes across more negatively than I mean it to. It was a good meal, just not a great one. And not one that I'd pay $210 p.p. for again. That said, I'd probably have found it more worth it if I'd gone on a Wednesday at 6, or whenever the meal costs $65 for the menu, instead of the >$100 we paid. Paris was a steal at any of the price points, Thailand, IMHO, only at the lower ones. I would also steer people away from the alcoholic pairings ($58, compared to $48 for Paris) unless you really like sweet drinks. They were overwhelmingly sweet, both the punches and the wines. The beer that was served I saw the next day at Trader Joe's, for $11/bottle.