One of the world's most celebrated Thai chefs is bringing her culinary vision to Australia, with Pichaya Soontornyanakij — widely known as Chef Pam — set to open Thai restaurants at Crown Sydney and Crown Perth in 2027. The Michelin-starred chef, whose Bangkok fine diner Potong currently sits at 13th on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, will make Australia the site of her first international expansion, and she has no intention of softening the experience for local diners.
Two Restaurants, Two Concepts
Chef Pam's Australian debut will begin with Khao San Sek, a casual, contemporary Thai restaurant opening early 2027 at Crown Perth, in the space previously occupied by Bistro Guillaume. The venue will seat more than 100 guests and take a relaxed, family-style approach to sharing dishes.
Shortly after, Sek — a new dining concept — will open on level three of Crown Sydney, in the former 88 Noodle site, featuring an open kitchen and intimate seating for 40. The name translates to "enchanted" in Thai, while Khao San Sek means "enchanted rice".
The news follows Crown's recent announcement that triple Michelin-starred Swedish chef Björn Frantzén would also launch restaurants across both cities in mid-2027, underlining the hospitality group's ambition to draw globally recognised culinary talent to Australia.
What to Expect on the Menu
Both restaurants will be anchored by what Soontornyanakij calls the five sacred ingredients of Thai cuisine: rice, chilli, coconut, palm sugar and fish sauce. From there, the two venues diverge in style and format.
At Sek in Sydney, guests will experience a tasting menu that moves through small snacks before arriving at samrub — a traditional Thai communal style of dining in which multiple dishes are presented simultaneously so their flavours and textures can be enjoyed together. Highlights will include nam prik, a hot sour chilli paste served with crudités, and som tum (green papaya salad) pounded fresh at the table in a mortar and pestle. "This is so you can eat the salad while it's still crunchy and zingy," Soontornyanakij says. A dessert trolley will offer petit four-style sweets, including khanom tako — a two-layer Thai coconut pudding served in folded pandan leaf cups.
At Khao San Sek in Perth, the menu will spotlight Thailand's diverse native rice varieties, described as spanning "all different aromas and textures", alongside sato, a fermented Thai rice wine. Dishes will draw on the Bangkok original's menu — including a fish sauce granita served with sour fruits such as bilimbi and pomelo, finished with fried shallots — while also incorporating local West Australian produce like Fremantle octopus, blue swimmer crab and rock lobster. For more on what's happening across Sydney this season, we have you covered.
Why Australia — and Why Authentic
Soontornyanakij's connection to Australia is personal: she is one-quarter Australian on her grandmother's side and grew up eating a blend of Thai, Chinese and Australian food — Vegemite included, which she says she still loves. That cultural familiarity, combined with her read of the Australian dining public, made the country a clear choice for her first move beyond Thailand.
Crucially, she believes Australian diners are ready for food that goes well beyond the standard Thai menu. "The Thai food in Australia is very authentic, so I don't have to cut down the chillies, or just bring stuff like tom yum or pad Thai," she says. "I want to bring regional Thai food, and I feel the people there are ready for it."
Soontornyanakij was also named the world's best female chef by the World's 50 Best judging panel in 2025, cementing her status as one of the defining voices in contemporary Thai cuisine. Her Australian restaurants will mark a significant moment for the local dining scene — and if her comments are anything to go by, they will pull no punches on flavour.
