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At 41, the rock music-loving, vinyl-obsessed chef is ready to put another stamp on Bangkok’s food scene, one that’s arguably Southeast Asia’s most electrifying, competitive and varied (sorry, Singapore).

Expectations are running high. What can one expect from a venture by one of the region’s most memorable food personalities?

First of all, the vibe is more relaxed. It’s as if you’re chilling out at your best friend’s man cave. Any hint of pretension is checked at the door. Upstairs at Arena G, diners sample the 25-course tasting menu (8,000 baht++ or US$265 per person) in a communal space that’s part urban zen garden and part rock concert. For the high rollers, there is the option of the eight-seat private table (minimum spend of 120,000 baht).

There’s unmistakable showmanship with Anand and his young band of 65 chefs. People are often the sum of their experiences, so Anand’s formative stint at Spanish chef Ferran Adrià’s think tank, which was part of the Michelin-starred El Bulli, is presumably a reason Anand is replicating the same incubatory environs.

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At the unabashedly named G Spot, the 14-seater chef’s table, Anand puts large parts of his personality on show. With an open kitchen, diners sit by a rectangular table at the centre of the action. And, there is quite a lot of it. The old Gaggan had a glass enclosure that divided the kitchen and the restaurant. Though not stuffy, it was still a conventional restaurant. At the Sukhumvit joint, one gets ready for over four hours of fun, laughs and Anand’s recalibrated cuisine.

The new restaurant takes bookings for only 50 diners each night. Reservations are made online. A questionnaire is emailed a couple of days before the dinner. Off the cuff questions about one’s favourite rock band, fashion label, swear word and Karma Sutra positions are a telling indication of a no holds barred evening during which each dish and choice of wine is introduced by Anand and his equally charismatic team of chefs.

Now expanded into 25-courses of exquisitely-plated, bite-sized portions, the food is a reflection of the space Anand now occupies in life: relaxed yet driven. The experience of past years along with a young family has calmed his temperament slightly. The menu changes monthly according to what ingredients are available, so one might not taste the same dish twice.

This isn’t really a departure from his experiences at El Bulli – where he had to “unlearn everything he knew” – to the old Gaggan’s middle years, when the food took a funkier edge that some say alienated many of his earlier fans.

The food now is a happy balance of reduxed versions of popular hits including his exploding-in-the-mouth egg comprising curry-infused yogurt, elegant dosas and jazzed up versions of samosas, along with punchy Japanese and Thai street staples. As in the past, the dishes are labelled in an emoji-format, and you’re still expected to lick rainbow coloured Indian spices from the plate. Dishes are presented on actual logs and autumn leaves air flown from Japan.

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Stand-outs from the current menu include mashed lentils infused with robust flavours from fish bone soup, as well as grilled Australian lamb that tastes amazingly like Wagyu. The multi-tattooed Sommelier Ottara pairs the honey-tinged Domaine Alexandre Bain L.d’Ange 2014 with the lamb, one of several natural wines served at the G Spot.

The desserts, collaborations between Anand and fellow El Bulli alumni, pastry chef Makito Hiratsuka, are light and delicious. There’s chilled custard apple in a bed of mashed black peas, as well as a refreshing tropical mist dish composed of Thai flowers and fruits.

When asked about his evolution since those Soi Langsuan years, Anand has a sensible answer: “The difference between now and then is that I was a one-man team in the past. Now I have 65 rebels with me. I have to take more responsibility, and think about everyone. [It’s] not just about my glory.”

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