By day, Jungle King dishes up fragrant and flavour-packed lunch bowls. Opt for one of the tried and tested favourites, such as Sandbox, which contains Asian-glazed salmon, kale, cabbage, carrot, beets, pumpkin, cherry tomato, red onion, daikon, cucumber and avocado, drizzled with a sweet ginger-soy dressing and topped with sesame seeds. Or, you can go rogue and build your own bowl from the selection of fresh ingredients. Then, as the day drifts on, the dinner menu takes over, offering a broad selection ranging from street food bites of moo ping (marinated pork on skewers served with nam-jim jeaw) through to traditional Thai favourites including Wasan Rotchiratthitikan’s speciality – the spicy jungle curry, alongside pad Thai and Panang curry.

Ordinarily when you ask a chef if it’s traditional or modern, you get a clear response one way or the other, but chef Wasan isn’t like most chefs. He’s dug deep into his back catalogue that spans kitchens across some pretty impressive venues in Sydney and Northern Rivers, including Bang Bang Byron Bay and creating Mixing Colour Salad Bar in Kingscliff. It was here he found an appreciation for the art of modern plating and presentation. When it comes to the flavour, however, Wasan is passionate that it must taste like traditional Thai, the kind he learned from his mother wandering around food markets in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

“I started learning from her, I’d see her picking [produce] from the market. And my mum is picky, I mean really picky. She’s really good at cooking,” Wasan tells us. While it wasn’t always a willing choice he made back then, he’s come to realise that those times peeling ginger and smashing ingredients together in the mortar and pestle have taught him a lot about the kind of chef he wanted to be. As such, he’s taken on some of his mum’s traits and will only serve the best and freshest produce.

“I’m not putting anything from the can or from the bottle or anything at all,” he says.

Chef Wasan’s story is peppered throughout the entire venue and menu. A floral-trimmed bowl for example, stands out from the other modern crockery that has filled the table. As it turns out, this specific bowl holds a special place in Wasan’s memories. “[There is] a little bit of story behind this bowl. I grew up with this one … Thai people, they’re not going to use the ‘good’ bowl, they’re going to keep it for special occasions,” Wasan says. This was the ‘special occasion’ bowl he remembers filled to the pretty brim with his mother’s home-cooked curries. While it might be merely a vessel for diners, it’s chef Wasan’s way of inviting you into his home. And you better believe you’re getting the good bowl.

Jungle King is now open. Head to our Stumble Guide for opening times.