David Thompson
Aaharn | Hong Kong
October 2019
David Thompson has made cooking Thai food his life’s work. His first temples to Thai cuisine opened on his home continent, Australia. Darley Street Thai and Sailor’s Thai opened in Sydney in 1992 and 1995, respectively. In 2001, Singaporean Hotelier Christina Ong tapped Thomspon to open a Thai restaurant in London's Halkin Hotel. Nahm opened to immediate critical acclaim, earning the first Michelin star for a Thai restaurant. In September of 2010, Thompson took his first professional step into the land that inspired him, closing down the London restaurant and re-opening Nahm at the Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok. It soon landed on the elite “World’s 50 Best” list.
In 2014, Thompson founded his own restaurant group, Aylmer Aaharn, to continue creating new ways to bring Thai cuisine to the public. A year later, he launched Long Chim, his first Thai street food restaurant, in Singapore. The chain now has branches is Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Seoul. In 2018, Thompson left Nahm after 18 years with Como Hotels to focus on other projects, including new casual curry and noodle joint Tuk Shop. Thompson recently opened Aaharn, his first restaurant in Hong Kong. He is the author of three cookbooks: Classic Thai Cuisine, Thai Food, and Thai Street Food.
