Nahm is housed in The Halkin; a purpose-built hotel, with a glorious Portland stone Georgian-styled façade.

It is sweetly situated in the breast of Belgravia, on a broad, tree-lined, street that blows a tasteful patrician air, or heir, while Sloane Street and Hyde Park are mere paces away. Inside, the hotel belies its genteel exterior, offering instead a contemporary 21st century comfort in soothing earth- and-element tones, as well as skilfully mastering the design concept of ‘Space Expansion’.

The inspirator and mastermind behind Nahm, David Thompson, is a witty, complex, highly intelligent individual, who would rather run a marathon on a full stomach than flirt with the limelight. I suspect if he were asked where his soul lay he would undoubtedly say “Thailand”. He fell upon the country by default and soon met his mentor, Sombat Janphetchara, ‘Grandmother’, an aristocrat with generations of ancient traditional Thai cuisine knowledge under her apron. Though classically trained, he was soon converted and, today, Nahm is the only Thai restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star.

The Last Supper The feasting began with ‘maing sam’, crab and pomelo, minced up like mince pie filling, with toasted coconut, served on betel leaves, a mouthful at a time. The flavours explode with an unknown, yet faintly recognisable pleasure, as the fruity freshness sets the palate up for the main banquet-style feast, accompanied by the all familiar, pivotal player, rice.

The dishes followed in hot, and not so hot, pursuit accompanied by Troy’s savvy choices from the cellar. We had butter soft pink roast duck in pickled ginger, with longon salad; succulent slow braised pork with salty duck eggs on a bed of sweet Thai mangos, delicate green tomatoes, star fruit and turmeric. Each of us had a bowl of wholesome light clear soup with broiled minced pork dumplings and ivy gourd leaves, a sort of dim sum/miso soup but more thrilling.

With plenty of simple, perfectly plied, slightly sticky Thai rice, we continued in this vein for several hours (well, so it seemed) and by the time I reached the green curry of crispy sea bass with wild ginger, coconut hearts, and pea aubergines, I knew I had never really tasted Thai Green Curry before. The goddess ‘chilli’, in all the food, was not overpowering, though I believe David can blow your Manolos off, if you so desire.

The icing on this magnificent melange is that you can slope, slip, or swagger off upstairs, to a deluxe room/ suite/ studio or penthouse. They all come with super-sleeper beds, smoothed in Egyptian cotton, beneath piles of soft goosedown pillows; are set in uncompromised contemporary comfort; together with marble bathrooms, walk-in showers, and deep cast iron tubs flanked by Como Shambhala’s aromatically concocted anecdotal accessories. What are you waiting for?

Find out more and book direct with the hotel at www.luxuryexplorer.com