Yim at The Lind Boracay Is Making a Case for the Island's Best Thai Food

Michelin Guide-listed luxury hotel The Lind Boracay has always had pretty respectable gastronomic options if you were to stay there for the typical 4-day Boracay getaway at the coveted Station 1 area. You get the works with Mediterranean and Italian choices at Crust at the hotel's beach level, and you pick all-day dining, a stellar breakfast buffet selection, and international cuisine at Tartine.

About late last year, the five-star hotel in the most tourist-populated area in the country decided to try their hand at a Thai concept called "Yim," which means "smile" in Thai. And boy, they have knocked it out of the park with a place that is making the case as the island's best.

Pierre Henrichs, Chief Operating Officer of The Lind Hotels and an extremely well-traveled guy who has an extensive culinary background as well, stands by their latest addition, which has a superb Thai chef at the helm. "The addition of Yím reflects how seriously we take the role of dining within the overall island experience," he said. "We believe thoughtful design, authentic culinary concepts, and disciplined service standards can coexist naturally within a beachfront setting."

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Yim's rendition of miang kham, a traditional Thai snack or appetizer

Executive Sous Chef Siriporn Krasae-at, who is in charge of fine-tuning dishes from her homeland at The Lind, is bringing in the beakers and test tubes. Her CV is a tour through the high-end hotel and restaurant kitchens of Asia, and she clearly has a knack for executing menus that win over the most pedantic of hotel guests and even critics.

We took on Yim's miang kham, a traditional Thai appetizer and snack that arrives in a tray of small ceramic bowls arranged around betel leaves (often mistaken for betel nuts, which are stimulants). Each of the bowls holds separate components: dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, fresh chilies, red onion, ginger, galangal, and a dark palm sugar dressing you can eat in a single bite.

Another highlight is the authentic tod mun pla, or red curry fish cakes, pounded with white fish, red curry paste, egg, kaffir lime leaves, and long beans. A reminder you probably didn’t need: if you accept the Thai chef’s recommended heat level, the world-famous Thai spiciness is full force. If your taste buds are up for the prospect of your nose dripping involuntarily, then we definitely recommend you do. The Tod Mun Pla is probably best illustated as golden, properly springy inside, with a crust that has real char on it. Cucumber relish is also a good touch to cut through the curry flavor cleanly.

Yim's Pad Thai Goong

Green curry

Next we have the green curry, Gaeng Keow Wan, that comes in a proper pale gold-green color from real coconut milk and fresh paste, fragrant with Thai basil and kaffir lime leaves. And to close things out, the pad thai goong: wok-charred prawns over flat rice noodles, heated with precision at Krasae-at's kitchen. A rather posh rendition of the quintessential Thai carb.

The Lind has been building toward this kind of credibility since 2015, and the 2025 Michelin Guide recommendation, the first one on the island at the time, confirmed what a decade of consistent operation had been pointing toward. Yím, located in the hotel lobby, is one of the sharper statements the group has made about what serious dining on the island can look like.

The Lind already plans on launching its Coron branch later this year, with another one in Siargao to follow. "We believe the Philippines has the potential to become one of the world's great hospitality destinations," Henrichs said. "There is incredible warmth here, extraordinary natural beauty, and a growing confidence among Filipino brands to create experiences that feel globally relevant while still remaining distinctly local."

Interior shots of Yim

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