Asian Table

THE LORD'S TABLE Potato peeling isn't always the first step of a storied culinary life. But for Jeffrey Lord, chef and owner of Betelnut on Koh Samui, skinning spuds at Chez Panissethe cradle of California cuisinewas the start of a cooking career that has carried him around the world. His intimate yellow dining room on a quiet side street off Chaweng beach is worthy of his beginnings. If ever two cuisines were dying to meet each other, they're Thai and Californian, and Lord brings them together brilliantly.

At Betelnut, Lord is as much an attraction as the food....