I have a soft spot for Thai food. It’s fresh and spicy. The flavours are clean, vibrant and clearly defined. It’s tastes fantastic whether you are eating it at a hi end restaurant or with friends on cheap plastic tables and chairs in Bangkok. I think it’s the chili they use. Did you know that chilies hold certain chemicals which release endorphins when they come in contact with the receptors in the tongue? So it’s not only tasty and spicy but also gives you endorphin’s… what more could you ask for?
I recently revisited my love for Thai at Eat Thai the newest Thai restaurant in Bandra. This relatively small place is handsome but predictable with distressed industrial interiors, exposed bricks, Edison bulbs and – you guessed it — Mason jars, the visual cliches of contemporary dining and Pinterest. A New York inspired bulb sign screams L.O.V.E
Let’s Talk Food: If the interiors are clichéd, the food packs a punch. No two plates appear the same. Thai curries come in cute casseroles with coconut spoons and the drinks sit pretty in glass jars. We kick start the evening with chicken wings marinated in honey sriracha sauce. The bird floats perfectly between sweet and spicy.
Thai green curry at Eat Thai
New Zealand lamb shanks get a Thai treatment and they come dressed in matsamman sauce. Chef Sam deserves a pat on the back for his light approach to the salads.
Som Tam salad
The dressing in Som Tam is so light, it merely clings to the papaya rather than smother its flavour. The Thai burgers won us over with its sriracha-flavoured mayonnaise.
What I loved
At Eat Thai you could choose your veggies and proteins to be cooked in the sauce of your choice – chilly basil, lemon chilly, steamed ginger and a tangy pineapple sauce.
Try the curries. If there’s a tastier, smoother and elegant green curry with chicken and eggplant to be found, it has managed to miss my spoon.
The pannacotta is likely to find you scraping the bottom of the plate.
What I didn’t
The chocolate cake was an unmitigated disaster – steaming yet dry as a bone.
The Thai Coffee with condensed milk was insipid.
HOW TO GET THERE: Gasper Enclave, Pali Hill. Junction Of St John’s & Pali Road. Bandra West. Opposite Gold Gym. Tel: 022 26459775.
COST: Rs 1500-2000 for two
NIVEDITA JAYARAM PAWAR
