Thai Food Festival till 19th April 2015
EROS HOTEL NEW DELHI NEHRU PLACET: +91 11 4122 3344
Thai cuisine in India has not yet reached the level of popularity as much as we have for Italian and Chinese here. Infact, Chinese and Italian cuisines are popular to the extent that there are several places which serves these cuisines and they are more palatable for Indians and people enjoy Indian Chinese\Italian as well.
Thai cuisine at some places is still limited to red and yellow Thai curry with choices of chicken/fish/vegetables. Thai cuisine is exotic and distinct with perfect balance of strong aroma and various flavors. If you get a chance to read David Thompson’s book on “Thai food” – you will understand it much better!You will enjoy reading more on Thai food – in case you do not happen to bump into David’s book:http://highlife.ba.com/Food-And-Drink/Street-sensations.html
I had my first Memorable Thai meal in Mumbai at Thai Pavillion, the legendary fine dining place started by Chef Ananda Soloman. After that there was no looking back. I love Thai food now and love cooking it at home too, though it is restricted only to red/yellow Thai curry. An interesting event occurred couple of weeks back and now I am eager to try my hands at different Thai dishes.A Great Day – A Great Conversation:Apart from excellent food I enjoyed heartily my conversation with Umesh Dalal , F&B head. He has recently (2 weeks back) moved from Courtyard Marriott, Gurgaon. I have known him since Marriott days. The Promotion and the Chef:Thai food promotion is happening under the talent Chef Mhee from Chiang Ma. I had an excellent time tasting the menu. Their buffet menu changes daily. The Gusto food and My Take: I generally prefer to follow chef’s recommendations as the chef being the creator can aptly take me through the gastronomical journey, where I can not only enjoy great food, but equally share the passion as well as the churning of and thought process behind the incredible menu. It isn’t possible to try every dish from a-la-carte and hence relying completely on chef’s recommendation is always a treat in itself! We tried a lot of stuff and mostly were good. I will share my experiences in brief.Chicken satay was outstanding; peanut sauce enhanced the satay’s taste and it wasn’t overpowering the flavor of chicken. Fish cake(Thod Man Pla) was extremely well made and so was the Koong Pun Ooy (Prawn with sugarcane) – No strong sea food smell and was loved by all. Tidbits:The original classic Tod Man Pla in Thailand is made using the feather-back fish called Pla Krai that is tender, clean and fine textured, ideal for making Tod Man. Pla Krai meat is tender and delicate , it becomes sticky when pounded and mixes well with the curry past.
Som Tam (Raw papaya muddled with fish sauce, dry shrimp, garlic, chilli, lime & palm sugar) was spot on.Mieng Kum (Thai betel leaf filled with roasted peanut, roasted coconut, ginger, onion, lemon, chilli & dry shrimp) was something which I will remember for very long. A very new dish for me that had great flavor and betel leaf added a zing to it. Every bite of these ingredients together gives your palate a thrilling experience – from the rich, roasted flavors of coconut and peanut, to the tanginess of lime with zest and the pungent bursts of diced ginger and chillies.
In the mains Pla Nueng Ma Nao (Lemon steamed fish) was star of the day. Well baked fish with excellent lime flavor . Tidbits: Pla’ means fish and ‘neung’ means coooked with water either steamed or simmered in a small quantity of water in a covered pan. ‘Manao’ means lime.
Penag curry, pad thai and thai fried rice which was served with Kaeng Ga Rhee Phak (Mixed vegetables in yellow curry ) was well made. We finished our meal with Tub Tim Krob (Sweetened crispy water chestnuts in sweet coconut milk with crushed ice) and Klauy Buad Chee (Banana in warm sweet coconut milk). Both of them were extremely good and specially Klauy Buad Chee reminded me of my childhood where we used to have similar kind of dish during puja at home.
Tidbits: "Tub Tim" means "Ruby" and "Krob" means "Crunchy"
Thai promotion at blooms, Eros Nehru Place is till 19th and it is highly recommended.
Disclaimer - This review was done on an invitation from the establishment. Views expressed in the review is entirely ours and without any bias. Pictures of the dishes are not the standard portions, they are sample portions.