The chicken satay, also known as Gai, won points for being tender, and practically melted off the skewer. The Starting Line
We were welcomed with a plate of betel leaves with tiny bowls of peanuts, desiccated coconut flakes, chili, ginger, lemon wedges and onions. Wrapping these smatterings with the leaf was fun and admittedly, it happened to be an interesting blend of flavours. The drinks portion of the menu ranges from the more traditional coconut and Thai spices based drinks to the more commercial diet Pepsi. We opted for a crowd pleaser – the Cupid’s Fantasy, which essentially combines crushed ice and strawberry cordial with soda. Served with a kitschy stirrer, it was a great way to embark on our culinary journey. Other drinks on offer were the ever refreshing Lime Mint Cooler, the Cinderella, which was a tropical blend of pineapple
and strawberry juices; Siam Sparkle, a conventional Thai drink that combined traditional spices with ginger to make the perfect celebratory toast, etc. We then went for the Chicken Satay, also known as Gai, which comes with a peanut based sauce. The chicken won points for being tender, and practically melted off the skewer. The peanut sauce instead of being dominated by the rich peanut flavour carried more obvious overtones of chili and other spices – a little confusing. Next up was the Prawn Satay, which was a nice infusion of seafood into the meal. The prawns were fresh and lightly grilled, unburdened by an overdose of spice, served with chili sauce. The vegetarian portion of the menu yielded the Khao Pod Tod Namprik Pow, baby corn, fried in roasted chili paste, served in crisp rice-based tartlets. Not only was the presentation pleasing, with the small tartlets making for exquisite mouthfuls, but the spices gave the corn a distinct tang that rescued the corn from insipidity. À LA CARTE • JUNE 2012 • 33