THAI
In association with
EDINBURGH
✱ HITLIST
THAI ✱ Passorn Elegant Thai successfully placing a new spin on traditional favourites. ✱ Ting Thai Caravan Delicious, no-frills, street-food style Thai restaurant that’s easy on your budget but big on fun and flavour.
Nok's Kitchen: popular neighbourhood Thai dishing up the classics in Stockbridge
Note too that the restaurant is unlicensed, so come prepared with your own bottle. + No frills, top Thai food - Pretty full at the weekends
large clientele of locals and tourists, you may find it tricky to get a table. + Seafood specialities - Can be a little pricey
Chaophraya Edinburgh
Krua Khun Mae
33 Castle Street, New Town, 0131 226 7614, chaophraya.co.uk/edinburgh | £20 (set lunch) / £29 (dinner)
29 Cockburn Street, 1 Craig’s Close, Old Town, 0131 225 7007, kruakhunmae. co.uk | Closed Mon | £8 (set lunch) / £20 (dinner)
Chaophraya is a growing chain of higher-end Thais. Perched on the top floor of city centre office building the Edinburgh restaurant is opulent, complete with dramatic views and an enormous (and hypnotising) fish tank. Deep-fried sweetcorn cakes blended with red curry paste are good, as is a soft shell crab salad – tangy and crispy with Thai green sour mango, lemongrass and coriander. Lamb massaman curry is a favourite of the diners here (and, as the menu states, a favourite of the Thai royal family too). Chaophraya makes the most of its dramatic location: there are impressive areas for meetings and private dining and it’s a popular spot for celebrations. Thaiinspired cocktails mixed with delicious exotic fruit juices complement the menus beautifully and they even make their own ice cream. + The rooftop and the views - Some dishes are westernised
Dusit 49a Thistle Street, New Town, 0131 220 6846, dusit.co.uk | £14 (set lunch) / £28 (dinner)
Dusit has had a makeover. The Thistle Street faithful’s new layout is more spacious; with low lighting, extravagant gold wallpaper and artwork from Bangkok. It is striking and contemporary, but the seafood is still the star of the show. Modelled on the dishes of south Thailand, favourites include oldfashioned red curries like medium spicy gaeng phet with king prawns, aubergine, bamboo shoots, fresh chillis and sweet basil, or pad phet tom yum, an explosion of fresh herbs in a stir fry of king prawns, king scallops and monkfish. Other popular choices are Bangkok duck, the house special of crispy meat on a bed of steamed Chinese broccoli. With a focus on the freshest ingredients and a good track record in catering for special dietary requirements, Dusit delivers trustworthy spicy food – and with their
Squirrelled away in a little alley in the Old Town, Krua Khun Mae opts for traditional Thai decor with quirky glasstopped tables covering sand scattered with coins. Chef and owner Anan Cattanach runs a tight operation with his multi-tasking small team. The sizeable menu is divided into soups, salads, chef’s recommendations, curries and stir-fries. Thai staples like vegetable spring rolls steer away from the usual greasy offering and are crispy and light while the famous Thai salad (som tum Thai) of green papaya, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, cashew nuts and lots of chilli is tasty and super spicy. Kra dook moo wan are deliciously spiced pork ribs, cooked in a homemade sweet and sour sauce until the meat falls off the bone. Fish cakes with haddock and chicken may raise an eyebrow but this is good food without all the frills. + Reasonably priced, good food - Can lack atmosphere
Mintleaf 28 Bernard Street, Leith, Leith See Indian
certainly plenty of holy basil packing a punch in many dishes. But be warned, it’s very popular with the locals (you’d be hard pushed to find a table even for a midweek dinner) so best to book ahead. + Good cooking, cute location - Hard to get a table
✱ Passorn 23–23A Brougham Place, Tollcross, 0131 229 1537, passornthai.com | Closed Sun | £11 (set lunch) / £25 (dinner)
Passorn’s original operation has been popular with Tollcross locals for eight years and has a more relaxed feel than their newer city centre brasserie. The black and white décor is low-key, putting all the emphasis on the food, while an extensive menu mixes Thai standards with more inventive dishes. Weekly deliveries of fresh vegetables and spices from Thailand combine with local Scottish produce to create beautifully presented signature dishes. Angel curry is sirloin steak topped with a red curry sauce, laced with chillis and served on a bed of crispy potatoes, while pla samun pri places crispy monkfish pieces in a light turmeric and coconut sauce with notes of lemongrass and garlic. If you fancy a takeaway you’ll have to go elsewhere; despite requests, Passorn feel they can only guarantee the quality of their dining experience from actually inside their restaurant. + Zingy herbs and spices - Sombre décor
Passorn Brasserie NEW Nok’s Kitchen 8 Gloucester Street, Stockbridge, Stockbridge, 0131 225 4804, nokskitchen.co.uk | Closed Tue. | £16 (lunch) / £22 (dinner)
Nok’s Kitchen is a cute little Thai restaurant down a cobbled lane, just off the main drag in Stockbridge. They’re not reinventing the wheel here – there are the usual offerings of salads and soups, appetisers, dishes from the wok, and rice and noodle options, plus a range of curry specialities with vegetables, shin beef, chicken or prawn. Their pad Thai with vegetable and tofu (chicken or prawn available too) is fresh and delicate, served with their special tamarind sauce. They describe their cooking as containing a ‘cloud of fresh herbs’ and there’s
97 Hanover Street, New Town, 0131 225 1430, passornthaibrasserie.com | Closed Sun | £13 (set lunch) / £27 (dinner)
Echoing the modern and stylish influences of her native Bangkok, owner Cindy Sirapassorn’s second Edinburgh venture is placed in the heart of the city centre. While the welcome is warm, the brasserie has a slightly more formal feel and caters to local workers and passing tourists. With a slight variation on the menu of their sister restaurant they too offer a modern twist on Thai dining. Among their signature dishes, choo chee is a tasty variation on red curry which incorporates Thai sweet basil and kaffir lime leaves with jumbo king prawn or sea bass. Rung nok tod is a more unusual
vegetarian choice; two styles of Thai taro (an imported tropical root vegetable) with sweet chili and crushed peanuts. Although Thai cuisine isn’t famed for desserts, the panacotta is fragrant and delicious. Everything is served with care as the Passorn (which translates as angel) team strive to offer a heavenly dining experience. + Choo chee curry - Not hugely child-friendly
Street Box 53 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, 0131 332 0031, streetboxedinburgh.co.uk | £15 (dinner)
This tiny hole-in-the-wall in Stockbridge predominantly focuses on takeaway/ delivery. You’ll find most of the Thai standard curries and stir fries served with chicken, beef, pork or king prawn and while the sauces on occasion are a bit thin, the flavour is good. There’s also some chargrilling to investigate, as chicken, beef or duck are served up with tangy sauces and there are a few street food-type options, especially in the starters. Gai haw bai teauy delivers pandan leaf-wrapped parcels of honeyed chicken and just a hint of whisky, while gra beoung talay fills triangular wheat parcels with moist crab and king prawn. + Decent Thai street food - Not much room to sit in
✱ Ting Thai Caravan 8–9 Teviot Place, Old Town, 0131 225 9801 | £10 (lunch) / £13 (dinner)
It’s likely you’ll have to queue outside Ting Thai Caravan: it’s a popular hangout with no reservations. With a student and hip crowd filling the communal tables, the staff work at breakneck speed at the busiest of times (which is most of the time) but still find time to check that everything is to your liking. The reasonably priced food is divided into small boxes: rice and noodles, curries, and soup bowls. Highlights include tasty king-size prawns coated in a light coconut beer batter with mango salsa (goong frong beer); and fried chicken (khao mun gai tod) which is crunchy, spiced with ginger, chilli and coconut and served on jasmine rice. Sides are just as impressive – try the Bangkok spicy chicken wings (peng gai kao prik) which are fragrant with chilli and lemongrass; light and crispy pork skins (cap moo); or roti with chilli jam massaman. There are no desserts but Thai juices are made inhouse. Quick, fun and delicious. + Thai food that feels a bit different - No advance booking and cash only The List Eating & Drinking Guide 95
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11/04/2017 15:55