Whenever I think of Bangkok’s street food, a series of images come to mind. On-the-spot cooking demonstrations by women in sarongs who sell fish cakes faster than they can make them. Men pushing their whole kitchens around on tiny wooden carts. The sound of grinding spices in a mortar pestle. Stir fry veggies sizzling in pans. Crispy critters you would ordinarily find in your garden. Hanging marinated poultry. Affluent citizens mingled in the crowd to get a seat on a rickety stool.
It’s easy to imagine the sights, colours and aromas enveloping you all at once.
In Thailand, it is said that the best food is found on the streets. The cuisine is unlike any other on the palate. It’s notorious for being hot. But unlike Indian food where spice brings tears to the eyes, Thai food brings warmth to the tongue.
No matter if you try some Gang Keow Wan (Thai Green Curry), Khao na Phet (roasted duck) or Gai Pad Met Ma Muang (chicken in oyster sauce with cashew nuts), you’ll find a dozen different tastes hitting you all at once. Some coconut milk here, some ginger-garlic there, tamarind, cilantro, mint – all conspiring to take you to food paradise. And no matter how hard you try to stay away from another gluttonous bite, you’ll inevitably go for it.
As I write this, JW Marriott in Sahar is taking patrons on a culinary journey through the streets of Thailand in collaboration with the Thai Consulate in Mumbai. The restaurant, JW Café has been subtly decorated to bring out the essence of Thailand. A boat loaded with fresh, cut fruit can’t be missed. A large satay counter is done up with banana leaves and bamboo, adding a pop of colour to the restaurants gold and silver interiors. Check out the pretty, oriental umbrellas!
Chef Rungtiwa Sorlae from Thailand takes pride in her culinary traditions. The Thai Food Festival is a page from her journey back home. The authentic flavours she grew up with, the markets and memories have been blended into her beautifully crafted delicacies. Chef Rungtiwa has designed the menu with a good mix of vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes from across Thailand and you can try them all at the Thai Food Fest until 29th October.
Let me tell you a bit about everything I sampled at the buffet!
So, you guys know my weakness for crunchy wafer-like snacks right? No surprise that I gorged on the prawn crackers first (and throughout my meal) with various dipping sauces.
The salads weren’t really Thai, however, JW Café always has a spread of salads whether it’s for their regular evening buffets or the Sunday Brunch
The mains were a lot more substantial. Everyone knows that Thai food has become almost synonymous with Pad Thai! Its almost as if Pad Thai has become the global ambassador of the cuisine, and for good reason! I’m a big fan of it, too! What’s not to love?
Noodles – Good!
Stir fry – Good!
Loaded with veggies and eggs – so good!
The general rule is, if you go to a restaurant and they cook Pad Thai right, they definitely know to cook Thai. Chef Rungtiwa did a great job with perfectly separated, al-dente noodles. They were simple and singularly comforting, with a few veggies and eggs. I’d have loved it more if there was some more balance of flavor – salty, spicy, sweet and sour, with some crunch – perhaps with a dusting of peanuts.
There were 3 dishes I absolutely adored at the Thai Food Fest. One of them was found at the make-your-own Thai curry counter. A variety of colourful ingredients lay before this equally colourful shirted man and he assembled the dish right in front of you. One can choose between red or green curries – I chose red with every ingredient in it!
Don’t be fooled by it’s fiery colour! The aromatic curry is actually very mild thanks to the generous amount of coconut milk poured in which makes it smooth and deliciously rich. The only word I can use to describe coconut curries like these is “magical.” It’s a beautiful blend of ingredients that are softened with coconut to create delightful tingling tastes.
I had mine with a spoonful of sticky jasmine rice and compared to the light noodles, this dish seemed was nap-inducing-ly filling. I told the staff to make mine with everything – contained chicken, prawns, fish, baby corn, mushroom, zucchini and more.
Number 2 on my “OMG I LOVE THIS’ list was the Chicken Phad Prik Kang Dang. Again, this curry was spicy, but not in the smoke-coming-out-of-your-ears-spicy. It was pleasant, and extremely flavourful, concentrating every flavor you associate with Thai food in each spoonful. The chicken was excellent. Extremely juicy and far from being overcooked – loved it!
The smell of Phad Cha has this weird ability to get your stomach rumbling in anticipation. It is a flavourful soupy dish that’s loaded with herbs, strings of zingy green and black peppercorn and chilli. It was packed with prawns, crab meat and fish pieces. Very mild and subtly salty, this dish was out-of-the-world tasty!
Chef Rungtiwa and members of the Thai consulate were standing around the counter which had the below dish when I walked passed. They highly recommended it.
Can’t really tell what it is, can you?
Neither could I.
This dish actually comprises of rice cooked in coconut milk with papaya salad. I don’t know what made the rice grey, but it was pretty interesting. The raw papaya salad tasted nothing like papaya though. Have you ever tried dehydrated fruit? It was something of that sort.
Beans and Tofu are integrals parts of Thai cuisine. They featured in this healthy, summery sprout salad and was a nice side to have with the thai curry and rice.
For those who wanted to stick to their Indian diets, the Indian buffet comprising of rice dishes, curries, kebabs, veg and paneer items were still on at the side. Same with the Japanese and noodle counters!
When I first saw Khanom Krok, I never imagined that they were dessert. Made with coconut milk and rice flour that has the consistency of a crispy pancake, it contains actual corn and herbs inside. It is formed into a circular shape and tastes very similar to rice pudding and corn bread. Not overpoweringly sweet, but definitely simple and yum! It’s one of those things you can just keep popping in your mouth without stopping.
Sooo.. I tried out all the desserts.. you know me! It was intriguing to watch the chef spread some batter on a hot pan, fill it with coconut meringue and finish it off with an assortment of toppings to make these little wraps called Khanom Buang. The end product looked a bit like tacos.
The first one I tried was the one with the yellow egg noodle toppings, The outer shell was crispy with the soft, creamy filling giving it some contrast. The egg noodles crepes were amazing! I didn’t like the second one at all – it had a weird fish like smell as its topping and that completely put me off. Thankfully, I had the third one to end the meal on a sweet note.
Where do I begin with the ice cream? Aaahhh sooo good! Fresh tender coconut was scooped out and roughly cut up and then topped up with indulgent coconut ice cream. Bliss! That’s all I can say.
I’d have liked to see some pork and beef on the menu, being essential proteins in Thai cuisine, but alas – I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Thai food festivals are rare occurrences in Mumbai, especially those that have expert Thai chefs working behind the scenes. Try and pay it a visit and sample the dishes I loved!
That’s all from me this time! I’d love to chat with you in the comments so tell me where have you had your best Thai food! Whether you’ve been to Thailand! If you’re horrible at pronouncing Thai food names just like I am!
I WANNA KNOW!
K bye!!
