Savour the flavours of the Far East sitting in the lap of our City. A food and cocktails festival celebrating Thai cuisine is on at the Bouquet, F and B’s fine-dining restaurant. One can experience the delectable balance between the five flavours — spicy, sour, sweet, salty and bitter — that Thailand is most popular for. The cuisine with the hints of lime, generous use of coconut milk, garlic and fish sauce has made a strong presence on the international culinary map. Offering a variety of textures and tastes, an extensive menu has been stirred up drawing influences from Portugal, Burma, Indonesia and Laos and features the quintessential dishes from the land.
Our gastronomic journey began with the refreshing tamarind and ginger ice tea. One can also try other mocktails like lemongrass breezer and fresh coconut punch. Cocktail lovers can indulge in Lemongrass Martini, Samui Sling (dry gin, cherry brandy, benedictine, lime Juice, rosella syrup) and Phi Phi Lagoon (vodka, curacao, pomelo juice, lime juice) among others.
As the flavours of tamarind and ginger tingled our taste buds, the Thai ‘paan’ had everyone astonished. The Thai version of a ‘paan’ involves the Thai basil leaf and a line of ingredients like groundnuts, chilli peppers, sweetener and finely chopped onions among others. One can wrap the fillings of choice with the basil leaf and chew it like our desi ‘paan’. A must-try!
‘Pu pahd namprik pow’ or crispy fried soft shell crab tossed with roast chilli paste and Thai sweet basil leaves made for a good starter. The crispy crust and juicy crab meat made for great intermixing of textures and spices. Gaeng jued woonsen or Thai clear soup with glass noodles and chicken was perfect with its temperature and aroma. The vegetarians could go for the Phak (vegetable) version here.
The classic raw papaya salad from Issan or Som Tam prepared us for the main course giving a choice of curries, rice and noodles. Quintessential renditions Phad Thai (rice stick noodles tossed with egg and bean sprouts) and Khao keow wahn pahd (fried rice with Thai green curry paste and sweet basil leaves) stimulated all five senses equally. The curries served included Hormok Goong (steamed curried prawns in banana leaf) and Kaeng Phak Bamaa (vegetarian Thai red curry with Indiana and Burmese influences). The journey ended on a perfect note with the popular Aitim tod or the fried ice-cream. The warm spongy wrap with a dollop of vanilla inside made for an interesting taste on the palette. The special menu for the festival is extensive offering dishes like Goong tod man farang traditional Thai omelette called Kaichi, Khao pahd (garlic flavoured Thai fried rice), Khao pahd sapparot je (pineapple fried rice with water chestnut, cashewnut, raisins) to dessert like Gruay Tod (crusty banana fritters served with coconut ice cream). There is enough variety for the vegetarians as well. The Thai festival is on till August 5 for both lunch and dinner. Bouquet is located at F and B, No 8, Excellency, Papanna Street, St Mark’s Road.
