Taste of Thailand

Taste of Thailand

Thai food is colourful, hearty and, most importantly, appeals to the Indian palate. Which is why it is impossible to say no to Red Thai Curry and Jasmine Rice. Most of you will agree. If you enjoy the flavours of  Thai food, chef Sunee Chaichan from Thailand is here to blow your mind away with her exotic creations at the Thai Food Festival at Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar. 

Chaichan, who is an expat chef currently working at Grand Hyatt Doha, has 12 years of culinary experience. She says that her expertise, enthusiastic passion for Thai food and her creative knack add a special touch to her dishes. She has crafted a special menu for the food festival at Hyatt, which has signature dishes like Papaya Dressing, Green Thai Curry, Crab Salad and many more authentic Thai appetisers, main course and desserts, for patrons to take home a slice of Thailand. 

Taking us on a delightful culinary sojourn, Chaichan served a hearty bowl of soup to begin our meal. Tom Kha Gai, a classic chicken and coconut soup made with fresh ingredients like fresh ginger, lime, basil, cilantro, mushroom and lots of chillies, had a melange of flavours. Light and flavourful on the palate, the soup left a delightful tangy aftertaste. Not heavy,  this hearty soup prepared us for the appetising evening that would follow. 

Moving to the appetisers, we dug into Som Tam, a salad made with spicy green papaya, Thai tomato and wholesome topping of peanuts. This salad is one of the most popular dishes in Thailand, and we now know why it is so. The salad is a blend of four tastes — sweet, sour, spicy and salty. The shredded papaya and the tiny tomatoes make a good combination to have with the crunchy peanuts. 

We also tasted the goodness of Lab Kai, but the chef swapped the chicken with crab meat, nonetheless she nailed it. The flavours lingered in our mouth for long. The salad was fragrant and tangy because of the use of raw mango and a lot of herbs. We definitely think this should be the go to salad every summer because it was so light and fresh. 

Think Thai, think Chicken Satay. Gai Satay was served on skewers with peanut sauce — that’s what you have when you take a tour of the famed markets in Thailand. This perfect street dish was a winner from the moment we took the first bite. Chicken Satay doesn’t have a distinct individual taste if its own for a reason — to activate the flavours, you have to dip the skewered meat into the sauce and Satay will never leave your mind!  

Thai food has a lot to offer to vegetarians as well. Popai Phak, which is spring roll with sweet chilli sauce, and Tao Hu Tood, which is fried tofu with peanut sauce, are some of the dishes that will spring a surprise. The spring rolls were crunchy and filled with a lot of shredded vegetables. An added punch of flavour  comes from the sweet chilli sauce which is oil based. 

Thai cuisine is incomplete without gorging on Pad Thai. The chef made a gorgeous portion of Pad Thai, which is flat sticky noodles made of rice, shredded vegetables, sprouts, crushed peanuts and amazing sauces. The noodles were not at all dry and the sauces gave it a sweet and tangy taste. Interestingly, we finished it all! We also tried the famed Gang Kjew Wan or Green Thai Curry. The taste of basil was evident, even though it had a lot of other chopped vegetables like corn, broccoli and even raw mango that gave the curry a tangy and fresh flavour. The Green Thai Curry paired with the well cooked Jasmine Rice, made the entire main course experience heavenly and oh-so-aromatic. 

If you want to end the meal perfectly, dessert is a must. The chef presented to us a rather fresh and light looking dish Saku Cantaloupe. Fresh, light and sweet, Saku Cantaloupe is almost like the Indian Kheer, the only difference is that it has little balls of cantaloupe floating in the sago kheer. The freshness of coconut milk and juice from the cantaloupe gives it an ambrosial flavour. Certainly not to be missed!

ST READER SERVICE
The Thai Food Festival is being held at Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune, Kalyani Nagar, lunch and dinner, till October 25

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