Street food and Bangkok go hand in hand and for once let’s not drool over the chicken satay and focus on the sweet, spicy and tangy fruit salad with a crunchy raw beans and roasted peanuts. Slivers of the pungent fresh red chillies added the refreshing kick to this fruity starter. At the helm of the Thai food fest at Zega is Chef Tawatchai Ubonsai or more popularly know as Khun Tony. He is here to bring the Bangkok style cooking in the Bangkok Street Food Festival. As he presents one dish after the other he discusses the reasons that make street food of Bangkok so sought after. The trick he says is in using local ingredients and pack each dish with a burst of flavours and still remain very simple.
To make things more exciting and less fruity, chef presented the prawn spring roll with a sweet-chilli dip. The taste of this starter is a winner with the prawn releasing its freshness with every bite. The crispy outer cover of the prawn with the just perfect salt make this dish a delight. The drink that was supposed to compliment every bite however isn’t something that I would recommend. Even though it was a non-alcoholic fruity drink, the ginger and the other spices added to enhance its flavours, killed the fruity essence. May I also request to skip the chicken satay and try the fish instead.
The menu for the fest is a humble one and includes a choice of meats and fishes, however on request the dishes can be customised to suit vegetarian preferences as well. Chef Tawatchai also didn't use copious amounts of peanuts everywhere to make things Thai. For certain dishes he also used locally found ingredients instead of importing everything from Bangkok. “Use of local ingredients makes customising dishes easier. As chefs, it should be our lookout to make the most of what is available,” says Chef Tawatchai.
The sole fish wrap, a delicate dish proves to show his eye for simplicity. At the first glance it looks like a light soupy dish but tastes heavenly with the signature Thai spices. The menu has Thai curries with rice and also soupy noodle that is served with crispy noodles from the top. The description of the dishes on the menu makes selection of dishes an absolute cakewalk.
If you want to skip all this, an absolute winning choice would be to go for the lamb chops that is served with a sweet tamarind dip. These grilled chops with slightly crispy edges is a delight in every bite.
Thai street food
Where: Zega, Sheraton Gachibowli
Till: Feb 25, Dinner only, a la carte menu
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