If years of Tom Yum and Phad Thai at a eatery right around the corner have not yet satiated you, go to, no, not Bangkok, but Delhi. For coincidentally, as the organisers will have us believe, are a number of Thai cuisine promotions.
And among the master chefs who were serving their select menus was chef Prakob Samranruen (in pic), best known for opening Oberoi?s legendary Baan Thai. Now with the Park Chennai, the chef is in chain?s hotel in Delhi till Sunday with a special collection of his recipes. The chef, who is known as much for elaborate dishes like Pla Charamed Lard Phad Phet (crisp fried whole pomfret fillet topped with red curry and basil sauce), as is comfortable in ? la minute preparations as well. And the lightness of his meals may well leave you overeating!
?There are more Thai restaurants opening in India in 2009, and will help take the Thai experience to more people,? says chef Prakop, as he is known as. He stresses that it is not easy however for standalone restaurants to maintain consistency as supply chain issues remain, even though they have become much better. ?During my Baan Thai days, it was much harder to get regular supplies, and a much greater proportion of the ingredients had to come from Thailand.? But he also sees a slowdown in the number of Thai restaurants opening as ?fewer people are willing to invest at the moment in new projects,? but feels the potential for more Thai cuisine outlets is enormous.
Something two other chefs also cooking up ?authentic? Thai cuisines in the city agree with. Jareuk Sri-Aroon and Aek Charttakul, both part of Bangkok?s Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, stress that while the number of Indians exposed to Thai food in India is up, the food served here is ?perhaps a little different, a little spicier,? than what they would get in Thailand. ?The current trend in Thailand is fusion,? they chorus. And before you get scandalised over the ?corruptions? to this exemplary cuisine, they hasten to add that the fusion is limited to presentation. Khai Neow or sticky rice, or even the Tham Thim Crob, the gelationous jellied water chestnuts in jasmine soup, all retain their essence, but Western standards of presentation make them look different. Savour the new Thai at Delhi?s Metropolitan Hotel, also till next Sunday.