Thai Thai Restaurant

110 Old Street, EC1V 9BD, Shoreditch, London

Food: 2/5
Service: 4/5
Price: £40-45 per person (drinks excluded)

The problem of any Thai restaurant in London is that once you tried places like Kao Sarn in Brixton, it is very hard for any of them to meet the expectations. I can say though that we visited Thai Thai with a clear mind and the best intentions. But even with the best intent, the overall experience with food there was pretty disappointing.

When we entered the restaurant we were welcomed by a very polite table attendant who thankfully was also our pleasant and efficient waiter. The interiors of the restaurant were sober and relaxing with few oriental hints to what the average European person would consider Thai decor.

The following is what we ordered yesterday night, when we tried to mix some classics with some new dishes.

Starters

Tod Mun Ra (Thai fish cake)
Fish served with spices and kaffir lime leaves served with ground peanut and sweet chilli sauce.

The colourful dish was served on a black rectangular plate that made the bright colours stand out and happily invite you to taste the food. Although the taste was there – the combination of ginger and lime leaves was very pleasant – the fish cakes weren’t really fish cakes but they looked more like squashed fish balls. On top of that their texture was slightly spongy and rubbery. It brought the whole plate down, not really something you would expect in a refined restaurant.

Pu Nim (soft shell crabs) – Deep Fried soft shell crabs, topped with garlic, pepper, salted chillies and spring onions.

Uh, what a disaster. The plural of ‘crabs’ in the menu is a bit misleading. You actually get one fried crab. With the whole soft shell…but with no meat in it. I do not know if any of you travelled to Beijing, China. Allow me to share a little image of my journey there. It was 2006 and I was part of a jolly group of students. We were walking among the hutongs in the city centre, when we noticed a group of children running around with some peculiar skewers in their hands. I wasn’t sure what they were made of first, I could only see it was something deep fried. We turned a corner to encounter a food stall selling skewers of…scorpions. The whole things, with their shells, piled up in three or five on a skewer. Now, I consider myself a pretty adventurous person, always ready to try new delicatessens, but this one…none of us in the group had the guts to try.  Especially the ones still moving on the skewers…
This is to say that when last night we were served a deep fried full-legged, empty crab, the association of thoughts was quick to make.
I did try this one though….and I could only taste the half-crunchy shell – not much crab meat in there. The legs weren’t soft at all. I left the rest on the plate.

Mains

Talay Pad Chaa – Stir fried scallops, prawns, mussels and squid in a rich lemongrass, garlic, peppercorn sauce.

The mains were a better experience compared to the starters. In this case the scallops were well cooked. However the sauce wasn’t anything special, more or less tasting like any pepper sauces you can have in any Chinese restaurant.

Beef Mussaman Curry – Coconut Milk infused with roast peanut, potatoes and tamarind mild and tasty (as per menu description).

Probably the best dish of the evening. Nothing presumptuous, pretty sweet and mild, not a lot of meat in there though. Mussaman curry is a pretty nice dish, kind of difficult to get it wrong.

The general shock though was caused by the fact that the mains are not served with rice…and a bowl of egg fried rice costs £4.50.

Sides

Pad Pak – Stir fried mixed vegetables with oyster sauce
Very average side. Simply stir fried vegetables with some oyster sauce poured on them.

Desserts

Coconut mousse with mango ice cream heart
The dessert were not made in house, so generally I would not describe them. It is worth mentioning though that this one was served…completely frozen.  I had to wait good five minutes to eat it, the alternative was to break the plate with the spoon.

Jasmin Tea
I know you might be wondering why I talk about a simple Jasmine tea. The special story about this one has to do with the waiter – a different one unfortunately – who took desserts orders.
My partner asked him which ones among the three or four teas on the menu was the lightest. The answer was: “It just depends how long you keep the tea bag for, if you take it out sooner, the tea will be lighter”. I don’t think any comment is needed on this one.

Therefore, as said, not a wonderful experience in glamorous Shoreditch last night. I definitely would not recommend…unless you want to experience some exotic shivers thanks to meatless crabs!

KaoSarn ….or KaoSan?

Brixton Village Market, Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8PR

Food: 5/5
Service: 1/5
Price: £15 per person (drinks excluded)

I ate twice at KaoSarn, and twice I was shocked by the poor service and marvelled by the delicacy of the food.

The first time I went with friends for dinner, the queue was 45 mins long. Fair enough. When we are then pointed at our table, we are also told ‘you have one hour to finish’. ‘Well’ I though, ‘This depends on how quick you are in delivering the orders’ – we made it, in case you are wondering.

The second time I was with my partner and we went for a late lunch. We arrived in front of the place which was magically empty. Two members of the staff were inside, busy with unpacking straws. I looked at them not sure if the restaurant was still opened. They looked at us, a bland, inexpressive stare. No sign, no waving. Obviously we are still not convinced the place is open. Not that anyone cares I see… A waitress comes out to pick up some left overs. ‘Excuse me, are you still open?’ I dare. ‘We are open till three thirty’. It was quarter to three, so we decided to assume that her statement was meant to be concluded with ‘come in please!’.

The little attention to details for the customer is also noticeable from the name of the restaurant: spelt ‘KaoSarn’ on the entrance and ‘KaoSan’ on the menu…who knows. Anyhow, no matter how bad the service can be or how the name should be spelt, the food make you soon forget it all.

I am not going to spend too much time on the interiors…as there aren’t any really…the decor inside is equalled by the service…absent. So let’s move on to what matters.

This is a summary of what I had during my visits.

Starters

Geaw Tod: pastry filled with chicken and prawns served with sweet chilli sauce and ground peanuts: nice way to start the meal, the pastry was very light and crunchy, a lightness hard to find in Asian restaurants. The ground peanuts were also a pleasant surprise that made the sweet chilli sauce more interesting than usual.

Mains

Phad Thai with prawns: the beauty of this dish completely clashed with the whole setup of the place… Thank God. As you can see from the photo it was a delight to the eyes. The big, flat plate made it a bit difficult to eat but definitely pretty to see.  The phad thai was good and light but not over exciting. I believe this is a place you go to for its curries.

Green curry chicken with mixed vegetables: what a curry! Only slightly sweet, absolutely tasteful. I love this kind of light sweetness in Asian dishes, in this case the coconut milk made the vegetables and chicken flourish under the palate.

Lamb Massaman – red curry of coconut sauce with lamb, onions, potatoes, peanuts, anise: absolutely the best dish I had here. When you say ‘Thai’, you usually imagine coconuts, prawns, coriander. This dish is offered with lamb. Moist and tasty lamb. This is a vibrant, aromatic dish where the lamb and coconut sauce are the king and queen of the party…with a touch of anise as crown.

This is definitely the best Thai restaurant I tried in London so far… And the most polarised! Once you try a bite of that lamb, the bustling surroundings, the cheap tables and the horrible service are projected in a far-away black hole, and you are left with that delicate coconut sweetness under your palate… reminding you of distant Asian shores.

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‘Attractions’ nearby

If you take a walk among the stalls at Brixton Market on Saturday, you might encounter a delightful mix of African and European haute couture. Pebbles of Pebbles Wearable combines colourful textiles with elegant and innovative shapes creating coats, dresses and accessories…all absolutely hand made.

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Addendum – 17 May 2015 @ Kaosarn, St. John’s Hill, Clapham

After being so keen on stressing the poor service at Kaosarn in Brixton, it seems only fair for me to mention its nicer cousin restaurant, Kaosarn in Clapham. I was extremely pleased to see that while keeping the food level at the amazing standards we already know, the service here was ten times better. Extremely polite staff, the possibility of booking and normal size tables. What a pleasure! I doubt the Kaosarn in Brixton will see me again after trying its 2.0 version in Clapham.