Kylin Premier is hosting “Beyond The Curry”, a ten day Thai food festival from 11th – 20th May, 2016.
Chef Nikkhil Kanwar, after living in Thailand, realized that in India, we have barely managed to scrape the surface of the rich and varied Thai cuisine. Through this festival, he hopes to take us on a culinary tour of both fine dine and street food available in Thailand.
The Chef has curated a fairly long menu comprising of almost twenty-eight dishes. There are tongue tingling appetizers, soups, salads, mains and curries to choose from.
Being a huge fan of Thai cuisine I couldn’t have asked for more. I have often eaten fish steamed in banana leaves (an age old technique of cooking) but it was the first time that I had Grilled Prawn Parcels. Two prawns with grated coconut on a bed of cabbage, basil and red eye chili were done to perfection. It is very easy to overcook prawns and especially when they are wrapped inside a banana leaf. But these were soft and juicy, sweet from the coconut and spicy from the chili.
The main thing about recreating any cuisine is that one should not take away its soul. And Thai cuisine is nothing but a very fine balance between chilies, sweet and the sour elements. For this very reason I loved all the salads that I tasted – the classic Som Tum Thai (grated raw papaya salad), Grilled Prawn and Pomelo Salad. They simply brought the palate alive leaving it asking for more.
From the appetizer section, Lemon grass infused Chicken Satay was, at the cost of repeating myself, really juicy. It was served with a lovely peanut sauce and a sweet dip with onion, cucumber and birds eye. I have often had chicken satay, which due to overcooking sticks to the wooden stick and is even difficult to pull off but that was not the case here.
The Pork Skewer served with Papaya Salad was equally good, its sweet marinade giving it a lovely smoky flavor after being char grilled. The Deep Fried Prawn Cakes were simply amazing. They had a very thin coating of flour and even to bind them, there was minimal use of flour. So with each bite all I could taste was the sweetness of the prawns well complimented with a mildly sweet plum sauce.
Prawn Tom Yum Soup was well balanced – it was spicy and sweet with a hint of tartness. One thing that I fail to understand though is that whenever I have had a curry in Thailand, its consistency is always watery but when you eat the same in India, it is almost always thick.
Chu Chee Tao Hoo (Crispy tofu in a thick red curry sauce) was so thick that only the tofu was covered with it making it difficult to eat with rice. Even though the chef shared that Chu Chee means a thick sauce it could have been altered.
Fried Pork and Long Green Beans with Chili Paste was simply to die for. Thinly sliced pork, wok tossed with greens and chili made me go back for it. Thai Green Vegetable Curry was on the sweeter side – it needed to be spiked up with some chilies and toned down on sweetness to balance it.
After talking to the Chef, three things that comes across clearly is his passion for Thai cuisine which translates onto the plate, that he’s a purist and his stark good looks. What I missed in the menu was Pad Thai flat noodles and desserts.
Leaving the food aside, not to miss are some Thai cocktails curated specially for the festival. I tried the Sly Thai Martini (vodka with kaffir lime and lychee) and DoiLuang (gin, cucumber and lemon grass) both of which complimented the food well.
A must go to Thai festival if you love the cuisine !
RATINGS (OUT OF 5):
FOOD: 4.5 | AMBIENCE: 4.0 | SERVICE: 4.0 | OVERALL: 4.0
MEAL FOR TWO: 2500 (without drinks) | CREDIT CARD: YES | TIMINGS: 12 noon to 12.30 a.m. | WHEEL CHAIR ACCESSIBLE: Yes
ADDRESS: Kylin Premier T- 302, Third Floor, Ambience Mall, VasantKunj, New Delhi. | TELEPHONE: For Reservations 9871757744
