Laurence Civil goes down to the river to sample Thai cuisine at its best

The Restaurant is housed in a cluster of Thai-style, striking teak pavilions set in a garden next to the Chao Phraya River. Bensley Design Studios recent ren­ovation of Salathip at Shangri-la Bangkok has given it a contemporary neo­classical feel with the over structure remaining unchanged.

The décor is a combination of tradi­tional Thai blended with contem­porary elegance and simplicity. A stricking feature is in the ceiling design of the individual salas where they have cleverly used gold leaf stenciling of Thai inspired designs set on a back­ground of dark wood – subtle yet effective.

Chef Tussamee has a traditional, Thai based style of cooking to which she adds a creative twist us­ing the finest ingredients and products from the Royal projects. As the ideal Thai meal consists of a mixture of flavours and textures, to help guests get the right balance to their meal the menu in­dicates whether the predominant taste in each dish is spicy, sour, sweet or salty.

Salathip is more than just about eating; they have carefully paired some of their dishes with an individual wine to elevate it to a dining experience. Their recommendation is to choose wines from the list of Pinot grapes as they believe that wines from this family are less tannic and softer making them very suitable for Thai cuisine.

Pinot Noir is the mother grape of the Pinot family, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are some of the more successful mutations of Pinot Noir and produce distinct and unique wines on their own. Each differs from its parent Pinot Noir, in the colour of their fruit and possesses a different char­acter of its own, but will not over power the flavour of their dishes.

The first dish I tasted was deep-fried ‘Tub Tim’ Fish, side-served with kale leaves and its condiments of diced lime, diced shallot, diced ginger, roasted coconut, roasted peanut, and roasted diced chili. The wine they chose to pair with it was a Leon Byer Pinot Gris from Alsace that is crisp and me­dium bodied and contains a suitable level of acidity that went well with the gingery flavoured appetizers. Serving wine at the correct temperature makes all the difference to the structure of the taste and I appreciated them serving it very cold.

Next, they served Southern style crispy pork leg with Thai herbs accompa­nied by fresh vegetables such as cucumber, eggplant, snake beans and green salad which they had paired with Sileni Estate Pinot Noir from Marlbor­ough, New Zealand. This very versatile wine complemented the crispy pork,and did not take away any flavour from the Thai herbs. The acidity of the Pinot Noir complements the fattiness of the pork. There is sweetness to the wine that bal­ances the taste of the sauce and enhances the overall flavour of the dish.

Then they served Salad of Grilled Austral­ian Strip loin with Thai Aubergine with Pi­not Nero Castello della Sala as they wanted a stronger fruitier wine with the beef. Pi­not Nero is the Italian version of the Pinot Noir varietal found mainly in the north of the country. While the wine is strong it didn’t overpower the grilled strip loin – in fact it balanced with it nicely.

We then moved onto Banana blossom salad and Artichoke with Roasted Cashew Nuts and Chilli Jam which they choose to pair with Pinot Grigio Castello Banfi from Tuscany Italy. The intense fruit aroma of the wine com­plemented the spiciness of the salad as well as the roasted flavours from the nuts.

To conclude the meal they served their signature dessert of sweet, sticky rice with custard and Thai tea ice-cream that they paired with Leon Bayer Pinot Blanc – again from Alsace. This wine is less dry, and contains a good balance of softness, that will go well with the Thai tea ice cream. This dessert is rather light in texture and flavour, therefore Pinot Blanc’s complexity balances the aftertaste. A dessert wine at the end of the meal nicely rounds off the dining experience.

The new look Salathip is chic, elegant and trendy taking fine Thai dinning to the level where it belongs. The palm trees lining the walkway give the es­sentially luxurious, tropical touch to set the right tone.

Salathip
Shangri-La Hotel, 89 Soi Wat Suan Phu, Charoen Krung (New Rd.), Silom, Bangkok