North India gets its first Thai Pavilion in Gurgaon

North India gets its first Thai Pavilion in Gurgaon 

Restaurant review: Thai Pavilion, Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon

Not everyday an Ananda Solomon serves you his signature specialties, personally attends to you, talks about his ingredients and philosophy, and when he does you reckon it is a historical moment. Like the bunch of us who became a part of the legend of the iconic Thai Pavilion with the launch of its third franchise in the country (after Mumbai and Hyderabad) in Gurgaon at Vivanta by Taj.

And once again helming the affairs in the Gurgaon kitchen too is the national award winning chef Ananada Solomon who 19 years ago started a cult in Thai cooking with the opening of the first Thai Pavilion at Vivanta by Taj - President, Mumbai, which even today is a benchmark for die-hard Asian food connoisseurs the world over. The success story of the restaurant notwithstanding one wonders what took the group so long to come up with an outlet in the North. And now that there is one, albeit in the NCR, we ain't complaining.

Chef Solomon at the outset set the record straight by announcing that the menu in Gurgaon is almost the same as Mumbai, save for a few texturing details to suit the northern palate.

Decor
In keeping with the mood of the cuisine, the interiors have been done up to reflect the cultural richness of Thailand with carved teak wood walls, delicate patterns on the ceiling inspired by the Thai Palace's Royal Hall, and fused together with some Indian elements to depict the marriage of the two cultures. Despite all the detailing, there is a Zen quality about the ambience which makes a meal here as de-stressing as a traditional Thai massage. The neo-classical influence can be found in the cutlery and crockery too.

Food
Entree: Set before us were flutes of a deliciously red pomegranate drink which was meant to prepare our tastebuds for the surprising little entree that lay ahead. We were served a square wedge of watermelon with a galangal sauce on top. Galangal and watermelon - had never thought of them together, nevertheless it made for a beautiful combination. Next in line were the tempura prawns with tamarind sauce. Now, you may have had tempura prawns multiple times before, but none compares the lovely golden colour and crispiness of the one served by chef Ananda.

Its an art, and even technique, how the ubiquitous chicken can be turned on its head into a lush entree dish full of flavour. 'Marinated chicken morsels wrapped in pandanus leaves and fried' is a unique style, as chef Ananda explained, of cooking chicken by first marinating it and then wrapping it in the otherwise inedible pandanus leaves for the protein to soak up the sweet scent and flavour of the leaves before it is fried.

Vegetarians can take their pick from a young papaya salad combined with sweet and spicy sauce, or corn cakes flavoured with red curry paste and Thai herbs, or mushrooms delicately blended with Thai herbs.

Main course: We were each served a wrapped plantain leaf parcel tied together with lemon grass twigs and were asked to unwrap it only after the mains arrived. Thai red curry chicken was served from a beautiful porcelain bowl, and we quickly unwrapped our fragrant jasmine rice to tuck into the all-time Thai favourite. Unlike most places that make the red sauce too thick and pungent, you would find the one at Thai Pavilion subtle, yet with a definitive hint of chilli and the unmistakable smoothness of coconut milk. Crispy fried fish topped with tangy sauce and Thai herbs was a generous and juicy portion. But the true surprise component in the menu was a lamb dish grilled and served with mint and cucumber sauce. Though uncommon to Thai cuisine, the lamb dish was to die for. And we quickly raised our quandary with chef Ananda. Said he, "In Thailand it is usually pork, but since pork isn't all that common to our palate, I picked lamb only as a variant." The home-style stir fried vegetables on the menu goes well both with steamed rice and the flat rice noodles. But you must not miss out the fiery water chestnuts and cashew nuts with red chilli paste, even if you are a voracious meat eater. Together with hot rice, the dish is pure bliss.

Dessert: If already impressed with the plating of the entrees and main course wait until you are served your dessert. The dessert tray comprising baby Thai coconut filled with coconut milk and diced water chestnut, a hot Thai chocolate souffle served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, was a piece of work. Its only labour of love that can make an otherwise colourless water chestnut appear like ruby crystals floating in the coconut milk. The biscuit base of the souffle was light and crumbled easily making way for the warm and bitter chocolate inside. Even something as everyday as vanilla ice-cream was treated with much respect by serving it in a caramelised sugar casing.

If you haven't already been to the Bombay outlet, drive to Gurgaon without losing any time, Thai food is calling!

Rating: 9.5/10

Venue: Thai Pavilion, 1st floor, Vivanta by Taj, Sector 44, Gurgaon
Meal for two: INR 3000 (without alcohol)
Timings: 12:30pm to 3pm & 7pm to 11:30p
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