Thai Dishes

IN the past few years, there has been a great penchant for Thai cuisine. The ubiquitous presence of Thai restaurants across the island seems to tip Bali further off the international culinary map. The quality of the cooking is of the no-nonsense, traditional Thai variety, and in addition to salads, appetizers, soups and barbecued items, there were curries, fish and steamed dishes, vegetables, flavored rice and desserts available.

Started with yam soom oh (pomelo salad with chicken and shrimp) plus ke nom pang nah kung (deep-fried bread topped with minced shrimp). Pomelos are large citrus fruits known locally as jeruk Bali. The salad was a typical Thai taste combination, tangy and citrusy, with a hint of chili spiciness. It would has been unforgivable to continue without ordering tom yang kung (spicy and sour prawn soup), so that was duly done.

The main part of the meal consisted of keng keao wan kai (chicken green curry), kung op kra tiam (steamed prawns with garlic) and kung op sap pa rot (shrimp fried rice in pineapple). The green curry, another Thai classic, was rich and full of flavor, without being too spicy. Thai food, excelling in dishes spiced with lemongrass, lime, and mint.

However, their thom yam gung, fried fish cakes, green papaya salad, spring rolls, a green chicken curry, and hormok (steamed mixed seafood) are recently lacking the spiciness of real Thai food - although you can specify when ordering how you'd like your food.

On desserts ordered tuapep (rice-flour cakes dipped in desiccated coconut shavings and filled with green nut paste), which were a pleasant way of rounding off the meal as they were not too sweet and sickly. If you are after a satisfying Thai meal that is really good value for money, then the somewhat drab surroundings need not be too great a drawback.