| |
 |
|
A Thai Feast for the Eye And Also for
the Palate
BANGKOK - It is a purely serene glimpse of paradise.
The calm and pristine restaurant with teak, ceramics
and fine Thai silk is afloat in a magnificent pool of
lotus blossoms. The cuisine is an intelligent blend
of traditional and modern Thai cooking, intended to
merge a feast for the eyes and one for the palate. The
six-year-old Celadon restaurant is just a corner of
the Sukhothai Hotel, a gleaming white complex that,
too, is a well-considered mix of modern and traditional,
with ancient temple doors, a palm-lined drive and six
acres of lily ponds, in the center of Bangkok.
In these harmonious and elegant surroundings, diners
at Celadon (which takes its name from the ceramic glaze
as well as the grayish yellow-green color of traditional
and modern Asian pottery) can choose from a labyrinthine
menu of Thai fare. Seated on chairs upholstered in crisp
beige linen and dining off thick, hand-crafted celadon
plates on white linen place mats, we feasted on a palate-stimulating
spicy beef salad, paired with plenty of cucumbers and
raw onions for cooling down the palate. The winged bean
salad was a perfect balance of spicy and sour, with
lots of giant shrimp in a peanut-based sauce. And other
starters - such as deep-fried minced pork and shrimp
wrapped in bean curd sheets and rice flour crepe stuffed
with crab meat, minced chicken and mushrooms - showed
how cleverly the Thai chefs borrow curries from India
and stir-fry and noodles from China.
soup imitates art Thai soups are an art, and one of
the most popular is tom yam goonglai rue goong maenam,
a spicy sour soup that blends tiger prawns and river
prawns, seasoned with fragrant lemongrass, lime juice
and fresh garden chili. The brilliant red, pink, and
green soup is the perfect blend of the iodine richness
of the sea and the herbal freshness of the garden, a
true layering of flavors, harmonious and so evenly spiced
that one marvels at the cook's controlled hand. Heavier,
but no less fulfilling was the also popular tomkha gai,
the regal herb-, chicken-and coconut-based soup that
balances sweet, spice and fatty richness.
Main courses include no less than 13 curries, and ours
was one of the most traditional, a southern Indian-inspired
chicken curry - gaeng mussaman nuea rue gai - a gently
sweet dish, and one of the rare Thai dishes containing
potatoes - that was all spicy mellowness, laced with
Indian herbs and one that left you with a lingering
smile on your palate.
Despite common belief, Thai food is not universally
hot, for paralyzed palates no longer note the subtleties
of fine cuisine. So we followed with a very delicate
steamed white snapper, topped with lime juice and just
a gentle hit of chilies.
Desserts offer a gentle close, with glutinous rice
balls in sweetened egg in coconut milk, and soothing
pumpkin custard. Lemongrass tea ends it all, to soothe
the palate and aid digestion.
A total contrast to the elegant Celadon was an open-air
feast at the northern city of Chiang Mai, where we dined
at the Pongyang Garden Resort on a shaded teakwood terrace,
surrounded by the soothing sounds and midday coolness
of a rushing waterfall. Seated at bare wooden picnic
tables and sipping the cooling Thai Singha beer, we
ate simple country fare. Abundant platters of raw vegetables
- green beans, herbs, lettuce - revved up our appetites,
which were ready by the time the parade of courses arrived:
a rich meat salad of pork that had been marinated in
salt, sugar and coriander and then dried in the sun;
Burmese pork curry, and minced chicken salad.
-
TWO highlights of the meal were the beautifully bitter
grilled pork in fermented tamarind sauce, which perfectly
balanced out the heat and richness of the other fare.
Then came a whole Cambodian carp-like fish, deep-fried
so the skin was crisp and vibrant, smothered with fresh
chilies and topped with a carpet of fried basil leaves.
The days' soup - the traditional tom yam ghung - was
refreshing, a mix of half chicken stock and half shrimp
stock, laced with lemon juice, galingale, lemongrass,
chilies and shrimp.
Dessert could not have been more simple: giant platters
of papaya, watermelon and pineapple, which the locals
sprinkle with salt for perfect digestion.
-
Celadon, Sukhothai Hotel, 13/3 South Sathorn Road,
Bangkok 10120, Thailand. Tel: (66-2) 287-0222, extension
5722. Fax: (66-2) 287-4980. Open daily. All major credit
cards. Vegetarian menu at 520 baht ($11), and tasting
menus at 580 and 620 baht.
-
Pongyang Garden Resort, KM 14 Maerim-Samerng Road,
Chiang Mai, Thailand. Tel: (66-53) 879-151 Fax: (66-53)
879-153. Open daily. No credit cards. About 200 baht
per person.
This is the last of a series.
|
