Grand Siam - RK Salai

As the weekend approached, it was decided to hit a Thai restaurant for the Saturday dinner. With many options now available for Thai cuisine in Chennai, we decided to try the newly opened ‘Grand Siam’ at RK Salai. Being a regular at another Thai stand-alone restaurant, we were pretty apprehensive about trying a new place but having sampled Chef Murali’s produce at his other restaurant ‘CHAO’, I thought the gamble could play out well. Indeed, it did excel our expectations.

Knowing it was a Saturday evening and restaurants in Chennai can get crowded, we arrived promptly at the time we had made our reservations. The front-house was very welcoming and the interiors were given an oriental touch with loads of wooden furniture’s and wood carvings. An enormous Buddha fountain statue welcomed us into the dining area. 

The menu card was promptly placed on the table and the opening page had a very interesting story about how Thai cuisine and Indian cuisine have so much in common and so on. It talked about the history and ancient kingdoms which were responsible for the similarities in both the cuisines. The menu was exhaustive and was intricately detailed in what the dish constituted. This I feel is very important in oriental restaurants mainly because most of the dishes are described by their original names which can get us really confusing on what the dish comprises of.

First to hit the table was “Mien Khem”. Though have had this several times at other Thai restaurants, never knew the reason behind why it was served first. Upon enquiry, I was told by Chef Murali that, it is the Thai tradition of welcoming guests for food. It consists of all 5 flavours that are used in Thai cuisine. This was followed by the family’s all-time favourite Thai soup, “Tom Yum” soup. As usual, they had ordered the “Tom Yum Goong”, where ‘Goong’ means ‘Prawn”. The soup was extremely authentic and had a perfect blend of spices. Most of the times I have had this at other places, it is either too peppery that my eyes turn watery or it is bland with no spiciness at all. But it was just perfect to my liking this time.

(Mein Khem)

(Tom Yum Goong)

Following the soup, our next order came in. Called “Pla Tod Samunp”, it was a Raw Pumpkin salad served with dry fish cakes. The salad was both juicy as well as crunchy while the fish cakes had a tinge of the fish smell on it. I personally am not a fan of the fish variety in sea food mainly because of the smell associated with it. Due to this, I had to ignore the fish cakes while the salad was sumptuous. 

(Pla Tod Samunp)

Once the soup and salads were served, we were then dished up with the starters of the evening. We once again went with an all-time favourite starter, the “Gai Hor Baiteay”. This is a very common delicacy in Thai cuisine and is most often served either in chicken or fish. This time around we had gone in for the chicken version. The chicken is first fried and is then wrapped in Pandan leaves, and cooked. The dish is served with the leaves still wrapped over the meat to ensure the complete flavouring is infused into the chicken. The chicken was juicy, moist and had almost no oil residual on it. The next starter was “Pu-Nim Tod Nam”, which was a first time order amongst the family. It was a dish that was suggested to us by the manager and decided to go for it. It was a Soft Shell Crab cooked in a Spicy Chilli Paste. Having heard of a soft shell crab for the first time, was anxious to know if it can be eaten directly with the shell. I was reassured that it can definitely be. Immediately after my first mouthful, my verdict was out. It was just too good to be described. Never knew soft shell crabs were such a delight to the taste buds. Though they tasted similar to chicken, you could still make out a distinctive taste as you bite in the shells. The spicy paste was indeed a bit spicy but added to the overall glory of the dish.

(Gai Hor Baiteay)

(Pu-Nim Tod Nam)

With the starters done, we decided to go light on the mains. We ordered the “Jungle Fried Rice”, which we knew needed no sides as the rice itself would be packed with loads of flavours. It was as expected, the rice was indeed full of flavours and really kept up our expectations. It wasn’t too chilly unlike the previous time I had it at another place. We were also served with a Stir Fry Vegetable, complimentary courtesy Chef Murali, which livened up the flavourings of the Jungle Fried Rice. 

(Jungle Fried Rice)

(Stir Fry Vegetables)

Next on the table was the dessert. When it comes to desserts, it is always a riot ordering them. I often end up finding many a desserts that I would like to taste but eventually have to settle at the best choice at that moment. This time it was the regular “Tub Tim Grob” and the new try at Grand Siam, the “Shankhaya Fakthong”. For those who are not familiar with “Tub Tim Grob”, it is a must try at any Thai restaurant. It is basically Water Chestnuts soaked in Coconut Milk and chilled. No one can stop with just one serving. The other dessert of the day, the ‘Shankhaya Fakthong’ was a pumpkin custard served with Coconut Ice cream atop it. The pumpkin custard was more like a rocky road. It had a mixed texture of both crunchiness and smoothness. Overall it made a great combination together with the Coconut Ice Cream which tasted really fresh. 

(Tub Tim Grob)

(Shankhaya Fakthong)

Having tasted at many other Thai restaurants in Chennai, I personally feel Grand Siam is a good competitor to most of them. With regards to their pricing, they seem to be a tad lower priced in comparison to the other restaurants in their league. The evening dinner bill for the two of us was around ₹ 2200/-.

Overall, if you feel jaded with the same Thai restaurant you have been visiting for a couple of years now, Grand Siam can be a good alternate and is a must visit at least once.

Grand Siam is located at RK Salai (Cathedral Road, under the Mylapore Flyover) and in Anna Nagar (Behind Yesses Super Market).

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CHAO - T. Nagar *A CFG Showcase*

It was yet another Thursday but this Thursday was none like before. This Thursday was the perfect setting for a CFG Showcase at the newly opened fine dining restaurant in T.Nagar called CHAO. Thanks to the courtesy extended by Mrs. Shalini, Mr. Jagadish & Chef Murali, CFGians were invited to CHAO to sample and review their fare. CHAO is a fine dine South-East Asian restaurant serving up cuisines from Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. 

Upon entering the restaurant the first thing that struck me was their exquisite interiors. It was definitely a fine dine restaurant. The restaurant has 2 floors of seating with a private lounge for customers who want a sense of privacy probably for those with celebrity status may be. Great level of attention has been taken to ensure the interiors were hand in glove with the food being served. There was a complete feel of being somewhere in Thailand or Cambodia with all the Buddha statues and artworks. 

 

Once all the folks for the showcase had arrived, we were then introduced to Chef Murali who gave us an insight about his career and the spread that we were to sample today. A short while later we were also met by Mr. Jagadish and his co-partner who welcomed us to CHAO.

(Corn Tartlets)

(Devil's Potato)

(CHAO Thai Grilled Fish)

Shortly after the formal introductions were over, the traditional Lemongrass Tea was served before the food started to come in one by one. We were first served with the Corn Tartlets. Rather than calling them as starters, it may be rightly called as a pre appetizer. They were very crispy and the flavoring on the corn mixture was just right to be not too heavy. Following this, we were dished with Devil's Potato and CHAO Thai Grilled Fish. The devil's potato was just as apt as the title, a spicy dish with potato and topped with sesame seeds. Although not being a great fan of sea food, I decided to try the CHAO Thai Grilled Fish. I was told that the fish used was a Royal Basa. The fish tasted perfect. It was just rightly cooked with the right flavorings infused and made for a good and heavy starter.

(Veg Dimsums)

(Devil's Chicken)

(Chicken Dimsums)

(Wasabi Prawns)

Following the grilled fish, the next starters to be presented were the Veg Dimsums, Wasabi Prawns, Chicken Dimsums and Devil's Chicken. To be honest I was not able to make out anything extraordinary in the Dimsums. I guess this could be because, Dimsums are very simple in nature and nothing can go wrong except for the wrapper which can at times be sticky. But both the veg and the non veg Dimsums at CHAO were excellent. Devil's Chicken was more on the lines with its vegetarian counter-part except for being a little too rubbery. This was the feeling amongst a few fellow CFGians too. Maybe the chicken was a tad over cooked or must have got a bit soggy in all the devil sauces. Coming to the star dish of the evening, the WASABI PRAWNS was truly an unique dish in its own ways. The prawns were coated evenly with the in-house special Wasabi sauce which is indeed a scaled down version of the original Wasabi sauce mixed with Mayonnaise. The plates kept getting emptied that more servings were being continuously ordered. This is in fact the Signature Dish at CHAO. True to its status, it is a must have. This was followed by a further 2 more starters, the Mushroom Pepper Salt and Satay Prawns. The Mushroom Pepper Salt was a bit high on the pepper quotient while the Satay Prawns were more of the grilled prawns kind. We couldn't really savor the taste of any more starters as the Wasabi prawns kept hitting us hard again and again.

(Satay Prawns)

(Mushroom Pepper Salt)

Post the starters, we were presented with an awesome serving of Green Mango Salad. The mango was sour enough to taste perfect with the dressing. Coming to the mains, the entourage was provided with 2 types of rice, viz. Jasmine Rice and Sambal Rice accompanied by a Thai Green Fish Curry, Singapore Bee Hoon, Basil Chicken and Cashew Garlic Garden Greens. 

(Non Veg Mains)

For those wondering about Jasmine rice, it is a special preparation of white rice with an aroma of Jasmine infused in it. The Sambal rice was really nice with a great variation of spices with both high's and low's. The Thai Green Fish curry was outstanding. Take it from the words of someone who is probably having a Fish curry after a couple of years. Together with the Jasmine rice and the Sambal rice, the green curry was the perfect accompaniment. Though the taste was slightly modified to suit the Indian needs, it still tasted authentic to me. The Basil Chicken had a strong Basil flavor in it which dominated over the other flavorings in it. But the chicken was cooked better this time around in comparison to the Devil's Chicken. The Singapore Bee Hoon and Cashew Garlic Garden Greens were left to my fellow vegetable lovers to savour. I'm sure they tasted great too as I did not hear any negatives on them.

(Tub Tim Grob)

(Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Ice Cream)

Now coming to my favorite aspect of dining at a restaurant serving Thai cuisine, which is of course their desserts. CHAO had the usual desserts such as Tub Tim Grob, Fried Ice Cream, Dates Pancake with Ice Cream and so on. We were provided with Tub Tim Grob and an amazingly beautiful Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Ice Cream. The Tub Tim Grob tasted just like the usual one. It was kind of difficult for me to make out any impressive changes comparatively to those served at other Thai restaurants in Chennai. But what really stood out was their Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Ice Cream. In fact, orders for more servings kept flooding the kitchen as it was just amazing and out of the world. A few fellow CFGians were literally at arms when the last serving came out. Arms in hands with their cameras post which with the best weapon to one's gastronomy, the mighty spoon. 

The showcase overall presented us with an overview of the different cuisines served at CHAO and a look at some of their exceptional dishes like the WASABI PRAWNS and Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Ice-Cream. The place has wonderful decors and is an apt place for a proper fine dine experience. In relation to the price point, be prepared to pay for the amazing food plus the fascinating experience you are bound to encounter at CHAO. 

Final verdict, very tasty but a bit pricey but well worth for its experience and variety of cuisine.

CHAO is located on North Boag Road, T. Nagar opposite the Singapore Consulate.

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