Lemon Grass !
That used to be the thought in my head a few years back when someone mentioned Thai food. In the zeal to differentiate it from the popular Chinese food, most eateries in Delhi would throw in Lemongrass and Galangal and call it Thai. Many still do …
Lemongrass is my kryptonite and I developed this strong aversion to what I thought was Thai food, avoiding it like the plague.
It is only when I went to Thailand a few years back that I found out that very few things actually have Lemongrass and once I steered clear of those, I found that Thai food is one of my now favorite cuisines. The science and art in the way they mix the 5 tastes really makes the food sing. Having visited Thailand now on many occasions I have also seen how food changes depending on the various regions. Not as crazy diverse like in India but they do have their differences.
When I learnt out about Bo-Tai I was excited and looking forward to visiting. I had happened to return from a trip to Thailand just this week and while there atleast one meal a day was Thai food. So the flavours were fresh on my mind and palate .
So did the Bo-Tai food taste like the food in Thailand ? NO! , did I expect it to taste like the food in Thailand ? NO !
Just like I wouldn’t expect Indian food in Bangkok to taste like it does in Delhi I wouldn’t expect the reverse. Ofcourse there are exceptions and one has to dig to find them but thats not what I was referring to.
A restaurant serving traditional Thai food in Delhi is setting the expectations too high and is most likely not going to be able to satisfy the now very well travelled Delhi-ite and leaves the door wide open for comparisons. Also the struggle to get the right ingredient and chefs will be a constant struggle.
A large tastefully done up restaurant with a focus on its open terraces, in the shadows of the Qutub Minar, Bo-Tai is not your typical Thai restaurant though.
An Italian and Thai love child where there the very good looking child has an Italian accent and brown eyes but the features are very clearly Thai.
Its a modern take on Thai food and thats something that going on even in Thailand. This also gives a lot of flexibility and freedom to the chef for being a little creative and letting his/her talent fly. And in Bo-Tai, it did fly.
We started with the soft shell crab which was delicious, beats the hard work of trying to get at the sweet crab meat. Another one of the starters I really liked was the crispy prawns with raw mango.
In the main course the one thing I would come back again and again for was the Belgian Pork Belly, sliced fine and cooked perfectly. The other thing that comes a close second was the Chiang Mai Pork Sausages accompanied by a a bread that can only be described as a puff of cotton, its that soft. The lamb chops were very nice also but could have been cooked a little less. Perhaps it was the large amount of them that had to be made and I got one that wasn’t exactly right. During the regular ordering though they have started to ask the diners how they want it cooked so I think that should fix the problem right there.
To end a Thai meal, there is nothing more satisfying to me than Mango and Sticky Rice. Its tasty, its simple, its comforting.
This place will become a Delhi hotspot for sure and weather permitting the outdoor seating is what you want. So visit this place not for eating Thai food but for eating great food from wherever it is, enjoy the fantastic ambience and music and the great service.
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