Cheery changes at Chili Thai
The restaurant is smaller now, but the Isaan-happy menu is huge
CAFE CHILI at Siam Paragon has marked its 10th birthday with a name change, becoming Chili Thai Restaurant, and a menu expanded to include more than 140 Isaan and Thai favourites.
The premises have also been revamped, adding a more “modern Thai” twist and more elegance. The 30-seat eatery operated by the Fortune Cooking Restaurant Group looks inviting with its exotic furnishings and elaborate ceiling lamps of wicker rattan.
In sharp contrast to the black floor, the interior is colourful, with cheery walls and Isaan-patchwork cushions.
“We wanted to make it more luxurious,” says Siriporn Pipatpongpayuha of the Restaurant Group, which also runs Pot Ministry, Eat Pot and Shabu-Chan.
“My boss [the group’s chief executive] and I travelled around the Northeast to find furniture and other decor items based around a ‘modern Thai’ theme. We wanted to show off the region’s unique craftsmanship and Isaan traditions.”
“My boss [the group’s chief executive] and I travelled around the Northeast to find furniture and other decor items based around a ‘modern Thai’ theme. We wanted to show off the region’s unique craftsmanship and Isaan traditions.”
While the restaurant has been reduced in size, the menu has ballooned, she points out, with dishes from all four regions of the country. “My boss loves roaming around trying all kinds of food, and here she wanted to offer only authentic food, served in a modern way that urban diners and foreign tourists can appreciate.”
The menu items, all based on original recipes, mingle local and foreign ingredients – the latter including Australian beef, Jamon Iberico pork neck and Carpaccio beef – and widely varying textures.
Simply made and presented for easy eating, Grilled Pork with Sticky Rolls comes with spicy jaew sauce. The Isaan Fries are crunchy deep-fried mixed vegetables. Isaan-style Spicy Minced Pork Salad vies for attention with Deep-fried Larb Wontons and Fresh Spring Rolls filled with fiery minced pork.
Spicy Soup with Bouncy Pork Balls
Highly recommended are Spicy Soup with soft Bouncy Pork Balls (Bt250), smooth Grilled Turmeric Chicken paired with spicy jaew and sweet chilli sauces, and hot and spicy Cucumber Som Tum with Grilled Prawn (Bt550), a hybrid of Isaan and Luang Prabang recipes.
Lotus Leaf Miang
A beautiful tray of Lotus Leaf Miang (Bt150) boasts a mixture of roasted shredded coconut, lemon, shallot, dried shrimp and chillies served in fresh lotus leaves.
“We use lotus leaf rather than betel leaf to wrap the miang so you get a different texture and more appealing look,” Siriporn says.
“We use lotus leaf rather than betel leaf to wrap the miang so you get a different texture and more appealing look,” Siriporn says.
Mixed Thai Appetiser
A rattan basket of Mixed Thai Appetisers (Bt450) offers fried chicken, pork satay with peanut sauce and acar, deep-fried minced-pork wontons, Northeast-style vegetable spring rolls, crispy rice crackers with a creamy pork-and-shrimp dip.
Coconut Ice Cream with 12 Thai Sweet Condiments
Diners with a sweet tooth will love another wooden platter, Coconut Ice Cream (Bt150). You get a dozen toppings, including sweetened pumpkin, salim, luke chid, crunchy tub tim krob, lod chong, sticky rice, black jelly, pineapple and peanut.
Tom Yum Coke
Over at the bar they’re pouring Tom Yum Coke (Bt260) – the soup ingredients blended with coke and liquor – Mixed Fruit Smoothie (Bt130) with the juices of orange, pineapple and lemon plus grenadine and yoghurt, and Guava Soaked Plum Smoothie (Bt120).
HOT AND SPICY
Chili Thai Restaurant is on G Floor at Siam Paragon and open daily from 10 to 10.
