Make time for Thyme

PRANAI PHORNPRAPHA, a keen epicure and heir to the design hotel Siam@Siam, is sharing the cornucopia of his culinary travels around the world at the “modern European” Thyme Eatery & Bar on Bangkok’s Nang Linchi Road. 

Opened late last year, the restaurant is an appealing glass box right next to a popular Isaan-style place selling som tam and larb. Arrive in the neighbourhood hungry and the choice between the two is clear enough, because Thyme, in tangy contrast, has a Spanish chef whipping up tapas, paella, garlic prawns and churros.

Thyme has that cool industrial-chic decor, all cement, metal, brickwork and glass, the wooden tabletops glimmering under dangling light bulbs. 

Downstairs there’s a long bar, where it’s coffee or tea in the afternoons and exquisite cocktails once night falls. The upstairs mezzanine has more seating, fitting 80 diners, plus a private room for as many as 12 more.

The menu is relatively small but the selection is utterly alluring with its tapas, soup, salads, paella, pasta and main courses. And chef Mario Rodriguez Gago from Valladolid in northwestern Spain does remarkable work. 

The ideal tapas to start your meal is Roast Beef Toast (Bt290), which is three baguette slices holding slow-braised short-rib beef, creamy brie cheese and caramelised onions. 

A worthy alternative is the Gambas al ajilo (garlic prawns, Bt260). Served in the fry pan, the sweet shrimps have been cooked with garlic, red pepper and olive oil and pocked with parsley. The oil left at the bottom of the dish is a tasty dip for the garlic-infused baguette served alongside. 

Iberico Ham (Bt650 for 50 grams) is wonderfully flavourful after ageing for 36 months and comes with another baguette, this one topped with lightly tangy tomato paste that complements the saltiness of the ham well. 

“The aged ham isn’t too dry or salty,” says Gago, who’s working in Thailand for the first time. “It’s Beher Guijuelo ham, made from free-range, black Iberian pigs that are raised on Ballota [the evergreen horehound]. It has cherry-red colour, good infiltration of fat and veining and a nice flavour.” 

Gago grew up in not one kitchen but two – his family runs a pair of restaurants in Valladolid, called Mi Tierra and Miguel Angel, as well as a coffee shop. He capped off his education at the cooking school Diego de Praves. 

The man certainly knows his food. The traditional Galycian Octopus (Bt490) is presented in a modern manner, the tentacles boiled to tenderness and served on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes sprinkled with Spanish paprika. 

Spanish cuisine being centred on paella, Thyme offers six varieties – lobster, seafood, black ink, chicken and chorizo, porcini mushroom and vegetarian. The one made with Canadian lobster (Bt1,600) is enough for two. Delivered in a cast-iron pan, the shellfish is the star, but the rice and stock are marvellously flavoured with prawns and squid.

“Most paella cooks use bomba rice because it’s impossible to overcook,” says Gago, “but that’s hard to find here, so I use Italian Carnaloli rice, which has a similar texture.”

His Thai guests tend to prefer the Black Ink Paella (Bt1,100), for which squid supply the ink and also join the boiled limbs of an octopus on top. “This one has a more intense flavour, but it’s the best-selling dish among our Thai customers,” says the chef.

Also sure to please local palates is Spaghetti Tom Yum (Bt650), with its spicy sauce and river prawn. Kaffir lime leaf, ginger, lemongrass and chilli are blended in the sauce and then lavished on the al-dente pasta. Thais won’t find it particularly hot, though, and I actually found it a bit sweet.

There are only two dessert choices on offer, but they’re both terrific. 

For Churros (Bt200), fried dough is squeezed into shape by hand, fried until crisp on the outside, dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with dark-chocolate and caramelised-milk dipping sauces. 

Torija (Bt160) is a Spanish variation on French toast and Japan’s honey toast. A cube of bread is dipped in vanilla sauce, caramelised in a pan and served with vanilla ice cream, with granules of dehydrated raspberry and fruit coulis boosting the sweetness quotient. 

Among the beverages, the Thyme Latte (Bt100) has a nice caffeine kick and can be mixed according to your own preference – the chilled milk, a double shot of espresso, syrup and a glass of ice are presented separately. You get to savour the coffee aroma while taking your time about adding the milk. 

Another great non-alcoholic drink is called Wake Me Up (Bt190), which is as refreshing as the name suggests. It’s the perfect combination of berries, thyme and berry-flavoured sparking water. 

  

 

EUROPEAN SOJOURN

>> Thyme Eatery & Bar is on Nang Linchi Road off Rama III Road. It’s open daily from 11.30am to 11pm.

>> Call (02) 678 1333 or visit the “ThymeEatery” page on Facebook.