Tasting Britain
TastingBritain.co.uk - 'Traditional Taste of Thailand' Regional Menu @ The Mango Tree, Belgravia, London
Tasting Britain got the invite down to the bonafide, JK Rowling verified and superfly Thai institution, Mango Tree - based in lovely Belgravia. We were there to try out their new regional menu - the âTraditional Taste of Thailandâ (Tasting Britain tasting Thailand?), and finally see what all the fuss is about. Iâm glad we came, it lived up to my hopes (Iâd rather have hopes than expectations, since expectations tend to get you in trouble). Anyway, Iâll tell you about the menu and then a little about the restaurant.
Launched on September 15th, this regional menu covers the four main regional cuisines of Thailand; north, north-eastern, central and south and runs only until mid-November. Thereâs eight dishes to choose from â four starters and four mains. The northern style focuses on rich and mild dishes, the east goes for spicy, the central region errs towards milder dishes influenced by the Chinese cooking style, and the south goes for really spicy!
We tried two mains: the Sea Bass Moke - a dish from the northeast that was both sweet and âbassyâ (and I say that in a very positive way). The second was Khao Soi, a Burmese-influenced chicken noodle dish with delicious coconut milk flavours. Mighty fine stuff. The picture you see of everything on a platter is basically all the starters at once, l3l.
As for the Mango Tree themselves, theyâre a Thai fine dining restaurant founded in 2001 by restaurateur Eddie Lim. Mango Tree also has a âsisterâ restaurant chain - Pan Chai is described as 'the first pan-Asian restaurant franchise in the UK'. Mango Chefâs exec chef Ian Pengelley looked after the launch of the legendary Gilgamesh in Camden Stables and has been on TV (Masterchef I believe) a bit himself!
There also used to be a Mango Tree in Doha, Qatar, though it closed at the end of March 2013, an alcohol ban being a big part of that I think. As of 2012, they also have a concession in the legendary Harrods food hall. Iâm not sure if itâs obvious if you look at the pictureâs of the restaurant interior, it was actually designed with Feng Shui in mind. I am told the original Mango Tree can be found back in Bangkok - presumably still going!
TastingBritain.co.uk - 'Traditional Taste of Thailand' Regional Menu @ The Mango Tree, Belgravia, London
Tasting Britain got the invite down to the bonafide, JK Rowling verified and superfly Thai institution, Mango Tree - based in lovely Belgravia. We were there to try out their new regional menu - the âTraditional Taste of Thailandâ (Tasting Britain tasting Thailand?), and finally see what all the fuss is about. Iâm glad we came, it lived up to my hopes (Iâd rather have hopes than expectations, since expectations tend to get you in trouble). Anyway, Iâll tell you about the menu and then a little about the restaurant.
Launched on September 15th, this regional menu covers the four main regional cuisines of Thailand; north, north-eastern, central and south and runs only until mid-November. Thereâs eight dishes to choose from â four starters and four mains. The northern style focuses on rich and mild dishes, the east goes for spicy, the central region errs towards milder dishes influenced by the Chinese cooking style, and the south goes for really spicy!
We tried two mains: the Sea Bass Moke - a dish from the northeast that was both sweet and âbassyâ (and I say that in a very positive way). The second was Khao Soi, a Burmese-influenced chicken noodle dish with delicious coconut milk flavours. Mighty fine stuff. The picture you see of everything on a platter is basically all the starters at once, l3l.
As for the Mango Tree themselves, theyâre a Thai fine dining restaurant founded in 2001 by restaurateur Eddie Lim. Mango Tree also has a âsisterâ restaurant chain - Pan Chai is described as 'the first pan-Asian restaurant franchise in the UK'. Mango Chefâs exec chef Ian Pengelley looked after the launch of the legendary Gilgamesh in Camden Stables and has been on TV (Masterchef I believe) a bit himself!
There also used to be a Mango Tree in Doha, Qatar, though it closed at the end of March 2013, an alcohol ban being a big part of that I think. As of 2012, they also have a concession in the legendary Harrods food hall. Iâm not sure if itâs obvious if you look at the pictureâs of the restaurant interior, it was actually designed with Feng Shui in mind. I am told the original Mango Tree can be found back in Bangkok - presumably still going!