Bottles of burning Srirach, a variety of vinegars and fish sauces, all imported from Thailand, the new dining hall in Bandra, the empty, crumbling wall of brick Thai. The display serves two purposes – it forms the highlight of the place (soon, it will be painted with a tuk-tuk life-size mural, we were told) and also confirms the restaurant’s claim to use authentic Thai ingredients in “modern Thai” preparation. .
But the rest of the decor, including the open brick, wooden table and colorful iron chairs, is reminiscent of Lower Pearl’s Spicy PDT (please don’t say), which is owned by the boys Brick Thai, Ashish Sajnani and Juspreet Singh Wali. The 40-seat restaurant also has an outdoor section with a large community table with bar-style chairs and a few tables overlooking the busy streets of Bandra.
Brick Thai provides authentic flavor from Thai food through preparations borrowed from other foods. So there’s Fad Pick Kai Sriarcha, stuffed chicken wings marinated with honey Sriracha sauce and their signature yam quino salad that combines tomatoes, cabbage and kunchi kaju.
We started our meal with Guangzhou, a tangy clear soup with roasted sticky rice and shrimp with vegetables and a main som tam, a spicy green papaya salad with crushed peanuts. The soup was flavorful, perfect for sore throats and we couldn’t stop ourselves from taking a quick bite of the salad despite having spices. This was followed by a brick Thai burger that came with a thick chicken patty (the perfect sign for it) flavored with Thai spices. Still, the burger lacked a certain healthiness because it was without the crispy lettuce that the menu promised us.
To go with our meal, we ordered Cafe Yen, a Thai iced coffee with condensed milk. While the drink was a welcome relief from all the spicy food, it was no better than the variety of standard coffee shops. We tried Renong pla yang thm nalay, a fish marinated with spices and grilled perfectly. Although slightly salty, the dish came with a tangy ‘yam’ sauce that complements the mild flavor of the fish. In a special house, we were tempted to steal the sauce recipe, which we were told was prepared using galangal, kafir lime leaves, lemon grass and soy sauce.
With little space for the main course, we stuck to another main thing – Thai Green Curry Rice which had a good balance of coconut milk and herbs. Steamed jasmine was served with rice, green curry with chicken was the perfect casual meal. For dessert, we recommend Kanam Dak, a Thai tea emerald quota. Served with dragon fruit, it was the star of our food.
Thai Ban has established itself as a go-to food shop for Thai food in Bandra, occupying Pali Nakar for 16 years. Thai Khan, which has now replaced Thai Ban, has quality food with a simple and casual environment. However, in order to survive as long as its predecessor, it needs to be consistent and reinvent itself on a regular basis.
Meals for two: Rs. 1,500 (no alcohol in the restaurant)