Head to this Thai food festival that promises the most authentic specialties Bangalore has ever indulged in. Why are they so good? Well, the two chefs who flew in, might be the special ingredient?

Sprawling greens, well-paved roads, architecture that makes you want to stop and stare and a general sense of well-being defines the area that houses this new food destination. Bangalore's tilting south-eastwards and how!

Welcome to Electronics City, the city's new posh locality that seems to promise high standards for work and recreation and everything in between.

We decided to check out the latest buzz in this IT homeland and dropped into Crowne Plaza's 24@43 for the ongoing Thai Food Festival.



What strikes you first when you walk in, is the beautifully designed interiors that seem straight out of any contemporary architectural magazine one would swear by. The ample space is refreshing and the natural lighting, simply fabulous. The ambience is thus set!

After a brief tour around the spacious hotel (which the staff are more than happy to indulge you in), I settled down at a table in the transparent-chaired dining area and sipped on a chilled glass of water.

Believe me; sophistication often doesn't get half as relaxing as this. I'd also recommend any of the fruit juice options they serve to welcome you to the experience they're fresh, relaxing and help you loosen up for the meal.

We started off with a platter of salads that were an eye rather a taste-bud opener, that were the perfect introduction to this cuisine in its original form.

I've heard of the green spiciness of Thai cuisine, but it wasn't till these small bites met my palate, that I was convinced of this unique taste.

Zingy and with an extra bite of sour and chilli spice, each salad seemed as authentic as a Thai salad could get.

My first experiment was the Yam Woon Sen, a spicy jelly-vermicelli-glass-rice-noodle like salad, which was followed by the Moo Nomtok, a spicy grilled pork salad.

I then tried the Larb Gai, a spicy minced chicken salad and then ended my salad encounter with the Yam Kai Dao, a spicy fried egg salad.
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I thought the egg salad was very everyday, while I was quite impressed by the vermicelli salad. The pork was far too tough for my Indian likings, but any true pork fan would love the appetizer.

We then moved on to the starters, Tod Man Pla, deep fried shrimp cakes with cucumber relish and Thod Man Kao Phod, a deep fried corn cake that seemed extremely familiar.
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We won't be surprised if you decide to take a few extra helpings and these deep fried delicacies are yummy indeed.

Main course ensued, with the Phad Pak Ruam Mitr, wok fried garden vegetables with oyster sauce, which was an interesting accompaniment to the Kuay Tiew Kua Gai, fried flat noodles with chicken.

I was also extremely intrigued by the Pla Sauce Prig Thai Sod, deep fried snapper with spicy pepper corn sauce that went really well with the Phak Kao Phad, vegetable fried rice.

There was of course the over-exposed Gaeng Kiew Warn Gai, green curry with chicken and sweet basil and Gaeng Phed Phak, red curry of vegetables, but I seemed to have had too many versions of these staples to appreciate it too much.

Meal completed, I was in for a surprise when dessert appeared on my table. For the first time in my life, I indulged in some tongue-teasing desserts that soon became favourites.

The Kao Kaya Koo, a pandan pudding with coconut cream that was served as a bed for the even more interesting, Tua Kiew Tom Nam Khing stewed moong in ginger syrup. The texture of the pudding was to die for and the simple flavours were a refreshing change from our usually heavy and flavour-drenched cream desserts.
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My favourite however was the Gaeng Bued Fak Thong, roasted pumpkin in a mildly flavoured coconut syrup, that simply blew my mind. I am officially a fan and am looking forward to more servings of this delicacy.

Satiated and extremely satisfied with the quality of food, I would encourage any foodie to rush to this festival. It's authentic, it's yummy and it's an experience worth taking all the trouble for. Like that's not enough, here's your chance to win a free meal at the festival. Turn to Page 19 for details.

At: The Thai food festival at 24@43, Crowne Plaza (used to be The Ottera),
Opposite HP, Phase I, Electronics City
On till: March 12 (Lunch and Dinner)
Call: 3003 0303
Meal for two: Rs 800 (inclusive of taxes)