Onions to close your meal: This Thai chef is changing how we eat desserts in Chennai

The Park Chennai’s Thai restaurant Lotus has a brand new chef from Thailand, who is plating desserts with onions and serving Thai curry without coconut 
LOTUS38
LOTUS38

Think Thai food and what comes to mind instantly is the heady aroma of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves with some coconutty fragrance thrown in for good measure. So, when we are told that The Park Chennai’s Thai restaurant, Lotus, has a new chef who’s offering us a Thai curry sans coconut and onions in our dessert, we sure were curious enough to check it out. 


Satit Chaimano, the new expat chef at Lotus, brings with him almost three decades of experience cooking and serving Thai cuisine. Originally from Trang in Southern Thailand, this is his second outing in Chennai, and when asked what we can expect from his menu at the restaurant, he says, “Some  favourites from the old menu remain, but the new menu is a lot more exciting with dishes that include sweet potato, green curry fried rice and Jungle Curry making an appearance.” 


We begin with thirst quenchers, a cocktail flight, of which we love the Krabi Mojito (white rum, kaffir lime, galangal, basil and chilli) for its spicy undertones and the Pitaya Margarita (tequila, triple sec, dragonfruit and orange juice) which is understandably sweeter. Our appetisers arrive — sweet potatoes stir-fried in a garlic and chilli sauce, a sweet-and-sour combination of flavours that really work well together. The Thai- style barbeque pork ribs with a generous sprinkling of chilli flakes are something that you need to use your fingers to eat, for forks and knives, simply won’t do. The old favourite of chicken wrapped in pandanus leaves is next, which is just as tasty as we remember them to be, but this time, served with an accompaniment of a tangy-sweet soy sauce topped with sesame. 


From the main course, we are most excited to try the Jungle curry, a mix of vegetables in a spicy broth, without any coconut milk — a tribute by the chef to his love for chilli, for he really packs a punch with this one. We also try the Green Curry Fried Rice, a rather novel take on the usual green-curry-sticky-rice combo. But what really had our palates on overdrive (and in a good way for those who love spice like us) were the pan-fried broccoli and edamame, topped with ginger, shiitake and red chilli and the spicy stir-fried lamb with asparagus and bird’s eye chilli — both best had with the chef’s rendition of flat (rice) noodles served with bok choy. 


For dessert, we were served with Khan Nhom Sai Saai (shredded coconut, encased in a doughy exterior that sits on a creamy custard base) which is a lovely play of textures on the palate and not overly sweet. But it was the Som Choon (lychee with raw mango and caramelised onions in a ginger broth) that surprised us, for we realised that onions in a dessert (or at least this one) could actually work. 

For lunch and dinner, meal for two is Rs 1,600 plus taxes.

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