Explore the exotic flavours of Thailand at Coimbatore’s newest restaurant, Asiatique

With its exotic flavours and fragrances, Asiatique, the new eatery in town, promises to transport you to Thailand

There is not much of a question really. It is Thai food for the win when you walk into Asiatique, the city’s new restaurant, which promises some authentic flavours from Thailand. Right from hot 
aromatic broths, sweet and sour sauces packed with flavour and piping hot rice noodles, the restaurant focuses exclusively on Thai cuisine.

Flavours of Asia
The rooftop restaurant in Arcadia located at Peelamedu is already the favourite haunt for all those who crave some authentic Asian flavours. The rooftop has been renovated and the décor is simple yet elegant, with tables arranged in such a way that it creates a feeling of spaciousness. Vishnu Varadarajan, who owns the restaurant along with his uncle, R Devaraj, 
doubles up as the chef as well. “I did a course in Thai cuisine while in Thailand and decided to open an exclusive Thai eatery because the people here love anything that is innovative and different when it comes to food,” says Vishnu.

Packing a punch
The best introduction to the dining experience at the Asiatique is the Tom Yum soup, a flavourful clear broth with straw mushroom and prawns. It oozes a delicate aroma of lemongrass with every sip and the fish sauce adds a nice edge to the otherwise mild soup. Next up we tried the chicken satay, sambal prawns and chicken dim sums for starters and were not disappointed. While the freshly made peanut sauce complemented the mildly spiced satay, the umami in the sambal prawns came through a strong and balanced the flavours. The dim sums had a soft exterior and the flavour of each bite was enhanced with the Vietnamese sauce that comes as an accompaniment.

Noodle mania
The menu has an extensive spread for main course and the chef recommended we try Asiatique’s signature dishes khao suey and Phad Thai. The khao suey is the perfect example of comfort food with its boiled egg noodles that are served in a curried soup of chicken and topped with crispy noodles. The phad Thai, which is rice noodles served with crunchy slivers of veggies and sprouts is the national dish of Thailand and is a must try. The sautéed bok choi, which is a great source of proteins is also a big hit among the guests who focus on healthy eating. Vishnu says that all the vegetables are sourced locally and the flavours are tweaked a bit to suit the Indian palate. “People here love spicy food so I am planning to add more dishes to the menu from Southern Thailand which has a lot in common with the Indian flavours,” he added.

Mango delight
After all the dash of savoury flavours, we found the perfect way to finish our meal with the yummy sticky rice garnished with chopped Alphonso mangoes. The rice was cooked to perfection and the coconut syrup gave it a sticky texture making every mouthful a bliss. Another must-have dessert is the ruby red, which has chopped water chestnuts that are served in a bowl of rose flavoured coconut milk. “The dessert menu was curated in such a way that these dishes are authentically Thai and can be found only at our restaurant in the city,” says Vishnu.
Cost for two on an average is `500.

—Janani Sampath