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The scent of tropical flowers mingles with the heady
aroma of exotic herbs and spices and the gurgle of running
water. Luscious greenery, rustic wood, scintillating attire
and heart-warming smiles herald the exalted gourmet of Royal
Thai cuisine that awaits you at the Blue Elephant restaurant
in Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai.
“Sawad dee
Krab,” greets every staff that you come across, with a
touchingly respectful gesture, joining their palms together
on their chest and bowing. In Thailand, this “chest level”
salutation is traditionally reserved for the guests, while
greeting one’s own mother, the palms are raised to “lip
level” it goes up another notch for the monks, and the
highest level of greeting, with the palms raised to the
forehead, is for the King. A lady received with a “Sawad
dee kra” greeting.
The
distinctly lush aesthetics – a profusion of natural plants
and orchid flowers, tranquil pools with colourful toy carps
and waterfalls, red-tiled village houser, stone elephants,
exquisitely themed Thai artefacts and antiques, “Maisak”
wood walls and floorings. “Wang” bent-wood furniture, bamboo
mats – that distinguish the interiors of all the Blue
Elephant restaurants world-wide, from Bangkok to Paris,
Brussels, London, Copenhagen, Moscow, Valleta, Lyon, Beirut,
Bahrain, Kuwait, Beijing, New Delhi, Ayutthaya or Chiangmai,
embellish the enchanting ambience of this showpiece unit as
well. Dubai’s was the first franchise of the Blue Elephant
brand concept.
“We bring
fresh flowers, herbs and banana leaves straight from
Thailand,” said Tom Wuthichai, manager of the restaurant
that exults in its “Royal Thai” gourmet glory.
( The evocatively romantic name itself is a reflection of
the fabled legacy of the ancient kingdom.) The orchids and
other floral decorations are refreshed every Wednesday.
Spread
across wooden bridges and stone-laid pathways, the 140-cover
restaurant is divided into five “bans”(houses), each
symbolising the culinary traditions and cuttural traits of
various regions of Thailand. The Floating House and the
Market by the river, closer to the waterfall, are hot
favourites. “ At night you can look up and see the playful
carps on the ceiling glass – the reflection of course, while
the moon will be shining in the pool down below,” said
Wuthichai, who keeps count of his precious fish in the pool
– all 66 of them!
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Suphan, who is exceptionally versatile in his
curries and starters, also brings his wide-ranging
experience from a career that took him fresh from the Hotel
Management studies in Korat, Thailand, first to Al Ain Inter
Continental, then to Sheraton in Oman, Abu Dhabi Inter
Continental, then back to Thailand to be part of the Planet
Hollywood in Bangkok, again back to Abu Dhabi to join Le
Meridien’s Thai seafood outlet. Once in Rotana, Suphan went
to Bangkok for a special training in Blue Elephant style.
Even as you wait for the “royal procession” of
dishes to start, the seafood crackers – wafers – accompanied
with the famous platter of five variations of sauces – the
thick paste of Thai sriracha sauce, fish sauce with chilli,
chilli in oil, chilli paste and soya sauce – arrive in
style, with and ubiquitous rose orchid tucked in.
Then came the white porcelain conch – it’s
flaring lush lips revealing the cream-white strips of tender
coconut in the Tom Kha Ped Yang soup from Beijing. As
refreshing as its style of presentation, it’s roasted duck
with young coconut flavoured with lemongrass and galangal.
Chef Suphan unveiled another surprise from his
seafood repertoire: The Thai Black pepper Prawn (inspired
from Bahrain). Once again, the serving plate was a curious
novelty of rectangular blue porcelain. This local prawn is
refined stir-fried preparation with dried black pepper and
fresh green peppercorn. The herbs do the magic!
Now,
Chito comes with a conical bamboo-ply basket filled with
steaming jasmine rice! This silken light Thai rice is
perfect to go with any of the dishes.
It was in Lyon that Suphan found the perfect
Panaeng Kai chicken speciality. The two-red-elephant hot
rich curry of supreme
chicken had this incredible blend of coconut milk flavoured
with sweet basil. The dish came in a clay pot, placed on
another clay oven warmed by a single candle. Where else can
you get such a sweet delicacy of chicken – with coconut
milk?
For a vegetable dish, Suphan would suggest the
green stems of pumpkin. Here, he presented Morning Glory,
sourced from a Bangkok version, which is quick stir-fried
with crushed red chilli and oyster sauce. The stems are
succulent and tender with an agreeable two-red-elephant
spiciness.
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Amanpuri, Banthai and
Khantok, the other houses, have distinctive art décor and
unique metallic artefacts and wood-works. The polished
wooden boards on the floor in Khantok are typical Thai
interior furnishing, where you can recline on cushions and
dangle your feet down below the floor when a plank is
opened.
Bent-cane chairs are padded
with white cushions. Beaten bronze plates an cutlery, rose
orchids adorning some of the plates, and oh! The costumes!
The girls have six different sets of dazzling ethnic
wear-silken dresses with fanning folds, shimmering golden
brocades and stunning cuts! Perhaps only the many-splendoured
fruit-carvings and the artistry of the hand-crafted banana
plates – layers of the leaf intricately sewn into an amazing
wreath – could distract you from some of those drapes.
And of course the first whiff of the Thai herbs can lure you
straight away: The indispensable flavouring of lemongrass.,
the aniseed-liquor ice taste of basil and the ginger-like
galangal. But then, the rich, creamy coconut milk dominates
every other dish in any Thai kitchen. The Blue Elephant
menu is meticulous in earmarking the “spicy hot level” of
each item by red elephant marks: One red elephant means
“medium hot”, two elephants denote “hot”, and three “very
hot”.
Around the world
Head chef Nanant Suphan, who is just back from an extensive
trip, “to fetch the best elements” from the most popular
dishes around the other Blue Elephant restaurants from Paris
to London, Bangkok to New Delhi, is all set to present his
new “around the World” menu in Dubai. |
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Star of Siam is a heavenly melange of fresh
tropical fruits, including papaya, melon, kiwi and
pineapple, served on a banana leaf. There’s the homemade
coconut ice-cream and pudding to complete the picture.icture.icture.
And finally comes a plate of Sum pani, dried
pineapple pieces with a white chocolate coating on one end.
Like many of the dishes here, this plate too is adorned with
a rose orchid! The jasmine tea comes in a beautiful
porcelain white elephant pot. It’s again a work to behold!
What is most amazing about this sumptuous World
menu at the Blue Elephant is that in spite of generous
helpings it feels light. It is simply out of this world! |
