CUISINE FOCUS: All Thai'd up

With an increase of 4% in the number of Middle East residents visiting Thailand last year, it is clear that the country is popular among the region. So how are F&B outlets catering for the Thai demand?

The last four years has seen an increase of 35% in the number of Middle East residents visiting Thailand.

In 2011 alone, the Tourism Authority of Thailand reported that the total number of visitors from the Middle East to Thailand reached a record 471,818 representing an annual increase of 4.09% compared to the number of visitors recorded in 2010. The UAE remains the single largest market in the region from which Thailand receives visitors.

This has inevitably impacted on the region’s Thai F&B scene, with restaurants like Lemongrass meeting up to 260 covers per day and Dubai’s Dusit Thani Benjarong Royal Thai doing 50 on an average evening.

“The demand for Thai cuisine is great, and with the amount of Thai restaurants in Dubai, the competition is getting better,” says Chef Paul Kennedy, Mango Tree Souk al Bahar, Dubai. “It keeps us on our toes to strive to improve all the time,” he adds.

Thai Demand
Improved knowledge of Thai cuisine among local residents has forced outlets to offer authentic Thai food. But just how Thai do you go? Lemongrass Restaurant was voted #1 Thai Restaurant in the Middle East by Lonely Planet magazine. General manager Stephane Jacques says it is important to get the flavour of Thailand across, without over-doing it.

“We [offer a] Thai ambience with the artefacts but also by mainly ensuring we have Thai people behind the counters and woks. It is Thai food, cooked by Thai, served by Thai which we felt is very important...It is very much an important element of adding to the idea that this is a Thai restaurant.”

Similarly, Dusit Thani’s Benjarong kitchen is 100% Thai.

“Our Thai chefs have all been trained in traditional Thai cooking methods and our waiting staff have also grown up with Thai food and so are better placed to inform and advise our guests on our menu,” explains chef Naruemol, Benjarong Royal Thai Restaurant. “It creates a truly authentic experience for our guests.”

While Mango Tree’s chef Kennedy is not of Thai origin, he spent some time in Mango Tree Bangkok, something he felt was crucial in helping him understand the culture.

“Thai food for me was something new; something different. The fact that I have Thai chefs in the kitchen; they help me to understand balances; flavours – what works together well whereas I teach them how to run a kitchen, how to ensure the food is plated to the correct standards.”

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How Thai to go
The Mango Tree in Bangkok caters to around 70% of tourists. The restaurant is very authentic, with Thai dancers and instruments and of course a big Mango Tree in the garden. Its equivalent here does Thai more subtly with its warm and woody colours. Kennedy isn’t convinced it would work if it underwent a complete Thai overhaul.

“I think people like the setting of what we call a casual fine dining restaurant. I’ve seen restaurants in Dubai that are fully Thai'd-up so to speak. They work, but I also think people like to come to a Thai restaurant with a relaxed vibe rather than having Thai in your face all the time.”

So just how much is too much?
“It has to be conceded that the cuisine has been adapted to suit the local market, but again, not compromising on the ethnicity of the cuisine,” explains Sunuj Deen, F&B service manager, Royal Thai Bahrain. “Authentic styles are always prepared on the request of the customer.

“Pure coconut milk is a major ingredient when it comes to Thai cuisine, but the strong taste and flavour of coconut is not something that suits the Middle Eastern taste buds. So to suit the local market the coconut milk is blended with fresh cream to lighten the flavour of the curries,” he adds.

Maintaining thai-ness
Jacques says it’s difficult to consistently meet expectations with the size of Thailand and the various takes each area has on the same dish. But, he says, an outlet must do what it has to in able to qualify as authentic Thai. Lemongrass does not open for breakfast.

“The breakfast should have to be Thai which is exactly the same as what you would eat at lunch. So the restaurant opens at 12pm point end because we don’t want to start compromising. We want to serve Thai food and nothing else,” says Jacques.

But atmosphere counts and is where you can convey Thai. Mango Tree uses lotus flowers in its table displays while Lemongrass employs the use of a Saas entrance, and rich silky fabrics on the walls; a familiar Thai feature.

Most important of course are the ingredients. Outlets are divided on whether obtaining supplies directly from Thailand or using a local intermediary is better.

Some ingredients such as galangal, lemongrass and Thai bird’s eye chilli are relatively easy. Other ingredients such as Thai aubergine, pea aubergine and sweet basil can be tougher to get hold of, so outlets seek out specialist suppliers either locally or in Thailand.

At the Royal Thai Bahrain fresh ingredients from Bangkok are flown in on a weekly basis. The Thai Master Chef meets with the suppliers back in Thailand and selects his ingredients based on his requirements.

“Only exclusive Thai ingredients can exhibit the true texture and unique taste of the food and it is always better to use ingredients that one has personally selected rather than going through a supplier and receiving something not up to the mark,” says Deen.

Benjarong’s Naruemol agrees: “Every part of the meal experience must be authentic. There are a number of ingredients that are near to impossible to get in Dubai and also to ensure that our meals are authentic, we select the finest ingredients from Thailand.

But Kennedy isn’t convinced: I know I’m getting something from the [local] supplier – I’m not getting cheated. I know exactly what I’m getting, when I’m getting it and how much I’m getting it at instead of going straight to the source and being told it’s not available.”

Thai Favourites
Benjarong Royal Thai’s most famous dish is the Gaeng Phed Ped Yang, roasted duck in red curry with pineapples, tomatoes and grapes. Royal Thai Bahrain has spotted a trend in dishes flavoured with Yira (cumin), Kha (galangal), maeng-lak (hoary basil), because of their medicinal values.

But there are the staples associated with Thai cuisine; green curry, Pad Thai and Tom Yum Goong, which, says Mango Tree’s Kennedy, many find it hard to move away from.

“I think people that go out that are not too familiar with Thai food will go for a curry or Pad Thai because it is popular or Tom Yum because they are probably three of the most popular dishes you can find,” he says.

Thai Future
Whatever the dish, the future for Thai Cuisine in the Middle East looks bright. “There is a very high demand for Thai cuisine and that’s quite visible through a number of hotels that have (recently) opened that have indicated that they are considering a Thai restaurant,” says Naruemol.

As Lemongrass’ Jacques aptly concludes, Thai food is an amazing cuisine.

“Thai food is a mix that has come through. You have a certain amount of influence in there.

“You’d recognise a certain amount of Indian influence, a certain amount of Portuguese to an extent. What I feel is that Thailand has come up with a certain essence of those flavours and it becomes more and more popular – Thai food is a very interesting cuisine which attracts more and more people.”

The Supplier
Based out of Dubai Investment Park, Modhvadia General Trading LLC (MGT) was set up over four years ago. The company specialises in Thai food and directly imports over 90% of products and supply to restaurants, food courts, catering establishments and hotels as well as other distributors in the region.

“When we entered the market there were only a couple of specialist Thai food suppliers who had a monopoly on the market. They set the prices very high and the customers had to buy whatever brands they carried,” says Bob Modhvadia. “We believe the customer should tell us the products they want and then we source it through our Bangkok based office.”

The company has built a relationship with highly reputable factories and exporters from Thailand who have the branded items that are most used by Thai kitchens.

Products are imported in bulk and then distributed to customers. In some cases, food items are manufactured in Thailand according to the restaurants’ recipes and branding.

The company’s best selling products in the region are jasmine rice, soya sauce, sweet chilli sauce, coconut milk, curry/chilli pastes, oyster and fish sauce. In terms of fresh items, mangos, eggplants, lemongrass and fresh herbs are all among the top sellers.

The main problem faced by the company is getting the right products to the end users. While chefs are always interested in trying new products and brands, the unsure purchaser will stick to what he or she knows, buying products they are familiar with only. For this reason, Modhvadia says it is easier dealing with restaurants than hotels in this aspect and advises outlets to use a local supplier.

“It would be very difficult for outlets to go direct to Thailand to purchase goods as they wouldn’t have the volume or right contacts to get the goods. Also it would probably cost them the same or more than buying locally.”