How popular would you say Thai cuisine is in the region?
Yu Hing, executive chef, Busaba Eathai Dubai: Thai food is getting more and more popular every day in the region because it’s so tasty. Thai food delivers variety and pungent flavours and including — sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty.
Sangwon Konluk, head chef, Fuchsia: The increase in the number of Thai restaurants here is evidence of the popularity of the cuisine. We also get a really diverse cross section of guests coming to us. Generally speaking though, we are seeing Thai cuisine becoming more popular on a global scale.
Thira Khamwong, brand chef, Lemongrass: Thai cuisine is very popular in the region, as it is across the world. One of the clear factors that reflects how popular it is, is the number of Thai restaurants that are available in Dubai whether they’re casual and relatively cheap, very high-end and exclusive, or mid-range like Lemongrass.
Supattra Boonsrang, chef de cuisine, The Thai Kitchen: The local audience is very familiar with Thai cuisine as Thailand has emerged as an extremely popular tourist destination. The Thai concept of creating a sharing experience is a notion that people in Dubai are very fond of which further adds to the cuisine’s popularity.
Nguyen Thani, chef de cuisine, Thiptara: With the trend towards a more health-conscious society, people prefer Thai cuisine because it is lighter than most other Asian cuisines. The dishes are naturally enhanced with herbs and spices for distinct flavours. Coconut cream or coconut water is generally used as opposed to butter, mayonnaise or cream.
Anan Tumya, head chef, Wise Kwai: Thai cuisine is very popular throughout the region due to the richness of flavours and the variety of dishes. Also, Thailand is a very popular destination and a lot of GCC residents have travelled to the Far East.
Have you noticed any trends in Thai cuisine?
Hing: Clean and healthy food is a trend in Thai cuisine. Low in calories, fat, and cholesterol, goat is poised to become the next go-to protein in 2017. Also, vegan options and super foods sunch as avocado and seaweed are appearing on menus. Our new menu will feature these ingredients with a Thai twist.
Konluk: We are experiencing an ethnic street food revolution in terms of food trends and that’s definitely a big influence when it comes to Thai cuisine. Customers are looking for bold, creative flavours and new takes on classics like pad thai and curries.
Khamwong: One of the trends that I have noticed lately is how there’s a lot of fusion coming into Thai cuisine. I recently came across a green curry served with pasta!
Boonsrang: Tapas and small dishes is an emerging trend in Thai cuisine. Diners prefer the tapas concept, allowing many dishes and flavours to be sampled and shared together as opposed to larger portions and fuller meals.
Thani: Soy sauce has seen a change. At Thiptara in Palace Downtown, we season and flavour our dishes with white soy sauce, also known as shoyu. Secondly, different varieties of limes are being used to enhance the properties of the dish such as Buddha’s Hand which has more orange scents and lime caviar which gives an intense burst of flavour.
Tumya: Thai cuisine has moved from being called the royal cuisine because of the elaborately decorative dishes with extravagant fruit and vegetable carvings, flowers etc. to a more casual street food style and taste. Dishes from the North-Eastern Thai region, like som tam gai yang or green papaya salad with grilled marinated chicken as well as tom yum soup are some of the best-selling dishes at Wise Kwai.
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