Located at: Dubai Creek Club Street, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Visited on: 19 Oct, 2017

Ahlan from sunny Dubai! Back in the land of my second home, and stuffing our faces with all sorts of food, day and night. The multicultural and cosmopolitan nature of this city has given rise to the availability of cuisines from around the world – some authentic, some may be not so. And the fast-paced lifestyle here means that there are plenty of fast-food type restaurant chains for a quick bite, take-away or delivery. As usual, I’ll be focusing on à la carte experiences at non-chain restaurants.

Thai Kitchen at Park Hyatt is a restaurant that has pleased us a few times before in the past. And I can safely say the same about this visit too. Authentic, without a doubt, with a Thai chef heading the brigade. We started off with some Prawn Clay Pot soup (AED 70), which was essentially their version of tom yum soup. This was quite good, with plenty of shitake mushrooms and prawns to munch on. Slightly more on the sweeter side than spicy though, with a little less heat in your throat than most tom yums I’ve tasted. Good. But if I were to compare it with Nara Thai’s tom yum (https://theeatlog.wordpress.com/2017/09/02/nara-thai/), I’d say the latter has an edge over this one.

We were also treated to some Shrimp Cakes, with compliments from the chef. Crispy but so soft on the inside, and flavoured beautifully with some finely chopped veggies in the filling that definitely enhanced their character. What I assumed was excessive oil (by appearance) turned out to be a somewhat runny sweet chilli sauce that had been drizzled over it. A perfect match – delicious! So much so that I secretly wished there could have been more than a piece per head. But I guess this was better than piling up on the starters and not having enough space for the rest of the meal!

For the mains, we decided to try out dishes from their chicken, fish, crab and vegetable choices. The Flower Dumplings – with minced chicken and fried garlic (AED 55) were quite different from the usual chicken dumplings one would come across. To begin with, the outer covering was a shade of purple which, we realised upon eating, was a result of incorporating red beans into the dough. This also gave it a bit of sweetness and a floury/powdery texture. The filling was more or less a normal chicken dumpling filling. An interesting dish to try out, but not necessarily something I would keep in mind to order again.

The Crispy Sea Bass (AED 58) was perfect in terms of texture! Crispy, as promised, in spite of coming in a gravy that was only a little more viscous than a broth. Seasoned well and with a few vegetables to accompany, the fish was cooked to perfection. Now Thai Kitchen’s portions are relatively small, so the steward recommended that we order two portions to be shared among four. The same goes for most of their dishes, so it’s advisable to have a chat with them prior to placing your order. Steamed rice is complimentary, and the stewards come around offering to serve as and when you’re running out.

The Crab Meat – yellow curry (AED 72) was the best of the lot, in my opinion. Very different from the usual preparation that we do at home with our ground spices and murunga leaves, and from the sort of spicy curry you come across at a lot of places. The viscous coconut milk-dominant gravy was a rice puller. Quite similar to your Far Eastern green curry, but with a touch of red curry. And the succulent chunks of crab meat were a refreshing change from the flaky crab meat that you come across more often than not. I usually shy away from crab dishes because of the challenge that comes with having to shell the crab. But this – I dug into without hesitation. And went for seconds. And thirds. Yum!

The Tofu – with cashew nut and spring onion (AED 45) was, I must say, a close contender for the top spot at the table. The cashew nuts had retained their roasted crunch and the tamarind-infused sauce tasted fantastic, complemented by the crunchy onions and peppers that were part of the dish. The tofu itself was good too, firm on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. A great choice to go with the seafood dishes.

I was too full for dessert after this mini feast. However, I am posting here an image of a portion of vanilla ice cream that was ordered for the table – just to demonstrate what a visual delight their presentation had made of something so mundane. This is not usually a part of their dessert menu, but was brought out from the hotel on our request. A little detail goes a long way! And all in all, this concluded yet another satisfying visit to Thai Kitchen at Park Hyatt.

 

Yummy Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

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