Namaste Thailand – Dinner with Thai Ambassador at His Residence in India

Aug 13, 2019 | Food

Date: 6th August
Venue: Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi

Green curry or red curry – which one is your favourite?

We have a difficult time in deciding what Thai food to try as Thai cuisine is very popular in Delhi NCR and is gradually making place in Indian buffet spreads too. That is no surprise since Thailand is one of the most sought after foreign holiday destination for Indians. Given that we have travelled to various parts of Thailand, we have firsthand experience of the fantastic tourism facilities that country offers. Bangkok for one is a business hub combined with fun zone. Chatuchak Market in Bangkok is the largest crafts collection we have seen in the world. When we asked around about where is the best Thai food in Bangkok , Chatuchak was the answer. There was much more than Thai red and green curries being sold here at most reasonable prices. Somehow we only get to know about very limited Thai food options in India.


Talking about options we were part of a food initiative by the Embassy of Thailand. Under their Namaste Thailand initiative, they want to orient Indian diners about authentic Thai food. In fact, Chef M.L. Kwantip Devekula, MasterChef Thailand judge is visiting India to collaborate with food journalist Vir Sanghvi on a film project. Thailand Ambassador His Excellency Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi used this occasion to invite select media for a Thai dinner experience at the Ambassador’s residence. We were privileged to be part of the Embassy’s guests that evening.


It rained throughout the day and the weather was one of the best this season. The trees inside the Thai Embassy at Chanakyapuri sparkled under the night lights. The Ambassador and his wife themselves hosted us throughout the evening. And that was such an eye-opener. The Ambassador has a charming personality and regaled us with anecdotes about food and his experiences in India. He and Madam Spouse were wearing Indian Ikat. This was no surprise since India has learnt Ikat weaving from other parts of South Asia through trade and skill exchanges in yester years.


Coming to food, we were served a fruit based drink and prawn crackers when we were at the drawing room. We were led to the dining room in a while and the beautifully laid table made us bring out our cameras before anything else. Once seated, we saw that the first course was awaiting us already.

Kanom Jeeb Thai steamed bird shaped Thai fish dumplings looked so pretty that it broke our hearts to eat them. These were accompanied with deep fried chicken wings which perhaps are a universal favourite. We loved the sweetish chilli sauce on the fried chicken.


The main course comprised lamb, shrimp, duck and chicken in delectable forms. Each dish was served separately. A serving of Kao Sam See tricolor jasmine rice – golden yellow, white and violet was the cereal in this course. When the complete main course had been laid, it looked like an artful solar system around the plate. A small rattan basket of delicately carved salad completed this spread.


Chef Kwantip took time out from the busy kitchen and explained the dishes. The golden colour of rice was from a flower that looked like saffron but not quite so strong in flavour. But what surprised us was the violet hue. The chef clarified that this shade was not a result of any artificial food colouring agent. She had used the extracts of a Thai flower – Butterfly Pea to colour the rice. In fact, every item, including the little pink flowers used as decoration on the platter was organic and edible!


In terms of taste, this was quite something we have not had before. Every dish was unique. The duck was on a fiery hot sauce and the chef had served the salad to balance that. We also learnt that the chicken, squid and shrimp clear soup was served to balance the drier dishes in the main course. It appeared that Thai meal is all about balance – a concept which is the foundation to all modern gastronomical sciences. The chef also enlightened us that soup in Thai cuisine is not a starter dish but part of the main course.


The dessert was short and that was a big blessing since we were already satiated and did not want to overeat and spoil the experience. Som Chun was a combination of sliced fruits – litchi, pomegranate, orange and kiwi in sweet syrup. In fact, the ice that was placed in each dessert bowl to keep the dessert cool was also made with syrup so that when the ice melted, the taste remained unaffected. We were amazed to note the chef’s eye for detail.


The fine dinner closed with coffee and flower shaped small cookies and crispy jelly. These sweets had a strong flowery fragrance that seemed very strong initially but grew us gradually. Thai culture is a lot of beauty and flowers. It is a balance of luminosity of gold with subtlety from flowers and nature. To summarise the whole spread was all about balance. Chef Kwantip had dexterously balanced fragrances, colours, textures and taste to give us a royal Thai dining experience. Given that there are similarities between Indian and Thai cultures – we bond over the epic Ramayana  – the cuisine was familiar yet novel, different and extremely refreshing.


And much much more than red and green curry Thai or pad Thai or papaya salad that we mostly find in Thai restaurants in India.

So, if you are holidaying in Thailand, do enjoy the beaches in Krabi, the night life in Pattaya or shopping in Bangkok. But take time out and try some authentic Thai food that you have not come across in India. Trust us, we too had our misgivings before the Thai dinner but are so happy that we attended after all.


Thailand is also a Mecca for street food. The satays, fried chicken and prawns, dumplings and unique fruit and jelly based desserts – sold on quaint street side carts with little bells and lamps – are a singular reason to visit that country. We request the Thai Embassy to expand the NamasteThailand project and organize some street food event – may be a festival – for Indian diners. We in India love – actually dig street food. Thai street food could titillate our food palette in unknown ways.


Till then our sincere thanks to H.E. Mr. Ambassador and the Thai Embassy members for their kind invitation and including us in their delicious Namaste Thailand project.

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26 Comments

  1. Stephanie Stebbins

    What an amazing experience! The food looks incredible!

    Reply
  2. Laura

    Looks like wonderful experience and the food looks so delicious x

    Laura

    Reply
  3. Bindu Thomas

    The food looks amazing. And so wonderful to have every part as organic.

    Reply
  4. Angela Ricardo Bethea

    Seems like it was a informative and satisfying event! That is such a great privilege for everyone!

    Reply
  5. ujjwal mishra

    food looks tempting, I think i must explore more Thai food and move beyond Thai Green curry

    Reply
  6. Cindy D'Silva

    Wow that’s a great privilege to have the honour to sit with ambassadors. The food looks tempting. Loving the presentation too.

    Reply
  7. Meher

    Oh my goood, the description for the food literally brought water in my mouth. Time to try Thai foood aprt from just curries

    Reply
  8. Prakhar Kasera

    having a dinner with the ambassador himself and his wife, that too at their residence is such an honour…congrats!!!

    the food in the pics is looking so scrumptious…it seems so very well prepared and presented

    Reply
  9. Rahul Prabhakar

    Having traveled twice to different parts of Thailand with the Thailand Tourism Board, I can tell you that Thai food is perhaps one of the best cuisines in the world right now. It’s wonderful that you were able to enjoy dinner with the Thai Ambassador at his residence in India.

    Reply
  10. Sandy N Vyjay

    That looks like a spectacular event. A great opportunity to enjoy really authentic Thai cuisine. The food and the vibes of Thailand comes across so vibrantly in the post. It is true that we have limited knowledge of Thai Cuisine and this was an eye-opener.

    Reply

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