Siam Smiles Cafe, Chinatown, Manchester

So I’ve finally got round to posting my review of Siam Smiles, the Thai cafe in the basement at 48 George St in the heart of Manchester’s Chinatown. This was the second visit, we ‘discovered’ it after making it’s acquaintance in April and felt a follow up visit was much needed.
I’ve eaten at quite a lot of Thai restaurants in the UK and the majority follow a very safe formula; using pre bought red, green and massaman pastes, overly sweet and sticky pad thai noodles and a general lack of fresh Thai herbs and vegetables (such as my particular bugbear- substituting Mediterranean basil for sweet or holy Thai basil).
This cannot be said of Siam Smiles, despite only having a few tables alongside the supermarket produce, you know you’re going to get real Thai street food. The condiment caddy and pot of nam prik pao is a good indicator you’re going to be eating very well.
On this occasion I ordered some simple comfort food- khao moo daeng (red pork over rice) and the som tam pla ra (fermented fish sauce papaya salad) with added crab. The rice plate also came with a warming bowl of herbal broth which was a nice touch and a palate cleanser.
There is a clear Chinese influence with khao moo daeng- the red pork and sauce not too distant from char sui/hoisin. The pork was lean and firm and had a great depth of flavour with star anise coming through quite strongly. The cucumber and boiled egg added some lovely texture too; definitely a unfussy and comforting dish.
The som tam pla ra was a different beast altogether. Those who follow my blog know I love som tam and make it usually once a week at home. This was the first time I had encountered the pla ra version and it’d been on my ‘to try’ list for quite some time. However for my taste buds I think it was a step too far. The salad itself was great, crunchy green papaya, not padded out with large amounts of carrot, cherry tomatoes, long beans and I loved hearing it being pounded up in the pok pok in the kitchen. The salad also had pounded up small crabs (for the flavour rather than meat) and contained slivers of pickled limes which are delicious. The pla ra isn’t how I expected it to be, it’s not that it’s especially fishy, though it is strong, it made me think more of the bottom of a pond. My husband however, preferred it to regular som tam. I was pleased to see it arrive with the customary cabbage wedge.
The portions are a perfect size, plenty enough to fill you up but not wasteful and the prices are good- £7-£8.50 for most plates. The staff are also really friendly and helpful, answering some of my questions about ingredients.
We’ll most certainly be back again, we’re slowly making our way round the extensive menu and will continue pushing our flavour comfort zones in our quest for authentic Thai street food!
https://twitter.com/SiamSmilesCafe
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Bangkok bomb: Deadly blast rocks Thailand capital - BBC News

Link: Bangkok bomb: Deadly blast rocks Thailand capital - BBC News

Sending my support and sympathies to all the Thai people and foreign visitors caught up in the terrible bombing attack at Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.

Home Cooked Meal from Fox Hill Homestay, Langkawi

On our first night whilst staying at the beautiful homestay resort of Fox Hill in the centre of Langkawi, we were offered the chance to try a traditional Malaysian meal. This was without a doubt, the food highlight of our stay. We headed to the outdoor restaurant/communal area where a candlelit table had been set out for us. We had been hearing all the typical kitchen sounds of stir frying, pounding of spices and deep frying so our anticipation had risen even before we got to the table.
When the food arrived, fresh from the kitchen we were served four different dishes, each beautifully presented; asam (tamarind) prawns which were enormous, some of the biggest prawns i’ve ever seen and were coated in a sweet/sour lacquer of caramelised sauce. There was ayam berempah (spice coated chicken)- this was amazing and I’ve since recreated it; deep fried and crispy but with an exquisite blend flavours from the spices and curry paste. To add greenery and texture there was a tasty pak choi dish stir fried in garlic and to top everything off was the best beef rendang I have had to date, cooked with local beef. It had obviously been cooking down for hours as the meat and collagen fell apart. The sauce was rich, subtly spiced, a little oily and slightly sweet. This feast of Malaysian flavours came in at just 66 MYR (about £11.30).
Many thanks to Maria and her wonderful team at Fox Hill for the stunning food.

Mr Asam Pedas, Restoran 1, Kuah Jetty/Eagle Sq, Langkawi

Well what glorious food we had here thanks to the recommendation of Mark Wiens of Migrationology.com  (click here and go 5 minutes in for his visit to this great restaurant). We’ve been following Mark’s blog for around two years now and when we saw  he was in Langkawi just a week before we got there, we were very excited to see where he would eat and what recommendations he would choose. He certainly didn’t go wrong with Mr Asam Pedas.
We found the restaurant almost by chance actually, we’d come into Kuah, Langkawi’s main town just to do a bit of shopping and to see Eagle Square. When it started raining (and it was lunch time anyway) we spotted a quiet, modern brick built food court at the far side of Eagle Square. It was very quiet with just a couple of other people on their lunch break inside the open air dining area.
Mr quickly recognised Mr Asam Pedas from Mark’s Youtube video and quickly knew what we were having for lunch. Mr Asam Pedas serves only two dishes, so we went for one of each. The red dish is the asam pedas (spicy tamarind) and the yellowy/green one is masak lemak cili padi (rich, cooked, hot chilli). Both dishes were made to order and came with chunky slices of tuna steak on the bone. They were served with a beautiful array of fresh herbs, cucumber, egg, spicy sauce ( a bit like a salsa), prawn crackers and steamed rice with crispy shallots on top.


I don’t know whether these dishes are local to Langkawi or Northern Malaysia or not but they certainly shared a lot of common ingredients with Thai food and similar taste profiles too.

Both dishes were outstanding- the asam pedas was sour, spicy, fresh tasting and well balanced while the masak lemak cili padi was beautifully fragrant, comforting, refreshingly sour but with a little sweetness from the coconut milk broth. Mr Asam Pedas himself was also very friendly and welcoming too!
If you’re in Langkawi, definitely make a lunchtime visit here!

Khreuang Puang (Thai Condiment Caddy)

Sorry, I’ve been quiet on the blog this week; I’ve not been very well following the typhoid vaccine for our up and coming Malaysia holiday and what with our house now on the market and people coming to view it, it’s been a difficult week to get in the kitchen and get some new recipes out. Following on from the staple Thai store cupboard ingredients post the other week, I thought I’d do a post about the Thai condiment caddy- the ubiquitous 4 pots of seasonings that can be found at every Thai table- whether a restaurant, casual street cafe or a Thai home. I hear that many Thai restaurants in the US will have these too although to date the only one I’ve come across in the UK to have a caddy is Siam Smiles in Manchester which I wrote about a month or two back here.

Often in the west, if we eat at a restaurant it can be seen as poor etiquette to receive a meal, only to start heaping salt/pepper on top of it. Not so in Thailand where it is expected that each diner will want to adapt the flavour of their dish to their personal tastes. The aim is to find your perfect balance of spicy, sour, salty and sweet (known as the 4 flavours). Noodle dishes in particular are most commonly ‘improved’ by additions from the condiment caddy. There are numerous options of sauces, flavourings and ingredients that might be found at a Thai table but here, I have settled here for the 4 that are commonly used (and eaten) by us at home.
In my caddy I have:

• white sugar (naam tam sai)
• chilli flakes (prik bon)
• roasted chilli paste (naam prik pao)
• sliced chillies & garlic in fish sauce and vinegar (naam pla prik gratiem)

Bu Pad Gratiem Prik Thai (Crab Fried with Garlic and Peppercorns)

A week or two ago now, we had a visit to Manchester which gave me chance to visit China town which has some fantastic food stores and restaurants. I’ve been cooking up a whole bunch of new recipes with the ingredients I picked up from Siam Supermarket this is the first of four to come. The supermarket also features a cafe called Siam Smiles which we ate at and it really did make me smile! It was a typically casually affair, like all good Thai cafes and I was thrilled to see a flavour caddy on the table (way better than regular salt and pepper) and a little pot of nam prik pao (chilli paste). I ordered the Laab Mu (chopped pork salad) which was meaty (pork and I think, liver), lots of herbs, sour and salty and a perfect amount of chilli. My husband chose the Khao Pad Moo Grob (deep fried pork fried rice) which I have re-created for a recipe later this week. The verdict- wonderful flavours, definitely not Westernised, great value for money- absolutely perfect and definitely one to return to the next time we’re back in Manchester.
Now back to the recipe; this is a dish that’s quick to prepare and cook, looks great for a special occasion or party but does require you to get hands on and messy when eating.
For two people use:

• 500g or thereabouts of fresh crab claws
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• a few stems of fresh green peppercorn, pulled off stems
• 1 large red chilli, sliced
• a big splash of oyster sauce
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• vegetable oil for frying

Prepare the crab claws first by individually wrapping each in a tea towel and lightly crack them with a pestle or heavy rolling pin (discard any small shell fragments).
Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a large wok and when hot, throw in the garlic and chilli, stir frying for 20 seconds or so before adding the crab claws and peppercorns. Stir fry for 3 minutes before adding in the sauces. Fry for a further minute to make sure everything gets well coated and serve.
Don’t even attempt to use cutlery with this- it’s fingers all the way!

Som Tam Mamuang (Sour Mango Salad)

Hopefully by now, if you been following me for a bit you’ll know how much I love Thai salads and som tam (unripe papaya salad) in particular. I heard about this version a while back but while I can get unripe papayas fairly easily in my home town, it’s much harder to get sour mangos- about a year ago I came across what I thought were sour mangos at an Indian community shop but they turned out to be young mangos (i.e. pale yellow but still sweet). Nice but not quite right. Last weekend I had a fantastic trip to Thai superstore RaanThai on the Wirral, Merseyside where I got stocked up on a range of Thai ingredients including quite a few I’ve never see before (recipes to follow). Anyway, they did have sour mangos in stock,meaning I could finally make som tam mamuang (also known occasionally as yam mamuang). Just a word- they’re called sour for a reason- which for my tastes, is just perfect.

For a huge portion (enough for 3-4 as a side dish/starter) use:

• 2 small sour mangos (they should be hard and green skinned), peeled
• juice of 1 lime
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• a big pinch of sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 red chillies (more less if you want)
• a small handful of peanuts, lightly crushed
• a very small handful of dried shrimp (optional)

In a pestle and mortar, pound together the garlic and chillies into a rough paste; add this to a bowl. Use a julienne peeler or try the Thai way (hacking strips with a cleaver) to shred the mangos into the bowl. Throw in the shrimps and peanuts, sugar and lime juice and fish sauce. Give everything a fairly rough stir/mash about for a few moments to break up the mango a little. Have a taste and add more lime/fish sauce/sugar as to your tastes, if you feel it needs it.

Thought for the day!

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Nice thought for the day :)

Stock up at Nong Fern, Leeds

Took a trip to Nong Fern Thai Leeds yesterday for supplies. Picked up some exciting Thai ingredients so this week will be making banana blossom and chicken salad (Yam Hua Plee Gai) and Tapioca pearl coconut pudding (Sa Coo Mapraw)

A little bit of inspiration for the day…

courtesy of Erika’s Travel Tips- http://www.facebook.com/erikastraveltips

Facebook Page ?

Just wanted to say thank you to all you recent followers, I’ve hit 50 followers today!  Where in the world is everyone from?

I also have a facebook page for my blog- http://www.facebook.com/iwishiwasinthailand

Would love to see you over there! Naomi x

New Facebook Page

I’ve set up a Facebook page for the blog! Please give it a like at:

www.facebook.com/iwishiwasinthailand 

All the latest recipes, pictures and comments will be added on there too!

Stocking up at Nong Fern Thai supermarket, Leeds

I was at a conference in Halifax today which involved a cross county jaunt starting at 5am this morning. Despite the long day, on my way back I had a 45 minute wait in Leeds for the next train which meant a quick dash to the Thai supermarket, Nong Fern on Vicar Lane  for a stock up. Twitter- https://twitter.com/nongfernleeds

Facebook- (https://www.facebook.com/nongfernthaileeds)

What a fantastic little supermarket. Monday is their fresh delivery day which meant I was spoiled for choice, there were many types of leafy/herby vegtables that I’d not come across before. I did pick up a few favourites, such as an unripe papaya to make som tam with, 3 packets of sweet basil and oyster sauce and some other ingredients that I plan to use this week- pea aubergines and krachai (wild ginger) that will go into a beef jungle curry that I’m making in a few days

I picked up something new that I've not used before, water mimosa so will investigate recipes that I can use that in and bought something that is most definitely an acquired taste that I’ve used just once before and my husband thinks are disgusting- stink beans or to give them their Thai name- sator. They come in the most amazing twisted pods that look like this…

Stink beans/ sator/ petai or even parkia (names vary!)

To use them, I’ll be making pad phed sator goong later this week too. For a bag full of really fresh Thai ingredients, my bill came in at £15.77 which I thought was very reasonable. They also do great steamed char sui buns at the counter.