Imbued with the echoes of 19th-century royal heritage in its design and menu, Smooth Curry is a flavourful journey through Thailand’s rich culinary traditions and regional styles. The restaurant reflects The Plaza Athenee’s classical Thai motif, tempered with a touch of modern panache.
The house’s original-recipe Thai cuisine draws inspiration from a broad cross-section of influences, from palace kitchens to street fare, with examples from all corners of Thailand’s culinary map.
Diners will experience an impressively varied palate of flavours and textures along with thoughtful platings steeped in aesthetic charm and tradition. And making it all happen is Sous Chef Montri Jiratitkankit, whose work locations span Arab desert sands to the US west coast.
Chef Montri’s 17 years as a chef includes a number of luxury hotels and resorts around the world, most notably as Head Chef of the award winning Thai restaurant at Le Méridien Hotel, Dubai, while also serving as Head Chef at a much-acclaimed Thai table in California.
The dining room’s décor with modern touches like cool wall tones and gleaming stone floors tastefully paired with classic Thai motifs expressed in fine antiques and luxurious silk cushions.
We are greeted with a refreshing lemongrass and lemon soda water welcome drink, served in a charming traditional terra-cotta clay pot.
Our starter perfectly exemplifies how Chef Montri deftly commingles his homeland’s cuisine with featured ingredients that reflect his pan-cultural approach to cooking. The Chor Muang Sai Pla Salmon, or Steamed Purple Flower-Shaped Salmon Dumplings. (Baht 350++) is a signature dish which arrives as a trio of artfully sculpted, salmon stuffed wontons. Delightful appearances aside, the dumplings’ warm, soft bite is a step up in smoothness from mainstream versions of this long-time favourite, while the salmon’s unmistakable presence lends the dish a world-wise touch of international verve.
An impressive take on this difficult to find traditional specialty, the Yum Hua Phee Pla Grob (260) is a Crispy Anchovy Salad with Banana Blossom, and comes highly recommended. Whereas this cool-served salad is normally made with tamarind, Chef Montri uses a Passion Fruit dressing, giving it a pleasantly tart finish, with bits of crispy fish added for a nice textural highlight.
Getting back to basics, the Tom Yum Goong (520) sticks fairly close to the Thai cooking playbook, with the rich, aromatic broth brimming with prawns and king oyster mushrooms and a potpourri of Thai herbs comprising the intensely flavourful seasoning suite.
Having cooked for international guests of many nationalities and even Thai royalty, Chef Montri is well in-tune with varying tastes, keeping the piquant levels of even the most notoriously palate-flaming dishes to a manageable minimum. This is true of the Tom Yum Goong, which is worth noting for those who crave the flavour of this world renowned soup but can do without the excessive spiciness.
Taking a page right out of a typical Chicago rib joint, the Sri Klong Moo Yang (450) is top-tier BBQ with a Thai accent. The grilled “Chaco” pork ribs are slow-smoked until tender and moist, then slathered in north eastern ‘e-sarn’ style sauce that give these seductively meaty bones their unique appeal.
The Massaman Nua (680) is a southern Thai staple that blends Beef Cheek, Peanuts, Potatoes, Shallots And Onions in a rich Massaman curry, while the Phad Pak Boong Fai Dang (290) is a glorious vegetarian dish of stir-fried morning glory with chili and oyster sauce.
Pla Kao Sauce Makham (760) unites ocean-fresh garoupa - golden-fried to perfection - in a sweet and sour tamarind sauce with fresh acacia and coriander leaves rounding out the disparate yet beautifully integrated assortment of flavours.
Given that the woody, hollow, seedless fruit are such a big part of the country’s food culture, it’s no surprise that coconuts pop up more than once on Smooth Curry’s dessert menu.
A popular treat with local and foreign Thai sweet aficionados alike, Khao Niew Mamaung (350) is known among the international community as Sweet Mango with Sticky Rice, served with coconut cream sauce and plain, along with green Pandan leaf scented rice varieties.
Finally, the Khao Mao Thod Ice Cream Kati (240) really hit the spot. The Thai style Banana Fritters feature lightly battered Asian short (“egg”) bananas - crispy outside and succulently soft inside - with a scoop of house made Coconut Ice Cream.
Smooth Curry Thai Restaurant
Open Monday–Friday.
Lunch 11.30am–2.30pm.
Dinner 6–10.30 pm.
THE ATHENEE HOTEL, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok, 61 Wireless Road. Tel. 02 650 8800 Email: smoothcurry.theathenee@luxurycollection.com http://www.theatheneehotel.com/smooth-curry.
