(Its also located in Chennai and Bangalore, if you were interested.)
I have been to Benjarong several times, during my trips to India. While I have enjoyed my time almost every time, I never did document the experience. This time, I knew I had to document it.
Benjarong is a fine dining Thai restaurant, located in the South City Mall, at Prince Anwar Shah Road, in Kolkata. The restaurant came up almost the same time, when the mall was opened. On earlier visits, when you were seated at your table, I remember the small center piece of purple orchids greeted you. The guests were encouraged to take it along, as a token. It wasn't quite the age of selfies then or else I would have shared many a picture of me donning the orchids in my hair as I finished my meal. This time around, there were no orchids to be admired or shared. But when I mentioned it to the manager, he came back with three flowers for the three kids dinning with us : A tween, A Toddler and an Infant. A nice gesture indeed.
Now for the ambience. As we were a larger group, we were seated in a private space , which was a bit cramped . But i did enjoy the privacy as it was a family meet up.
Food !
As we browsed through the menus, a server brought us a plate of Thai Palate Cleanser. The idea was that you take a leaf, and smear it with the honey sauce. Then you added toppings of your choice. Then fold up your creation and enjoy. Very similar to the Indian Paan. The only difference is that Paan is served after a meal and the Thai version was served before it.
For appetizer, we ordered GAI HOR BAITEY: Succulent morsels of Chicken wrapped in Pandanus leaves. I have had this delicacy on every visit to Benjarong. I cant always remember the name , but i can describe it for the servers. rather than being steamed in the leaves, its grilled or pan fried I think. Not too sure I think. the chicken bits were seasoned well and moist. My picky eater polished off 4 in one go. A single serving comes with 6 chicken packets.
My neice had a tooth extraction the day before, so she needed some rice. We let her decide our Carbs. EGG Covered FRIED RICE. It was a novel presentation I must add. However I feel, the fried rice lacked the body and punch of a typical Thai Fried Rice. Lacked seasoning to a great extent.
For our protein, we opted for Rad Prik(Fish cooked in Chili Basil sauce) . The fish was batter fried with a thin crust and then cooked in a chili basil sauce. As w ehad kids, we had asked for our food to be less spicy.
My problem with the main course is that it missed out on the flavor department. Heat or spice level should not be the only deciding factor in bringing flavor to a dish. Very let down by the fried rice and fish . As much a appetizer was wonderful, the rest were a major let down. It used to have pretty good food across courses, but now I feel its taken a beating where its main course is concerned. If I am paying for fine dinning, I would like all my courses to shine through, and not just one.
rnchanted selections
ReplyDelete