H O S T E D
Located in the Arcade adjacent to the Capitol Kempinski Hotel are a few new restaurants serving different types of cuisine. Managed by the hotel itself, they range from German to Italian to Spanish and Thai. “Chalerm Thai” is the one my friend Zhenia and I had lunch at earlier this week.
We began the meal with three appetisers that were spot-on in whetting our appetites as they did not lack in punchiness. While Zhenia went gaga over the Deep-fried Lemongrass Chicken Wings ($15++ for 6 pcs), I was most drawn to the tender, smoky Grilled Marinated Pork Neck with Spicy Lime Sauce (18++). The both of us also did a fine job of demolishing the Prawn Salad ($15++), hands-down, the spiciest of these three dishes.
I had requested for a clear version of Chalerm's Tom Yum Goong ($15++) because I had heard from another friend Maurice it’s very good. The Chef-in-charge who’s Thai, kindly obliged and I was very pleased because Maurice was right - theirs is intensely fragrant and packs a strong kick of hotness despite looking rather “innocent”.
We thought the Phat Thai Kung ($14++) was decent enough, ticking all the required boxes but the item that made us sit up and gawk was the signature Stirfried Soft Shell Crab with Yellow Curry ($20++). Its flamboyantly vibrant colours belied a less-than-fiery taste, so no tastebuds were singed. Its surprising low-level spiciness allowed us to better appreciate the nuances in the thick curry sauce as well.
For dessert, we had the Thai Red Ruby ($8++) and everyone's forever favourite, the Mango with Sticky Rice ($10++). The former, in my opinion, is a notch above many others because their version comes with a scoop of fabulous coconut ice-cream that’s made in-house at the Capitol Kempinski. Undoubtedly more substantial, the latter which is served with warm glutinous rice, is big enough to be shared between two or even three depending on the size of each person’s appetite (or greed 😁).