Enjoy The Flavours Of Thailand At The JW Café’s Thai Food Festival

The JW Cafe at the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar is known and much-loved for its expansive buffet which offers guests a variety of cuisines from Indian to Continental to Thai. The lavish variety of dishes are thanks to their speciality chefs which hail from all over the world and make it their mission to bring the authentic flavours of their cuisines to the JW Cafe.

A few weeks ago a team from the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar in association with the Tourism Authority of Thailand took a trip to Thailand to explore the nuances and flavours of Thai cuisine. After visiting a collection of attractions in Bangkok such as the Min Buri Market, the Chatuchak Marjket and China Town as well as enjoying an authentic meal at the home Chef Rungtiwa Sorlae, the Thai speciality chef at the JW Cafe, the team came back to India to launch at Thai Food Festival at the JW Cafe.

Inspired by the flavours that were experienced in Thailand, the team, headed by Chef Rungtiwa Sorlae, designed an expansive menu for the festival including Tofu in Thai Chili Paste, Phad-cha Sea Food, Stir Fried Kale Leaves in Garlic and Seafood in Basil Sauce.

Commenting on the festival, Chef Vishal Atreya – Executive Chef, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar said, “Our journey through the streets of Thailand has given us a new perspective to the secrets of Thai Cuisine. Chef Rungtiwa Sorlae through her unmatched experience in the cuisine would ensure that our patrons leave the festival with a bit of Thailand”.

Tasting The Talk

We visited the JW Cafe late last week to explore the Thai flavours on offer. During the festival, the cafe has been lavished with Thai inspired decor; while photos opening customers’ eyes to the beauty of Thailand are spotted through the restaurant, in one corner a fruit table, piled high with Thai fruit holds court.

There are also several live cooking stations spread through the restaurant including a salad counter, where Chef Rungtiwa herself is skilfully preparing Thailand’s iconic papayas salad, a soup counter which is serving a range of different soups and a mains counter where you can choose the condiments an proteins you’d like in your Thai red or green curry.

We began our meal with a Papaya Salad whipped up by Chef Rungtiwa which combined slivers of papaya with green beans, peanuts and onions to create a crunchy treat which was both tangy and spicy.

We then tried out the Khow Suey choosing to add lamb, noodles and onions to it. While the broth itself was velvety and rich, the lamb was delightfully tender.

Already halfway to being stuffed, courtesy the generous portions we moved on to the mains counter where we piled our plates high with Phad Fak Thong ( a pumpkin dish), Phad Phak Rume (stir fried vegetables), Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Chicken and Egg, Smoked Duck with Kale Leaves in Garlic Sauce and Prawns in Yellow Curry.

We especially loved the Phad Fak Thong, which had crunchy fingers of pumpkin tossed in a red spicy sauce and the Smoked Duck with Kale Leaves; the dish boasted plump, hearty yet subtly flavoured slices of duck and soft kale leaves.

The prawns dish is a must try for spice lovers – nestled in a fiery curry, the prawns are extremely succulent.

Finally, we heaved our way over to the dessert counter where we piled a Thai crispy roti high with whipped cream and almonds and picked up a few Khanom bueang. Khanom bueang is a Thai dessert akin to crisp crepes which are stuffed or topped with a range of toppings. These ones were filled with soft sweet meringue; we particularly loved the ones filled with salted coconut meringue.

We would also urge you to try the fried rotis which are crisp, flaky and, when topped with oodles of whipped cream make the perfect end to a delicious meal.

If you’d like to get a taste of Thailand yourself, head over to the JW Café; the festival is on until October 30^th.