Saturday, March 31, 2007 Very veggie By Jenara Regis Newman
STRICTLYy vegetarian food is now available at Krua Thai. This, says manager/owner Anthony Ballreich, is in response to the many requests for vegetarian food among its clientele. Besides, he adds, more people are getting health conscious and vegetarian lean cuisine answers that need perfectly. And so there are at least 10 new dishes with lots of tofu in the new Krua Thai menu (just in time also, for Holy Week).
Does this mean that the food will be less savory now that there’s no more meat in them? In Krua Thai, that won’t happen because Chef Natthawut Buphagiri is making sure everything he serves has the full flavor, aroma and essence of Thai cuisine.
At the food tasting, Krua Thai prepared for some press people, I particularly loved the vegetarian fried rice, Tom yam soup with tofu, spring rolls, sweet and sour tofu, tofu with cashew nit in chili sauce, sweet sour tofu, vegetarian phad Thai and plain fried tofu with veggies and a dip on the side. There were several curries, too: vegetables in yellow curry soup, vegetarian green curry with tofu and mixed vegetables in Parang curry with tofu… The dessert was a surprise: sago topped with coconut cream with a slight salt flavor (from the cream). Really yummy!
For those among us who would “die” without meat, Anthony, the compleat host, sprang another surprise: lechon! Not from Krua Thai, of course. For me, dinner was perfect minus the meat.
