Blessed with fresh, tasty food and stylish setting

Sep 26 2008 by Alison Lowson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Blessed with fresh, tasty food and stylish setting

IF there’s a better place than The Thai at Rocablu to sip a Woo Woo and watch the world go by then it’s news to me!

Tucked behind the Sheriff Court on Perth’s Speygate, ‘TT’ might not have the glorious views of other Perthshire restaurants, but sooner or later everyone who’s anyone seems to pass by its floor-length windows.

And for those of a certain age (unfortunately that’s me these days!), it’s great fun to watch the outfits sported by Perth’s younger generation out on the town for a night’s clubbing.

‘TT’ is every bit as glamorous as you would imagine a restaurant connected through a stone arch to the uber-stylish Rocablu.

And luckily the food is every bit as impressive as the decor. So much so that I dragged Other Half back the following day for the well-priced £7.95 three-course set lunch!

The evening menu offers an impressive selection of Thai dishes, with plenty of options to keep dedicated vegetarians happy as well.

For Thai virgins, the menu also offers detailed descriptions of all the dishes, plus a useful ‘spiciness’ rating.

On the recommendation of our waitress, friend Jools ordered the Kio Krab, while I plumped for the Tom Khar Gai to start.

For the uninitiated, the former are crispy fried wontons stuffed with a mixture of marinated minced pork and crab. Served with a mixed salad, and a sweet and sour dipping sauce, they were so good that Jools practically licked the pattern from the plate.

My Tom Khar Gai turned out to be a light, flavoursome soup, full of chicken pieces cooked in coconut milk and flavoured with galingal (a kind of ginger), lemon juice and chillies. Not only did it taste delicious, but the healthy ingredients made me feel suitably virtuous!

For our main courses, we again looked to our knowledgeable Thai waitress for advice. I ordered the Panang Gai – pieces of chicken breast in a peanut curry sauce cooked in coconut cream with kaffir lime leaves – while Jools settled on the Gaang Ped Gai, a chicken dish cooked with bamboo shoots in a red curry paste with coconut milk.

After the small(ish) starter portions, I must confess that I had my fears that the mains wouldn’t suffice...even for a small eater like myself!

Such fears proved unfounded. Although light and fragrant, Thai food is surprisingly filling, and I struggled to finish even half of my main course in the end.

As I’m not a huge fan of wine with spicy food, Jools and I washed the meal down with two ice cold Thai Singha beers, before making our way next door for a couple of nightcap Woo Woos.

Thanks to the super fresh ingredients and the stylish location, I suspect it won’t be long before The Thai at Rocablu becomes one of THE places to eat in Perth.