Because of Rosa Thai’s proximity to my office, I eat lunch there almost once a week. I invariably order the green curry with pork, which I love for its tender slices of pork, the generous handful of crunchy bamboo slivers, and its balance of sweet, salty and spicy flavors. Much as I love my lunches there, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not exactly testing out the menu at Rosa’s when I go.
So when my friend told me he’d enjoyed dinner at Esarn Kheaw and forwarded me this ecstatic January 2009 review in the Guardian, it was a no-brainer to get myself over to Shepherd’s Bush earlier this week. By coincidence, last night, when I picked up this week’s issue of TimeOut, I saw Easarn Kheaw listed as one of London’s best Thai restaurants and described as “the place to try some of the real tastes of Thailand.”
Which makes me wonder: have either the writer of that Guardian review or TimeOut been back to Esarn Kheaw recently?
Let’s start with the starters: the papaya salad, described in the Guardian review as ‘crunchy, lime-suffused,” was in fact a bit limp. Its most redeeming feature was as a condiment to our fish cakes, whose texture was alright (i.e., not hopelessly rubbery), but which tasted bland. Where was the taste of curry, coriander and fish? Good thing there was a dipping sauce.
Based on the Guardian review’s description of the Thai sausages as “gratifyingly garlicky,” I expected powerful flavors out of these little guys. But instead they tasted like bits of lightly salted meat stuffed into a casing (aka your typical English supermarket sausage). That chili on the plate was just for show.
We fared even worse with our mains: lap mu (minced pork and chili) tasted almost entirely of lime juice. And where was the pork? When our server asked us if we liked it, we replied that it tasted overwhelmingly sour, which prompted him to launch into a lecture on the four flavours of Thai food, as if the dish were supposed to be that sour. But as I recall from my cooking classes in Chiang Mai many moons ago, those four flavours are supposed to be *balanced*.
I’m a fan of both crispy pomfret and alliteration, so when the Guardian reviewer called Esarn Kheaw’s version a “piscine paradise [and] a strong contender for a Desert Island Dish,” there was no stopping me from ordering it. That was a mistake. If there was fish meat somewhere underneath that mildly spicy-and-sweet goo, I wouldn’t know it, and if I were trapped on a Desert Island with this dish, there’s no doubt I would starve to death.
We tried out the “Tiger Cry” because our friend’s Thai friend had recommended it. In our case, this dish was a case of marketing gone awry. With a sexy name like “Tiger Cry,” you’d expect something more than slices of overcooked and underseasoned beef. To be fair on the point about underseasoning: you’re supposed to dredge your beef slice through a bowl of soy sauce and chilis, but you’d get the same effect for less trouble by just shaking some salt on.
To be clear, the food wasn’t inedible. It just fell far short of the hype. I should leave my writeup at that, but a brief note on the service:
I asked for tap water. Our server registered our order and returned with bottled water. I repeated that I’d asked for tap water. Our server put the bottle down on our table and insisted we’d like the bottled water better and mumbled something that sounded like he would charge us for tap water anyway, so why not go with the bottled water. Because the three of us were busy chatting, we left the bottled water on the table unopened, and about five minutes later, our server came back and made a point of opening our bottled water. I hate places where the choices are bottled water or no water at all.
The food was cheap, but too skimpy and generally underseasoned for it to count as good value. And if this is one of the best Thai restaurants in London, then London is woefully lacking in Thai restaurants. Our tab for three beers each, three starters, four mains and bottled water came to £31 a person.
Esarn Kheaw, 314 Uxbridge Road, W12 7LJ; 0208 743 8930; closest tube station: Shepherd’s Bush Market
Yikes! I had an ok meal there a couple years ago and was thinking of giving it another try but um…no thanks! I’m rather horrified by the treatment you got re: tap water!
If my problem was a Death Star, this article is a photon toepodr.
Oooh that part about the bottled water makes me so mad! Yet another crap Thai restaurant in London – ho hum.
That’s a shame as it used to be really good, particularly the North-Eastern Thai dishes after which it gets its name.
I also had an okayish meal here a few years ago, but nothing to set the world alight.
The bottled water incident is seriously annoying.
My favourite Thai meal in London has been at 101 Thai Kitchen in Stamford Brook. Now their sausages and som tam are fabulosu.
What a shame ! You can’t say you weren’t fair as you ordered 6 dishes. The pomfret in particular looks like a crime against fish. And the bottled water incident was shameful and I’m surprised you didn’t tell them where to stick it. I thought you Americans were so much better at dealing with things like this !!
Yeah, was totally disappointing (though had been much better a few weeks back when I’d gone with friends), esp as you’d schlepped all the way out my way for it! 🙂 My Thai friend is now recommending Charuwan in Archway…
Su-Lin and Gourmet Chick: Maybe the place just had a bad night in the kitchen (so if you live nearby, it’s low risk to try it out again, Su-Lin), but yeah, I can’t overlook the tap water/bottled water thing. Not being able to get tap water is a pet peeve.
roverinexile – I’d read up on Esarn before going there and was looking forward to the NE Thai specialties offered.
Sharmila – thanks for the tip re: 101 Thai Kitchen, which I will no google because I must confess I’m not sure how to get to Stamford Brook.
Mr. Noodles – Well, it’s true that I could have been more persistent in telling the server I wanted tap water, but in the end, I was surprised (i.e., not expecting it) when he replied that he would charge for tap water anyway, and I was at dinner to meet and catch up with a friend, so ruining our meal over a scene relating to tap water seemed not worthwhile.
Rags – LOL. It was great to see you and maybe you happened to get the royal treatment when you ate there with your Thai friend. That said, I am a little suspicious now of your Thai friend’s recs. I felt so cheesy ordering something called “Tiger Cry.” 😉
If you would like to try more of great Thai dishes, I recommend Addie’s at Earl’s Court and Krung tep at Cromwell rd. They serves real authentic Thai food with good price!
[…] December 2009: We indulged in our love of all things Christmas at the Nuremberg Christmas market and guzzled the gluhwein in Munich. Jon and I then headed to the US for Christmas and ate huge portions of generally-mediocre food in Palm Beach County, Florida. Back in London, I somehow managed to have a so-so dinner at Chilli Cool, finding their food way under-spiced and uninteresting. (If you’re familiar with the expressions of love heaped upon Chilli Cool by other bloggers, you’ll see why I’m confounded). The real travesty of the month, though, was schlepping to Shepherd’s Bush to follow Matthew Norman’s glowing recommendation of Thai resto Esarn Kheaw, where I had a depressing meal. […]
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