All new Thai restaurant, Krung Thep, has opened its doors only six weeks ago, and already is serving a full house of customers.

Co-owners, Yuan “Bobby” Guo and Head Chef, Prachaya “Palm” Skolaree named the new restaurant Krung Thep as they are wanting to notify customers about the new name of Bangkok.

The owners pride themselves in the quality and taste of their food; wanting customers to always walk away with a smile on their faces.

Krung Thep is all about serving authentic Thai dishes with great service and beautiful presentation, which is exactly what we received.

The Krung Thep Crispy Eggplant in salted soybean, chilli and basil dressing. The beautiful light and a refreshing meal was the perfect entrée. The crunchy outer and soft centre gave a nice textual balance and held a slight spice from added chilli, of which didn’t overpower the dish. The soybean sauce added sweetness to help balance the overall flavours.

The Krung Thep Chicken Wingette (4pieces) were cooked with fried garlic, toasted chilli, tossed dried squid and chopped spring onion. The beautiful crispy skin was the perfect balance to the nice tender and juicy meat. With the additive of a spicy marinade from the chilli, the dish came to life and each little wingette was full of flavour and cooked perfectly.

The Thai Beef Tartare was presented as a deconstructed dish. The wagu beef served rare with hot and sour tartare nixed with thai herb was plated with betal leaves, cashew nuts and small lime wedges. This meal was very sweet and full of citrus flavours. Earthy tones came from cashews, betal leaves and the beef but the lovely hot and sour dressing and added lime wedges gave the dish a lively sweet tang. It was the perfect size for an entre, being light and satisfying but not leaving customers full before the main course.

The Pad Thai; Stir fried Rice noodle with chichen breast, prawns, bean sprout, garlic chive and a special Krung Thep style Pad Thai sauce, this dish was delicious and packed with flavour. There was a hint of spice that lingered in your mouth but wasn’t too overpowering, just right to balance the other ingredients. The large and generous prawn servings helped to cool the palate and were paired well with the smoothness of the rice noodle. The added chicken pieces also added sweetness and helped to cool the mouth; balancing the flavours for a lovely dish.

The Massaman Beef Curry contained beef chunk tenders braised in Massaman curry, served with kafir potato. We decided to also add a side dish of Coconut Rice with the curry to soak up the delicious, thick sauce. The beef chunks were soft and tender and fall apart as you ate; beautifully cooked. There was a slight tang of spice at the end wich wasn’t too overpowering and actually held some sweetness to it. The coconut rice we added with the curry was a nice cooling element but was also lovely just by itself. All the spices balanced well with the heavier savoury flavours of the beef and the curry sauce itself was lovely, sweet and thick. Definitely one of my favourite dishes of the night.

The Cashew Nut Soft Shell Crab, contained Crispy Soft shell, stir fried with cashew nuts, dried chilli, capsicum and onion. This dish was fairly sweet but contained strong seafood flavours from the soft shell crab. The crab itself held a slightly crunchy outer and a soft, smooth meat centre, while the cashews and capsicum added lovely earthy tones. Overall both beautiful flavours and textures through out the dish.

The Tamarind Snapper had a strong pickled ginger topping of the soft, well-cooked fish cutlet. It contained a slightly sweet note but the main flavour was the thang from the ginger. This was cooled by the savouriness of the fish that was wonderfully prepared. A slight crispiness to the outer skin balanced with the smooth meat of the fish itself.

The Papaya Salad with soft shell crab, contained hot and sour green papaya, which held a slight sweet tone but was strong on its spicy and slightly bitter notes. The main seafood flavour came from the beautiful crab, which we were offered a generous serving of. A beautiful balance of textures of crunchy and smooth. Cherry tomatoes and beans helped to cool the palette but this dish is definitely one for those who like a bit of added kick to their meals.

The Crying Tiger, consisted of grilled steak served with ram Jim Jaow. The Beef, of good cut and quality, was cooked perfectly and had a perfect pink centre, and was cut into thin slices, so the meal felt light. The ram Jim Jaow dipping sauce added a bit of a spicy flavour but mostly sweet tones to the dish. More sweetness came from the grilled corn and vegetables, which also added smoky notes to the dish from the grill.

We then had dessert:

The Coconut Cake was beautiful and light, containing chewy jelly squares within the cream centre between layers. It was a lovely and refreshing dish that could be consumed even after eating as many meals as we did.

The Coconut Ice Cream was soft and creamy with a beautiful coconut flavour. The light dessert contained added cashews and jelly pieces, which gave the dish an added sweet and nutty flavour. Overall it was presented beautifully and was a refreshing and perfect end to our evening.

Every dish that came out was stunning. The presentation and smell of the food alone made my mouth water. Each dish was wonderful and full of flavour and I just could not get enough.

Co-owner and head chef, Prachaya Skolaree, prepares all the dished on site, fresh to order as to not effect any of the flavours.

“I try my best to always cook fresh,

“I want to make authentic Thai food. I really care about the quality of food […] some people work for money; I just want to see my customers happy”, said Mr Skolaree.

With preparing dishes on order, it gives customers the opportunity to change their orders to suit any dietary requirements they may have.

With the hopes of opening another Krung Thep in Norwood sometime in the future, Co-owner Yuan Guo hopes that more and more customers will keep coming back for their delicious, authentic Thai food.

“We love food and love to make customers happy, who enjoy spending their time here,

“If we make good food, people will come”, said Mr Guo.

Krung Thep is open for lunch, Tuesday to Friday, from 12 noon till 2:30pm and for dinner, Tuesday to Sunday, from 5:30 till late; so make sure to visit and get the authentic taste of Thailand. You will not regret it.

Words by Cyndal King

WHERE: 147 O’Connell St, North Adelaide