Restaurant review: Turmeric and tamarind Waste not, want not with tasty Thai food for thought, contemplates Gamal Nkrumah The salmon surroundings, ceiling decorated with gold leaf, silk wall hangings and eye-catching Thai artefact spice up this most luxurious restaurant tucked away in the plush Four Seasons Hotel in Giza. To the naked eye, all that glitters is gold. At night, the lights of Cairo dance at a distance from across the Nile like traditional Thai lanterns, khom fai. I can think of no other restaurant in Cairo in which the act of following your nose is rewarded as richly as it is at Lai Thai. Don't get me wrong; the aromas of Thai delicacies are not necessarily pungent at this Thai eatery. On the contrary, the scents of the signature dishes are remarkably subtle, designed for those with a discerning schnozzle. Should you be inclined, among all the culinary obligations of the season -- the Coptic Christians of Egypt, for instance traditionally eat qolqas (Egyptian potato) on Epiphany which in the Coptic calendar falls on 19 January -- to beg to differ, then the decent thing to do is to sample the specialties of one of the grooviest restaurants in town. This stylish Thai eatery offers an extraordinarily extravagant display of exotic delicacies -- China bowls burdened with spicy soups and sweetmeats. In the general run of things the Thai chefs, though, are extremely frugal. They eschew the old-fashioned excess of European gourmet chefs. The inspiration is Buddhist reticence. Thai royal cuisine, which originates in the splendours of the Ayutthaya Kingdom of mediaeval Thailand, is one of the world's most sophisticated and scrumptious comestibles ever created. Chef Pitchaphat Duangkham came to Cairo after a stint at the Chiang Mai Four Seasons. Chiang Mai, Thailand's second largest city after the capital Bangkok and perched high in the mountains of northern Thailand, is the inspiration for Lai Thai's ingenious chef. The Lai Thai waitresses, attired in traditional Thai garb, might not have the white-gloved prissiness of other lavish five-star hotel restaurants, but they dote over the guests basking in serene elegance with a stately demureness but none of the robotic antics of caricature Southeast Asians. The sleek waitresses look you in the eye and meticulously jot down your orders in a manner that suggests they enjoy catering for the belt-loosening gastronomes. At Lai Thai, nobody can be certain what comes next. What is certain is that the guests soon greedily gobble all up. Thai cuisine, designed to cater for every conceivable palette, is based on imaginative combinations of five main tastes: spicy, sour, sweet, salty and, optionally for the most discriminating of connoisseurs, bitter. For the hors d'oeuvre, the phyllo-wrapped fried prawns are highly commendable. The fish cakes have a delicate and mouth-watering aromatic flavour. However, a most delectable starter is the som tom malakaw (green papaya salad with toasted peanuts and dried shrimps). The pungent potion has all five Thai flavours mingled in one fragrant aliment that appeals to the senses. Try the kaeng khiew wan neua (green curry with shredded beef and eggplant), but for the main dish, how about kaeng phet ped yang -- roast duck in red curry. Taste the tamarind and the turmeric, two mainstays of the Thai cuisine, which infuse the duck and chicken dishes with a distinctive and utterly seductive flavour. The succulent chicken chunks in yellow curry with lemongrass and bamboo shoots in coconut milk are quite simply superb. The seafood, too, is worth sampling. The tom yam kung nam (prawn tom yam with coconut) is not to be missed. Last, but not least, are the desserts. It must be mentioned, however, that the magical moment in Western culinary tradition, when the main course is cleared away and dessert is presented, isn't quite the main draw of the Thai table. The water chestnuts in coconut milk is rich and creamy, but not syrupy sweet. The rice pudding, also drenched in coconut milk, is light and fluffy. Lai Thai Four Seasons Hotel 34 Giza Street, Giza Tel: 3573 1212 Dinner for two: LE380
