Cai Yingbo

SHOPPING with friends in the Central Walk mall in Futian District is an enjoyable experience, not only because there are many shops that we girls can do window shopping in, but also because the environment is pretty good and there are several restaurants from which we can choose to eat lunch or dinner after we become too tired to shop.

This week we were wondering which restaurant to eat lunch in, when we came across Thai Kitchen. Purple is the dominant color of Thai Kitchen, from sofa to menu. The waiters and waitress are all dressed in Thai costume, unsurprisingly. But when we walked inside, I couldn't imagine I was in a Thai restaurant. Compared to other Thai restaurants that are elaborately decorated with tropical plants and fruits, Thai Kitchen looks just like a fast-food restaurant without any distinguishing decorations. Purple chairs and glass tables make the restaurant look clean and tidy, but not particularly special.

We ordered a set meal for 4-6 people (180 yuan, US$22.5), which comprised of chicken in green curry, chicken and lamb satay, steamed snapper with lime, green papaya salad with sticky rice and curry fried rice with shrimp. As we know, Thai cuisine is astonishingly complex, rich and flavorful. These five dishes were just about enough for the five of us. We ordered another popular Thai dish, tom yam kung, which is shrimp soup made with lemongrass and mushroom.

Prepared using grains, vegetables, herbs and spices, the dishes were light enough for those of us seeking a healthy meal. However, as a native Cantonese, I found the dishes too spicy for me, especially the green curry with chicken. I've been to some other Thai restaurants, such as Banana Leaf, and I really liked their food, which uses a lot of coconut milk, as well as sweet and sour sauce for fish and vegetables.

Like all authentic Thai cuisine, the food that we ordered involved an intricate combination of fresh ingredients such as lemongrass, lime leaves, tamarind, Thai sweet basil, galangal, fish sauce and jasmine rice. The food was OK, without really standing out. But I have to point out that we didn't like their jasmine rice, which tasted cold and hard.

The restaurant opened this April, and I hope the dishes will improve in the near future, and also better adapt to local tastes. But for the time being I think I will choose some other restaurant the next time I go shopping with friends in Central Walk.