Khao San: A new haven for Thai food lovers
The first thing that pops out after walking into Khao San is the vibrant colours, especially the neon blue head of an elephant. One can also see a huge wall art of the Khao San Road covering one of the walls of the restaurant. This is sort of what Khao San as a brand aims to offer to the customers: reigniting the memories of a stroll around the famous Khao San street in Bangkok
Food these days is no longer just a basic need. For many, it's a culture. It speaks volumes about the trends the youth of today follow, and the digital norms they adhere themselves to. This is why restaurants nowadays don't only serve food; they curate menus and create experiences; they make sure you get the best shot for your Instagram and have the perfect amenities so that visitors and foodies can tag you while posting about it on their social media.
Khao San, upon entering, seems like a perfect example of that. Serving Thai food and a colourful, instagrammable ambience, this restaurant opened its door on Valentine's Day and foodies are already showering the place with love.
The restaurant is situated on one of the busiest roads of Dhanmondi, a place where restaurants galore. The colourful neon lights suggesting the names of the restaurants or the cuisines they serve are enthralling as well as perplexing. As some of the high-rise buildings are adorned with restaurant billboards from the top to bottom, one may wonder which one to go to. This is like a Mecca for food lovers, restaurant hoppers and those who want to lounge around on a lazy day or evening. The building that houses Khao San is no different. From coffee and cake to fusion cuisines, it serves all. Khao San emerges there, like a new jewel in the crown.
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The first thing that pops out after walking into Khao San is the vibrant colours, especially the neon blue head of an elephant. What does the logo symbolise? Rehnuma Tasnim Sheefa, the principal architect of Parti.studio who also designed the interior of Khao San, explained, "The elephant is gradually moving towards the jungles and nature of Thailand while exploring the foods of Khao San Road."
One can also see a huge artwork of the Khao San Road covering one of the walls of the restaurant. This is sort of what Khao San as a brand aims to offer to the customers: reigniting the memories of a stroll around the famous Khao San street in Bangkok, a street known as a backpackers' ghetto. Once renowned among rice traders, the street has earned phenomenal success in drawing travellers and satiating their gastronomical cravings. Hundreds of food stalls, both fast and Thai, are there to offer delicious items to the food lovers that gather there from across the world.
The Khao San in Dhaka, however, is a food dream of the same group that started Munch Station — Syed Sameem Shahriyar, Taposh Ghosh, Mustafid Raiyan Khan and Bushra Haque Sarah.
Dhaka foodies are already familiar with the fast food items served by Munch Station for a few years now. Why start a Thai restaurant then, especially when you already have a thriving fast-food business? Sameem Shahriar, one of the partners of the venture answers, "Dhanmondi is brimming with foodies all day and we didn't have any Thai joints here. One has to go to Gulshan or Banani. This is why we decided to open our restaurant here."
Anyone stepping foot inside the restaurant will see their bet is paid off. Even though barely any marketing activities are being done to build the hype around the restaurant, a good number of footfalls have been gracing the venue.
"Serving the walk-in customers, we are sort of running a menu testing as chefs in the backyard are trying to make the tastes as authentic as possible. Customer feedback is very important to us. Before operating on a full scale, we are trying to get feedback from the customers and trying to incorporate that into our service," Sameem elaborates.
The TBS team tried a few items from the menu of Khao San last week. Since the plan was to taste the entire range of the menu, they started serving us with grilled chicken satay. This appetiser comes in eight pieces and was served with a delicious dip of peanut sauce. The peanut sauce instantly became my favourite. As we munched on the satays dipping them in flavour-densed sauce, it set the right mood for our appetite.
Next on the menu was som tam — the shredded green papaya salad. I will be honest here. When Sameem and Sheefa recommended som tam, I was a bit sceptical. But the moment I put a spoonful of salad in my mouth, my taste buds were on a roller coaster ride. Call it love at first bite! The pungent and tangy taste of papaya is well balanced with the sweet and savoury taste of peanut and prawn. A must-try.
Since Thai food is mostly paste based, to offer the authentic Thai experience, Khao San tries to source authentic ingredients. Sameem states, "The issue of raw material is there, of course. We cannot get all the Thai ingredients always. Sometimes, to compensate for one or two ingredients, we have to use four or five locally sourced ingredients. Apart from these one or two small issues, we are trying our best to keep the taste authentic."
While having this chat, tom kha gai arrived at the table. This is a coconut soup that you can have with your choice of seafood or chicken. I chose seafood – crab, calamari and prawn. The coconut soup is thick and rich in taste. If you are not into a mix of sweet and spicy food, then this is not for you. In that case, the spicy seafood clear soup would be a better choice.
From the noodles section of the menu, I picked the khao soi gai. This is a coconut red curry-based noodle soup with chicken and crispy noodles. Mixed with the chilly oil, the broth tasted very comforting. For those who want to have a more fulfilling food experience, try their fried rice and beef with basil curry. Though the gravy of the curry was a bit runny, it tasted awesome with the colourful rice.
Finally, it was dessert time! A scoop of coconut ice cream was served on sticky Thai rice. The ice cream was sprinkled with toasted peanuts. Every spoonful of rich coconut ice cream, with a hint of peanut and sticky rice made this Thai food experience complete. The mellow ice cream, as I can imagine, is going to be a sure hit among the youth, because summer is almost here. Let me be honest, Khao San is one place where I would like to come again and again for this ice cream only. I really mean I would.
Grilled Chicken Satay
Price Tk310
Som Tam
Price Tk290
Tom Kha Gai
Price Tk285
Khao Soi Gai
Price Tk425
Coconut Ice Cream
Price Tk175
Khao San Restaurant
5th Floor, House 57, Old Ahmed & Kazi Tower, Road 2, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
