I love everything about Thai people. They are friendly, they smile a lot, they are hardworking, passionate, welcoming and accepting of differences and cultures, they are creative, and they cook very well. Southeast Asia has some of the best food in the world, especially Thai food, with its frenetic aroma and spices, contrasting flavors and textures, sometimes subtle sometimes intense. A dish rich in rice, meat, fish, seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables. Scented earthy and seasoned with herbs like citrusy lemongrass, woody, peppery, tarty galangal, strong and unique basil, and dynamite, pungent bird’s eye chili. But like most Asian food, the Thai food you would find in Mumbai was atrocious. Yes, there was always the Thai Pavilion at Taj President, San-Qui at the Four Seasons and a few other good Thai restaurants in five-star hotels, but the rest of the fare was too aggressive, overly spirited, and over-flavored. Neon green curry, thick as oatmeal, lemongrass coming out of my nostrils and ears, a simple som tam raw papaya salad, very raw, and full of sourness and chili, garlic with that perfectly rounded sweet-sour-spicy flavor , a hint of chili and fish sauce. Stir fry which tastes like chaat and tom yum which tastes like rasam. Then, all of a sudden I was discovered by one of India’s top rising chefs, Seifa Kechio, although I think she emerged a long time ago. She and her chef husband Karan Bane started a small, hugely successful Thai/sushi place called ‘Blue’ after a stint at the Four Seasons and have since re-established themselves in their own small Thai spot under the name Sifa did. What’s great about ‘Cefa’ and I mean the person as well as the place is he himself.
The food is his. I ate there several times when they first opened and ordered again and again. Then came the lockdown. In her own words, Sifa was locked in her house with her mother, who had come from Thailand. Stuck in the house, he started cooking home-cooked food with his mother and posted pictures on Facebook. The pictures drove me crazy. I begged him to give it. which he soon did. Roasted pork belly, tom sab moo- (spicy tamarind pork soup), massman curry, omelet with seafood, is served. So the other day when I wanted to host a small dinner at his house I called him and dropped off at his restaurant. Over a glass of cold Thai cold coffee, I told him I wanted him to cook for me, that he would eat at home. Just like his mother used to cook.
We decided on some fish, pork and mussels. Mussels, one of my favorite seafood dishes. I can sit on the streets of Paris and eat moules frites (mussels and french fries) by Bucketful and moles la mariniere (muscles cooked in a broth of dry white wine with garlic and shallots fried in butter) so easy to make Is home if only you could buy mussels in Mumbai. And Cephas knows exactly where to get them. So, he made some large imported mussels in red chili paste. Lush, pungent yellow mussels in homemade condiment nam prik pao. The mussels were stir-fried in this delicious paste of onions, garlic and red pepper garnished with large Thai basil leaves and it was just amazing.
I feasted on Thai-style pomelo salad at a beachside shack in Pattaya. We used to go there and order it every day. I asked Sifa if she could make me some Yum Som O or Thai Pomelo Salad. It is a spicy, spicy salad filled with peanuts. Lemon juice, chili among other ingredients and my favorite ingredient – dried shrimp. It was a fruit salad like no other.
I’m also crazy about peanut sauce. Although predominantly Malay, you find sliced tenderloin with peanut sauce on the streets of Bangkok and I know for a fact that cefa makes some bloody good skewers and a good peanut sauce. I had to add something to the menu. Cifa suggests he make a mean pork belly. Just roasted. They were thinly sliced soft pieces of pork, smoky and sweet. Along with starters and mussels, we needed some fish and meat.
Fish is a favorite of my family, although I’m more of a crustacean. I wanted my table to be filled with whole fish. Not cut, not cut, not cut. whole. Seefah steamed a whole sea bass, (pla kapong neung manao) stuffed with fresh lemon juice, garlic and chili, and Thai herbs. It was wonderful; Sour, spicy, garlicky, and full of contrast and zest of Thai flavors. Simultaneously a full pot full of pork knuckles in a broth made from star anise, cinnamon, cumin, and sugar, soy sauce. Cook slowly until the sauce becomes sticky and sweet. All this with some simple jasmine rice. No hassle. The evening was quite a hit, the food was the hero, and my romance with Thai food continued.
Kunal Vijaykar is a food writer based in Mumbai. He tweets @kunalvijayakar and can be followed on Instagram @kunalvijayakar. What is the name of his youtube channel? The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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