THAI food creates a symphony on the tongue with a tantalizing balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Just back from Thailand, Yao Minji samples the best of down home and royal fare.

The three-to-four-hour drive from congested Bangkok to beach resort Hua Hin is one filled with ocean breezes, the smell of fish and brine, and square salt ponds on the sides of the highway, all adding pleasure and anticipation to the escape from the Thai capital.

Hua Hin is famous as the beach resort of the Thai Royal Family.

The evaporation ponds turn ocean water into sea salt, which is either sold on the street or in stores or made into fish sauce (nam pla in Thai, nuoc mam in Vietnamese), essential in Southeast Asian cuisine, especially Thai food.

The salty fish liquid is made by putting anchovies and salt in wooden boxes to ferment slowly and naturally.

It is key to making Thai dipping sauces like phrik nam pla, a spicy fish sauce made with chopped garlic and chilli and served with many dishes.

The fish sauce is also used in many signature Thai dishes from the lip-smacking green papaya salad to the hot tom yum kung soup, very popular among tourists.

Though many people think of Thai cuisine as hot and spicy, it is much more sophisticated than garlic and chilli. Thai chefs aim to bring balance to the tongue by juggling with sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spiciness and saltiness through signature Thai ingredients such as lime juice, palm syrup sugar, chilli and fish sauce.

The intensely flavored fish sauce not only adds saltiness, since salt is not always used in Thai cuisine, but also brings out the umami of the ingredients, especially when cooked with seafood, a key attraction of Hua Hin, where many European expats live.

Each of these ingredients plays crucial role while inspiring magical reactions with other flavors. Talented chef can create a well-rounded drama in one meal, or sometimes in one dish. The idea is to add strongly aromatic and balanced tastes to lightly prepared ingredients.

For example, the globally popular tom yum kung soup, considered one of the most flavorful soups in the world, embodies this sophisticated culinary philosophy of balancing tastes that come in layers and layers. It is neither simply spicy or sour, but a combination of all five flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami; this creates an intriguing game for the tongue to sense each flavor as well as the various fusions and clashes of two or three or four flavors at different times.

Which of the five flavors takes the lead depends on the region, since Thai cuisine varies slightly from the north, northeast, central and south; the neighbors influence each other.

North and northeastern cuisines feature sticky rice while southern dishes are definitely hotter and spicier. The central area, which includes Bangkok and Hua Hin, is the most densely populated and benefits from plenty of rainfall and the many canals and rivers.

Balancing regional tastes

Dishes from this area are said to combine the best of all regions, with a touch of sweetness; seafood is abundant and a major ingredient.

Many popular Thai restaurants in Shanghai serve a taste similar to that of the central area, probably because it balances regional tastes.

Thai food is increasingly popular in China, especially in Shanghai, where the heat and humidity in summer are close to that in Thailand and people want spicy flavors.

Spicy food is supposed to be good for the tongue and small intestine. The touch of sweetness in Thai food is somewhat similar to Shanghainese food, known for its liberal use of sugar.

The most popular Thai dishes among Chinese diners are fried prawn cakes, barbecued pork neck, pad Thai, tom yum kung and mango with sticky rice, among many others.

Food in central Thailand is strongly influenced by royal cuisine, which dates back to the cosmopolitan court cuisine of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351-1763), known for its hospitality toward foreign traders from all over the world.

As part of the royal tradition, presentation of the food is more important in the central area than any others. Food is meticulously sliced and paired, using delicate Thai or Western utensils.

Nutritional balance is important. Often times, a fine meal consists of one vegetable dish with a variety of fresh, regional produce; a beef or pork dish stir-fried with vegetables; a seafood dish often fried; soup with seafood; steamed rice with curry, and dessert or a selection of sweet and juicy tropical fruits.

For those who want a Thai-style symphony on the tongue, Shanghai Daily finds four restaurants in Shanghai, Bangkok and Hua Hin, offering a range of choices and price ranges.

Shanghai

Coconut Paradise

In keeping with its romantic name, the restaurant is in a stand-alone house on Fumin Road, a small and quiet street hidden between the commercial areas of Jing'an Temple and Nanjing Road W. The delicately arranged garden contains a handful of tables that are dotted around the pond, flowers and stone sculptures.

With dim candles, strong exotic aromas, hypnotic music and Buddha statues, the venue satisfies eyes, ears and nose before the food is even served. When the tongue finally meets the juicy shredded shrimp in the triangular fried prawn cakes, the experience is complete.

The chicken green curry is among the most-ordered dishes, because of the tender chicken and rich sauce that combines curry flavor, spice, saltiness and sweetness. The taste buds seem to dance on the tongue. It's served with steamed jasmine rice.



Address: 38 Fumin Rd

Tel: 6248-1998



Thai House

I was first brought by a Thai friend to this eatery's older branch on Wuding Road a few years ago. A small and cozy place in a longtang (alleyway), it had only three or four tables and offered catering service.

I was impressed by the creative use of space and exotic Thai decor, the range of imported beers (a glass of cold beer goes well with hot Thai food), and the crush of Thai diners looking for authentic fare.

Unfortunately, it closed recently but the branch on Yan'an Road W. remains open. It's much larger than the original, with two floors and a large display of imported beers, whisky and other spirit behind the bar. The interior is simple, which may turn away guests who look for atmosphere over authentic food, but the taste draws many returning customers. Many are Thai expatriates.

Tom yum kung soup is recommended. The sourness is just enough to complement other tastes while not overpowering the savory soup. It's suggested to order the soup after trying the popular fried prawn cakes, who wash away the oil from the palate, and awaken the taste buds for other dishes.



Address: 618 Yan'an Rd W.

Tel: 5169-9217

Thailand

Nong May Restaurant



The small eatery stops taking orders at 9pm; it's closed on Mondays and the menu is only in Thai. The staff speaks very basic English, enough so that a foreigner can order. The place is filled with Thai diners.

At a first glance, it really is just one of the small and minimally renovated eateries with electric fans instead of air conditioners. But the taste makes the adventure worthwhile as soon as the dishes are served and the first bite is taken.

Hua Hin cuisine is rich in seafood and Japanese Spanish mackerel is a local favorite. It is often cut vertically in half and fried, served with sweet and spicy sauce featuring fish sauce, chopped garlic and chilies. The fried fish is crispy but not too dry, while the sweetness and spiciness brings out more umami of the mackerel and cuts through the fat from frying.

Fried Thai rice contains an abundance of large shrimps and other seafood, all combined into rich flavors. A glass of cold Thai beer is perfect with the hot and spicy flavors.



Address: 2/120, Hua Hin-Hnongplub Road, Hua Hin, Prachuabkirikhan

Tel: (6632) 515-525 (closed on Mondays)

Benjarong Royal Thai Restaurant of Dusit Thani Bangkok

As the local five-star hotel brand, Dusit Thani features its signature royal Thai cuisine at the Benjarong Royal Thai Restaurant, which is based on royal palace cuisine of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Like royal cuisines in many countries, presentation is just as important as the taste and royal Thai cuisine is often presented with the elegant and intricate Benjarong crockery made from bone china. `

In the old days, only aristocrats were allowed to use the dinner ware. The restaurant is named after the gracefully painted porcelains. Benjarong means five colors and the chinaware is painted in classical Thai patterns in five colors.

Numbers are quite important in Thai culture, for example, the age of 25, which is five times five, is said to be crucial in a lifetime.

The industry of hand-painted porcelain declined sharply around 30 years ago when many factories went out of business, but it revived in recent years because of increasing demand from the hospitality industry and wealthy people, both residents and tourists.

The royal cuisine comes in set as well as a la carte, and the catfish salad, often included in the set menu's appetizer platters, offers an inspirational blast of flavors that gets a diner ready for more excitement.

The thick red curry with chicken, pork or beef (customer's choice) isn't as heavy as the color indicates and delights the tongue with staged layers and flavors of saltiness, sourness, bitterness, sweetness and spiciness.



Address: 946, Rama IV Road, Bangkok, Thai

Tel: (662) 200-9000