I was completely excited to meet fellow food evangelists to try out the fare at Tim Tai, the relatively new pan-Asian cuisine joint in Koramangala. The place has been open for a few months now and every time I would drive past it, I always thought how bright the entire place was. And that’s the very first thing that hits you when you enter the restaurant. Besides the large tree in the middle of the room, which doubles up as a very neat dining area, a lot of trouble has gone into ensuring the colours immediately lift your mood. It’s a stark difference from most restaurants I have been to recently that have fairly muted lighting. While the open kitchen makes the place a tad noisy, you soon get used to it.
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| Bright Interiors |
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| Men at work |
We ordered a variety of mock tails including raspberry ice teas, cinnamon and orange mixes and more. We began the meal with a Chicken Tom Kha soup. This mildly spicy soup with lemon grass, galangal and lime leaves really hit the spot. I have been recovering from a cold and blocked nose, but the aroma of the soup took care of that almost immediately. I shamelessly took a second helping of the soup. I don’t know what it is about my love-affair with soups at almost all the places I visit. This is a definite must have on my list the next time I go there.
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| Chicken Tom Kha Soup |
The meal continued with a tangy Raw Mango Salad which had the quintessential Thai taste. The onions with the peanuts and the raw mango were a superb combination that left a nice taste in the mouth. With all my senses being cleared up thanks to the soup, the salad was even tastier, a definite must-have from their list of signature dishes. We also had the Green Tomato Salad which came with grilled prawns with a hint of lime and chilli. My aversion to tomatoes did not help me enjoy the salad. This was despite having grilled prawns which were done quite well.
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| Raw Mango Salad |
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| Green Tomato Salad with Grilled Prawns |
Next up was a variety of Dim sums and Momos including chicken, prawn, corn and spinach and more. Each of these very nice and fresh and we all had to make a conscious effort not to binge on them lest we not have space for the main course. We closed the appetizers with Prawn Skewers which were quite alright, but pale in comparison compared to the Dim sums and Momos.
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| Prawn Skewers |
For the main course, we had the Thai Chilli Basil noodles which had a lovely soya taste and aroma to it. This was accompanied by Fried Rice. The main side dish was the Lamb with Black Bean Sauce and Bamboo Shoots. This was a nice mildly spicy dish that really complimented both the rice and the noodles. The lamb was cut into fine slices and was cooked long enough to allow the gravy to enter the meat, evening out the taste.
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| Lamb in Black Bean Sauce |
If your mouth isn’t watering already, here’s the most memorable part of the meal – the desserts. (Yes, plural) I started off with the Coconut Panna Cotta with Berry Compote. While the Panna Cotta was perfect, I did not enjoy the stark contrasting dominating taste of the berries. It didn’t do justice to the Panna Cotta. Now to the ice creams. We were offered a variety of Ice creams which included exotic flavours such as Orange Lemongrass, Chocolate Chilli and Kaffir Lime. All three were simply brilliant and soon made me forget what the berries had done to the Panna Cotta. Some of the other folks tried a very fancy looking dessert of water chestnuts with coconut milk, but I stuck to my ice creams. We also got a helping of Green Tea Fried Ice Cream with White Chocolate Sauce which was very unique. The good part is that Tim Tai makes the ice cream in-house, so you probably won’t find a similar taste elsewhere. The elaborate meal ended with tiny chocolate paans.
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| Coconut Panna Cotta with Berry Compote |
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| Kaffir Lime Ice Cream |
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| Orange Lemongrass Ice Cream |
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| Green Tea Fried Ice Cream with White Chocolate |
I must say we all ate a lot that evening. But it was so worth it. Tim Tai is definitely one of the places I would recommend for someone looking out for a nice evening of good food at a place with a very cheerful ambiance. The staff was fairly courteous to us, food was served hot and the portions were quite filling. Located near the Sukh Sagar in Koramangala, Tim Tai is the new destination for good pan-Asian cuisine. A meal for two should cost around Rs.1000 – Rs.1200, provided you didn’t eat the way we did. I recommend booking a table in advance as the place was packed even on a Tuesday evening despite the rain.
I’ve not even covered the vegetarian section but even that looked equally impressive. Do not miss having the Tom Yum soup and the Raw Mango Salad.
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