Tradition is Important

During the last month, every time I drove past a board that said ' Chao on North Boag Road, in T Nagar. Fine dining Thai, Singaporean, Vietnamese, Chinese cuisine. All my favourites. Irresistible. Finally I saw it open. These interiors are very Feng Shui soothing. Look, a Buddha statue, paintings and bamboo, my brain articulated.We head to the basement where our table sits. Our meal began with the sea food Tom Yum soup. It arrived in an appropriate clay pot and completely engaged our senses.

The thing with soup is that it has to be fresh and it has to be the right temperature for the taste to be showcased perfectly. And at Chao it was. Next we launched into the starters. Literally. We decided to go for the Corn Tartlets and see how well Chao was geared for the vegetarians. Nice little bite sized tartlets, crisp little shells with the most delightful tasting succulent corn inside.nnTo pique our taste buds we tried the tangy raw mango salad. Good decision. It was fresh, flavourful and cooling after the soup. Our other starters included Wasabi Prawns. What a dream those fat sea food twirls turned out to be.

All our food is made using ingredients that are fresh, not out of some can, Chef Murali Purshotaman, who spent two years researching Thai food informs us. Then I go all serious and dig into my Sankhaya Fathong - yellow pumpkin custard with ice cream and swipe a bit of the Tub Tim Grob - water chestnuts in flavoured coconut milk from my neighbour. You're allowed to do that, if they don't mind.nnPlus and MinusnSpacious and gentle, you are bound to feel comfortable here. The food is authentic, and Chao has got it right.