Thai food is traditionally fast food. Quick curries, stir-fried and simmered in coconut milk, served with rice, is the basis for the majority of the most famous dishes in the Thai cuisine. It's the kind of thing that you'd think would fit in the city, with its hectic work demands and power-lunches. So the wide ranging menu of the city branch of Thai Square may come as a bit of a surprise. Sure, it has its curries, but the majority of the menu is made up of elegant, Thai inspired dishes - the sort of food that you might find in a Bangkok palace rather than the hawker stalls. Dishes like deep-fried sea bass, marinated in a citrus-sharp sauce and char-grilled prawns on a bed of Thai salad. Both delicious, blending traditional flavours like lime-juice, coriander and galangal with the finer tastes of the fish. And, unusually, the chef seems to understand that a salad should be a contrast of textures as well as taste, so you get crunchy, raw vegetables with the smooth and meaty sea-bass. The dessert menu, however, looks like it belongs in an Italian restaurant and the 'Thai Sweet of the Day', turns out to be Vanilla Ice cream and a fruit salad - about as Thai as Tie-Rack. Considering their main courses show such imagination, it's not beyond hope that they should make a similar effort with their desserts. As soon as they do Market Thai will be one of the few truly excellent Thai restaurants in London. If you're in the city and fancy a change from the usual green-curry, it's definitely worth paying a visit.
Thai food is traditionally fast food. Quick curries, stir-fried and simmered in coconut milk, served with rice, is the basis for the majority of the most famous dishes in the Thai cuisine. It's the kind of thing that you'd thin..
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