I have been to Plaza before. I barely survived the original incarnation. So it my masochistic frame of mind, I felt I was honour bound to try the second coming.
To provide some context, Plaza does not dumb down their spice level. Walking in, it was particularly promising as not as tight as the first version. I could actually get to my table without apologising numerous times for brushing other people as I clumsily made my way to my table. That would also leave me space for my body to fall if I expired during the meal.
Their cutlery setting remains the same. Shiny cutlery in a box polished to a mirror sheen.
After I was finished admiring my reflection in the lid of this box, our server came over to see if we had any questions. At the start she did ask, how are you with spice? The response, a question by one of us, how low can you go? The answer, we don’t moderate spice.
So if you die, you were warned.
Cha yen, Thai black tea with condensed milk, milk foam. Following this chastisement, while sitting at the childish Doremon tablecloth side of the table (I was sitting at the kiddie end – no reflection of mental age or sense of humour), I ordered a spice quencher to avoid a fiery end to the meal. While waiting for food to come I had a sip to prepare myself. It actually tasted good even when it wasn’t serving its primary purpose.
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Yam strawberry, strawberry salad, green mango, crispy jasmine fish, coconut. I wouldn’t usually connect strawberry with anything savoury. This dish which was sharp, hot, crunchy and sweet was unlike anything I had before. All these flavours combined made for something rather nice. Unusual and worth having again.
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Tauhu Lae Khai Paloh, paloh braised tofu and eggs with pickled mustard greens. Delightful and surprisingly meaty for something which nothing had died for. A surprising dish.
Gaeng Massaman neua, beef shoulder massaman curry, potatoes, shallots. Two fat beef chunks with two potato pieces sitting in curry sauce. Portion could have been a bit better, beef a bit fattier but still something to satisfy your tummy.
Pad phet pla tord, whole crispy sea bass, green peppercorns and jungle herbs. In particular, the jungle herbs tickled my fancy. The chillies had welcome kick. Or perhaps I should say held hopes of lifting me up to a (drug fuel) high. Instead I got succulent fried fish, even if it was showing me a bit of attitude.  Look at that glare.
Jasmine rice. In a significant downgrade from the home version, this rice portion was about 4x what it used to be. Annoying but oh well, I guess they know their market well enough that you don’t really have a choice if you want to make it out alive, as you need something to dumb down the hea.
Not compromising can be good in some times, bad in others. Generally, you have to give in a bit in order to have any real friends. Although, in the case of food, you can have a more take it or leave it attitude. Although this was not nearly as spicy as the first version, maybe its just as they were showing mercy this day.
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A quiet eating 8.5/10.
Lunch (2 course equivalent) was GBP30 per person excluding drinks and service.
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Plaza Khao Gaeng – Borough Yards
Arch 207, 18 Stoney St
London SE1 9A
