Restaurant review: Jasmine Thai, Exeter - with Vegan options.

Where: JamineThai, 153 Fore st, Exeter

Style:

Probably best described as a traditional/yet contemporary Thai dining experience in the heart of the city (they describe it as Thai-style fine dining). The front of the restaurant is more brightly lit and the upper floor at the back is more dimly lit. It’s a large space and the floor is tiled with a central walkway offering quite good access.

Service:

The usual lovely smiley attentiveness you would expect of any Thai restaurant – although we hardly saw the same member of the team twice – which meant a little confusion on and double checking of our order.

starter sharing platter

Food choices:

A vast menu of varied non-Vegan dishes – but Vegan options are all marked Vg so you can hop straight to them – which is great! And there is more than enough to create a little feast from. 

We started with a mixed shared Vegan platter, followed by a Red curry (cooked with Tofu and Vegetables in a curry base containing Thai Red curry paste, coconut milk, bamboo shoots and fresh herbs), stirfry Mixed Vegetables (stir fried with garlic, cashew nuts, mushroom and peppers in soya sauce), Phad Thai noodles and 2 rice dishes (fragrant jasmine & coconut), ending with two Vegan desserts (they offer Vegan ice cream, which is unusual!).

Nom factor:

I adore Thai food and the freshness and aromatics of the flavours. I think the starters were some of the best I’ve had in a Thai restaurant – rubbery fish cakes with too much lemon grass can often be quite grim. But these little samosas, spring rolls, tempura and sweetcorn fritters were all beautifully crisp and complimented well with a trio of spicy, fruity and sweet chilli dips. High 5 on the #nom.

thai red curry with tofu

The main courses were tasty and unwittingly we created a good mix of flavours. However, for me the food was over-seasoned. (This may be due to the fact that when making a Thai curry at home now I never use salt?) I also didn’t like the tofu used in the curry – it was quite chewy and reminded me more of the tinned braised gluten you can cook with. Dave liked it but I would have preferred more vegetables instead had I known.

 

Phad Thai with rice noodles

The Phad Thai rice noodles were quite chewy too, but sticky and sweet and quite enjoyable none-the-less, but the rice, though fragrant with jasmine and coconut was over-cooked I thought and past its best.

vegetable stirfry with soy sauce, garlic & cashews

The vegetable stirfry wasnt exactly as described - mushrooms but no peppers and repetition with broccoli and cauliflower (as per the curry).

pineapple fritters with Vegan ice cream

I rarely eat desserts in Asian restaurants, really because I’m an English pud kinda gal – but on this first visit, and on a special occasion, I thought… why not?! I had Pineapple fritters with Vegan icecream. OKish, but the pineapple was non-descript and I’m sure the batter was tainted by having been cooked in the general purpose fryer. Something to be aware of if, as a Vegan, you prefer to have food cooked separately – because I’m worried this doesn’t happen here. 

Dave opted for Banana in hot coconut milk – which was….well… banana in hot coconut milk! Not something worth paying for in a restaurant, as I could have knocked it up for him when we’d got home if he’d been really desperate!

How much?:

An eye watering £83 including 4 drinks (2 Badgers Ale and 2 Becks Blue). Although admittedly we had 3 courses (not forgetting Vegan mints at the end), I couldn't help feeling that although I did enjoy it – I would have enjoyed a 3 course meal at my local just as much for half the price and with twice the atmosphere – which was disappointing really.

NB a single portion of rice will set you back £4.25! [sharing platter £14.90, main dishes approx £10.95, desserts approx £5.95]

Other stuff:

The toilets are spotless, with cubicles that you can actually get into without clambering sideways over the loo. Always a bonus.

As I booked last minute we could only get in at 6pm and were seated at the front of the restaurant only to have a family with 2 young boys put literally right next to us. As they began screaming over where to sit and pulled out their electronic game consols my face must have said it all and a waitress did rush over to us and ask if we would like to be moved. This wouldn’t have made for a lovely quiet 'meal a-deux'! If I owned a restaurant I have to say I wouldn’t have sat us/them there in the first place and also would probably not allow parents like these in… but what do I know – I spent most of the time taking pictures of the food – which I know restaurateurs just love! ;)

*danger note* they flambe some dishes at the table and to do this pretty much run from the kitchen to the table with a ladle full of flaming oil! As one customer had to quickly dodge a waitress and another such high flame melted some of the hanging ceiling decorations above a table I couldn't help but wonder whether Health & Safety officers have ever visited!!!

Comments:

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Jasmine Thai just didn’t do it for me. 
I really really wanted to love it because I knew beforehand that the owner is in fact Vegan! They certainly do have a good understanding of and variety of suitable food. But something is missing. Maybe it’s the atmosphere? I found it a bit 'office party / large family dining' for me, and as they label themselves 'fine dining' (with prices to match) I guess I just expected something a little bit more special.

Still, I woofed the food merrily and felt perfectly satisfied – if a little thirsty on the way home…

Would I go again? 
Hmmm I’d rather try somewhere else new first…. And perhaps not be tempted into a place on the sheer ‘merit’ that they do some Vegan food…

Still much foodie love though... Chantal xx

Recipe - My Malaysian Laksa-style Soup (for the Soul).

Everyone has their own way of making this wonderful soup. 

This is mine.

I love the aromatics, the colours and the textures in my version of it.

See what you think - lets compare Laksas [she said]... 

my lovely Laksa

Vegetable variations you can use include: fine green beans, broccoli, mangetout, beansprouts, leaf spinach, bok choi (Chinese cabbage), cucumber, you could also add some firm tofu pieces and garnish with deep fried shallots, finely sliced red peppers and/or lime wedges. p.s. I do not recommend adding onions or shallots to the broth - for me they spoil the delicate flavours.

Serves 4 (heartily) but is best eaten the same day.

Gather

150g rice noodles (usually about 3 'nests')

2-3 tbsp sesame oil

1 heaped tbsp Vegan Thai red curry paste (*warning - Laksa paste often contains shrimp)

1 red chilli - cut in half, deseeded and finely sliced

200g assorted mushrooms - thinly sliced (shiitake are traditional but I'm not so keen on these so I tend to use white, chestnut and forestiere, for example)

400ml can coconut milk

600ml water (you can fill the coconut milk can with water 1 and a half times)

1 aubergine - sliced into 1cm thick rounds

150g baby sweetcorn - cut in half or thirds on a diagonal slant

2 pak choi - leaves separated and halved if large (leave small ones whole)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste (I use about half a teaspoon - which seems a lot, but does bring the flavours alive)

garnish - small bunch of fresh coriander leaves (no stalks) - finely chopped

Create

1.  Put your grill on to warm and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to a large pan on a medium heat.

2.  Add the curry paste and fresh chilli to the pan and stir to sizzle and release aromas.

3.  Next add the mushrooms and coat in the sauce. Then add the coconut milk and the water - bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer.

4.  Brush the aubergine rounds with the remaining sesame oil and place on a baking tray under the now warm grill for 5 minutes.

5.  Wash and slice the sweetcorn. Wash and slice the pak choi (pak choi can be a little dirty lower down the stems, so this is important.) Chop your coriander ready to use.

6.  Turn the aubergine slices over, add the sweetcorn to the soup pot and turn up the heat a little to simmer more vigorously. Put a full kettle on to boil.

7.  Add the pak choi leaves to the soup and pour enough boiling water over your rice noodles to cover them.

8.  Taste your soup for seasoning and add black pepper and salt to your preference.

9.  Your aubergine will have grilled on the other side for another 5 minutes now and should be golden - so remove it from the grill and chop each round into 4 pieces.

10.  Stir the rice noodles with a fork to separate and drain in a large sieve.

11.  Add the aubergine to the soup, add the noodles to the soup, give it all a good stir to combine and re-test for seasoning if you want to double check.

Enjoy!

Serve into hot bowls using tongs to make sure everybody gets a share of noodles and veg and then a ladle to top up with the coconut broth. Sprinkle with just a little of the coriander. Serve with a soup spoon and a fork!

Cooks tip: If you have the time and the inclination, you can make your own curry paste by blending this list of ingredients. [recipe by Yotam Otolengi]

100g peeled baby shallots
8 garlic cloves
25g peeled ginger, sliced
15g lemongrass (soft white stem only), sliced
2 tsp ground coriander
3 large dried red chillies
2 tbsp sambal oelek (or other savoury chilli paste) 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

25 g fresh coriander(stalks and all)