Authentic tastes

Situated on a busy street within Adliya is one of the island's oldest Thai restaurants, Siam Soup, writes SHILPA CHANDRAN.

Formerly known as Tom Yum Kung, the outlet offers a comfortable eating out choice for diners to savour on authentic Thai cuisine.

Kanchana Sopha, manager of the restaurant which opened more than 20 years ago, took charge nine years ago and kept the flavour consistent which the demands of its loyal customers. The outlet offers well-known Thai dishes including Pad Thai, red curry, green curry and tom yam soup.

Kanchana said: "We cook what we eat ourselves, so it is almost as though we are inviting guests home.

"We even make our own chili flakes, which is an important ingredient when preparing Thai food. We have six people working here and we are like a family."

Managing the kitchen are three people alongside Kanchana and chief Chef Saowanee Tupee. Both Kanchana and Chef Saowanee are second generation Thai nationals living on the island.

Kanchana, 45, joined her parents 25 years ago. She lived with them until her father, a former employee of Abdulla Ahmed Nass, succumbed to cancer and her mother returned back home to Thailand.

With her love and keen interest in cooking, she decided to take up a business opportunity when her friend and the former manager of the restaurant left the island.

She said: "My husband works with us in the restaurant as well and since we have been here for so long, Bahrain is home now."

Chef Saowanee, 35, came to Bahrain 14 years ago when she accompanied her parents who worked on the island. Inspired by watching her mother cook, she decided to follow in her footsteps and went back to Thailand to join a cooking course. Once back in Bahrain she joined Siam Soup alongside Kanchana nine years ago.

She said: "My mother is a brilliant cook and used to work in a restaurant in the Thai Club which closed down five years ago."

Displaying traditional paintings, dance figurines as well as the country's ruler's photograph, the outlet offers a sneak peak into a typically Thai setting. It also has two Thai rooms where groups can enjoy a meal in private and also in a traditional Thai manner.

Kanchana explained that even the ingredients are imported from Thailand to make sure the taste remains true to its origin. She said: "The most important ingredients in Thai cuisine are chili flakes, lemon grass, vegetables, green pepper as well as lots of Thai herbs.

"We even do a combination of flavours especially in our popular seafood varieties. A few of our favourites are papaya salad, chicken cashew nut and duck."

Here she shares the dish of well-known Pad Thai for GulfWeekly readers.

Pad Thai

Shrimps 6

Egg 2

Bean stalk 50gm

Peanuts 1 tbsp

Dried shrimps 1 tbsp

Noodles 100gms

Sugar 2 tsp

Lemon to taste

Oil

Chicken stock to taste

Method:

Stir fry the shrimps in a wok. Add cooked noodles and a few table spoons of stock and continue to stir fry. Add one egg and once it is done, add the bean stalk, dried shrimps and peanuts and stir fry once again. Set it aside. Separately make an omelet and place it over the noodles before serving. Squeeze some lemon juice while stir frying to give a tangy taste.