Soy story

Thai red curry and rice. All pics/Datta Kumbhar

Here's a fair warning for those of us who suffer from even the mildest form of claustrophobia. Take a deep breath before you enter this hole-in-the-wall pan Asian restaurant that sits tightly wedged between a hair salon and a patisserie at Bandra's bustling Pali Naka. Ignore the four-table set-up in the open-air courtyard and descend into its bowels to the tiny, basement level dining room where you will find yourself sitting almost elbow-to-elbow with other diners. And don't make the conversation PG13. For at Soy Pan Asian Kitchen, everyone can hear every stray word spoken…and even the odd one whispered!

Mama pork

But for us, what spoke the loudest of all was the food on offer. Not once missing the acute lack of any decent liquid sustenance on the menu (barring the ubiquitous canned cola and ginger ale offerings), we dove straight into the savoury section. Cosily ensconced in a bamboo steamer basket, our six, hefty pork dumplings (Rs 290) were each a juicy burst of umami goodness with the perfect dough to filling ratio. The well-seasoned, panko-crusted Japanese fried chicken tori karake (Rs 250) reminded us more of a chicken katsu than a karakem, which are usually bite sized nuggets as opposed to the sliced breast portion we found on our plate.

Som tum papaya

Having just returned from the sweltering climes of Bangkok, we were taken straight back to its meandering sois with the authentic and reasonably priced som tum papaya salad (Rs 190). Tart, sweet and salty - this iteration was packed with all the good things a refreshing Thai papaya salad should have. Falling off-the-bone tender and smothered in a star anise-redolent sauce, the BBQ pork ribs (Rs 390) had just the right amount of smoky flavour, ending with a slight hint of piquant bird eye chilli.

Pad Thai

Ten (yes, we counted) plump prawns swimming in a thick Thai red curry (Rs 450) accompanied by the slightly astringent tasting pea aubergines was almost sublime when paired with jasmine rice (Rs 180), making for a memorable main. Though we wish we could have said the same for the cloyingly sweet chicken pad Thai (Rs 260), which although was enough to feed four, was left relatively intact by the end of our meal.

Tori karake

It would perhaps have done the chefs at Soy Pan Asian Kitchen a whole lot of good to use the surplus sugar of the pad Thai in the bland and watery tob tin crop (Rs 150) - water chestnuts in coconut milk that seemed like the more reasonable dessert to call for, when compared to the only other one on the menu. We're talking about the ridiculously priced mango cheese cake slice (Rs 450) that we'd probably order on a day when we're feeling particularly self-indulgent!

At: Soy Pan Asian Kitchen, Gasper Enclave CHS, Pali Naka, Bandra West.
Time: 12 pm to 12 am
Call: 9619616398

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