A riot of choice and colour
Chef 'Kraison' at Sukho used to cook at the renowned Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. Judging by the feast we ate, he doesn't seem to have gone in for any dumbing down.
This was one of the better Thai meals I've eaten in London. From a menu bursting with unusual dishes - standards are there, but there's a riot of choice - everything we ate sang of freshness and quality.
Not only that, but presentation is so beautiful it seemed a shame to eat some of the dishes. Three colours of steamed dumplings brought elaborate little sculptures in palest green and violet filled with chicken and nuts, won ton stuffed with chicken and prawn and little pale pasties with fish, galangal and coriander.
My soft shell crab dish delivered about four whole beasts, sweet, crispy and tingling with Thai herbs. Even the pedestrian choice of beef panang was atypically good quality meat in its addictively fragrant, sweet-sharp coconut bath.
Grilled beef salad had the seductive crunch of toasted jasmine rice. Portions, though, tend towards the teeny.
It's a sweet little place too, simply but warmly decorated. So staff are a little brusque - despite their ceremonial bows. So what? Put it down to cultural differences and just enjoy the experience.
A meal for two with wine, water and service costs about £80. 855 Fulham Road SW6. Tel: 020 7371 7600. Tube: Parsons Green
Sukho
Fulham Road, London, SW6 5HJ
