Restaurant review: Passorn

Published on Sunday 28 February 2010 10:36

PASSORN 23-23a Brougham Place Edinburgh 0131-229 1537, How much? Dinner for three, excluding drinks, £58.75

Where do Thai restaurants go when they die? It seems that they're reincarnated into another, similar eatery, if the spot at 23-23a Brougham Place, Edinburgh, opposite St Michael and All Saints church, is anything to go by. This has been home to two pretty mediocre places – Sukhothai and, then, Lai Thai, both of which served purgatory menus of classic Asian fare.

Two months ago, shortly after the latter popped its clogs, another – Passorn – took its place, and the new chef/owner, Cindy Srisotorn, has kitted the interior out in a contemporary style that's slightly similar to Leven's, the nice fusion place on nearby Leven Street.

The wall are putty-coloured, except for one covered in floral wallpaper. The lighting is very low, the soundtrack is a slightly idiosyncratic mix of Bob Dylan and Nick Drake, and the lavatory doors feature halo-ed male and female signs ("passorn" is the Thai word for angel).

My sister, Louisa, boyfriend, Rolf, and I visited on a recent Tuesday night, and were lumped, like battery hens, alongside the only other occupied tables in this quiet restaurant, which made us all feel slightly self-conscious.

We soon recovered, though, after junior got giggly about testing the hun muan – Mr and Mrs king prawns (6.25). "Can you tell us which prawn is the Mr and which is the Mrs?" my facetious sister decided to ask the super-attentive waitress.

"No," she replied, slightly irritated.

The prawns were great, though, with two of the four androgynous crustaceans coated in a light filo pastry and the other duo in a thickly textured tempura batter, both varieties of which were delicious when dipped into a not-too-sticky-or-sickly sweet chilli dip.

I'd skipped the starter course, so picked at Rolf's entree of plar neur yum sauw dod (5.75). This consisted of soft globules of tenderloin beef, tossed with lemongrass, whole mint leaves (a wonderful addition), chopped shallots and chillies, all of which had been drizzled with zesty lime juice. This aromatic dish was served up Worzel Gummidge style – in the bowl created by a wad of red cabbage leaves.

For my main, I opted for something from the curry list – choo chi chargrilled sirloin steak (12.25) – while Louisa and Rolf went for items on the wok menu, choosing ped ma kham (12.75) and pla samun pri (13.25) respectively.

At first, I was a bit jealous of my other half's choice – the waitress had patted him on the back to congratulate him on choosing "the best thing on the menu". He could barely contain his smugness.

However, I needn't have worried, as my course featured a sliced chargrilled steak that had been cooked medium and, although there wasn't any evidence of a smoky charred taste, it was tender and gristle-free. The accompanying red curry sauce boasted just a hint of chilli, which jostled its way through the lime and basil notes to make this recipe the ideal partner for a dollop of creamy coconut rice with fried onions (2.30).

Rolf's choice consisted of battered monkfish balls that had been topped with golden coils of fried onion, all of which magically managed to err on the right side of oily. His russet-coloured sauce, which he mopped up with some glutinous sticky rice (2.75) was flavoured with turmeric, as well as nam pla sauce and garlic.

There was to be a triple whammy of good news, as my sister's course was also outstanding. Her duck breast was cooked in a similar style to my beau's fish, but with a much sweeter, tamarind-spiked signature "Passorn sauce".

For pud, the -la-carte choices seemed a bit dull, so I went for the ominous-sounding black tower (3.45) from the daily specials menu, while the rest of my gang rested their sweet teeth. I was soon presented with a cocktail glass (Liebfraumilch-free, thankfully) in the base of which was a pile of nuttily sweet black rice and some halved grapes. The glass was topped up with salted coconut milk, so getting equal measures of rice and milk on my spoon became crucial – too much saline-spiked juice on its own was repulsive.

Still, despite this pudding's acquired taste status, the heavenly Passorn seems to have broken the 23-23a Brougham Place curse. Which proves that bad things don't always happen in threes.

www.passornthai.com

Three to try

MAMA SAN

190 Bath Street, Glasgow (0141-352 8800, www.mama-san.co.uk)

This stylish bar/club/restaurant serves up delicious Pan-Asian food with a twist. On weekdays, you can even design your own lunchtime bento box (8.95, to sit in).

ROYAL THAI RESTAURANT

29 Crown Terrace, Aberdeen (01224 212922, www.royalthaiaberdeen.co.uk)

Priding itself on authentic cuisine, this is the original, and arguably the best, Thai restaurant in Aberdeen.

THE THAI AT ROCA BLU

Speygate, Perth (01738 442715,

www.thaiatrocablu.co.uk)

A bright place serving traditional Thai food, with a cool soundtrack. It's above a trendy bar, in case a postprandial drink appeals.

This article was originally published in The Scotsman on 27 February 2010