Kala Thai – Bournemouth Meets Bangkok

Situated in the centre of Bournemouth recently opened Kala Thai offers classic Thai dishes such as Pad Thai, Tom Yum and Dumplings as well as speciality dishes Weeping Tiger (a dark rum and soy marinated sirloin steak) and Duck Honey Tamarind (roasted duck breast with a honey and tamarind glaze).

Upon arrival we were greeted and shown to our table by a very friendly member of staff. Inside Kala Thai is subtly decorated with Thai images along with a subdued pink lighting. They also have quite a large bar area with a good selection of alcoholic drinks to make up the array of cocktails they offer. There is a wide choice of food on the menu including options for vegetarians plus gluten and nut free requirements.

Starters

For starters we chose Thai Fish Cakes, Prawn Dumpling and shared a Som Tum Thai (Green Papaya Salad). The fish cakes were mixed with green beans and lime leaves, served with a peanut sweet chilli dip. They were nicely fried and a good size for a starter. The prawn dumplings were a mixture of prawn, garlic, spring onion and ginger and were served steamed. They were delicious, but unfortunately the accompanying dipping sauce was heavy on the soy and not as light and zingy as I was expecting. However, the Som Tum Thai salad was outstanding… fresh, crunchy and with a good kick of chilli, lime and garlic making you want to keep going back for more.

Main Courses

For the main course we had the Duck Pad Kra Pow and their speciality Duck Honey Tamarind. The Pad Kra Pow is a stir fry of chilli, garlic, green beans and holy basil. It was a generous and well balanced dish. The duck special was excellent. Well roasted duck with a classic honey sweet and tamarind sour glaze coating the duck and served on a bed of pak choi.

Cocktails

Afterwards we were quite full, so instead of having a dessert, we opted to try their range of Thai inspired cocktails. A Thai Blossom Garden based on a Bramble Gin with raspberries, mint, basil, passionfruit puree and lime and another called Bangkok made from Absolut Mango, limoncello, fresh kiwi, blackberries and fresh lime. Both were refreshing and easy to drink as either the digestive that we opted for or probably the more appropriate aperitive!

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For a Thursday evening it was a very busy restaurant and we left full and content. Service was excellent and staff helpful and friendly and what with the current Covid mask requirements, I couldn’t see, but I know they were smiling too.

Kala Thai Restaurant, 127 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth BH1 1EP

http://www.kala-thai.com Click here to visit their website.

We dined as guests of Kala Thai Restaurant. However, all content is my own.