Originally from Thailand, Sai Deethwa, began commercial cooking in 2011 and presented her products as Thai street food, using recipes inherited from her mother, and established Buddha Belly, attending various venues such as Digbeth Dining Club and Herbert’s Yard in Longbridge.
Deethwa had met her partner James Fitzgibbons in 2004 and following his suggestion she took part in the 2012 BBC Masterchef series in which she successfully reached the final 24 contestants stage. Eventually Deethwa and Fitzgibbons opened Soi 1268 at 1268 Pershore Road in Stirchley and soon afterwards Aktar Islam, Executive Chef and owner of the two Michelin-starred Opheem, identified Soi 1268 as one of his favourite restaurants at which to eat.
So it was clearly time for another expedition to the aggressively hipster paradise of Stirchley to dine at Soi 1268. I generally enjoy Thai food apart from Thai green curry which is ruined, it seems, because I have a gene, as does 20% of the population, which makes coriander taste like soap but I find Thai food wearisome. There’s not much range in it and when you’ve been to upwards of fifty, or however many, Thai restaurants - usually rustic in presentation and not all that cheap - it’s hard to imagine anything new and exciting is going to light up your gastronomic life. More of the same. So was Soi 1268 just that and did it float my boat?
In the early evening drizzley darkness of the latter part of autumn, the black painted exterior is not so very inviting (why do restaurants in hipster areas feel they should look like funeral parlours?) but once inside the interior is more reassuring - warm and cosily ramshackle though, as with so many of these Stirchley restaurants, the seating is fairly close together and not notably comfortable though the crowd of Stirchley denizens who have already taken their places seem oblivious to any problem such as discomfort and are tucking into their dinners, presumably happy with the suburban, middle class rusticity of it all.
My dining companion and I were presented with the shortish, somewhat disheveled, menus and he opted for what turned out to be highly delicious, splendidly textured King prawns toast zinging with ginger, garlic and spring onion and accompanied by a tiny pot of sweet dipping sauce. The toast looked magnificent and indeed it was.
The menu was one mainly of the now ubiquitous ‘small plates’ and my companion also chose the impressive-looking Thai fried chicken which was nicely moist and encased in fine, crispy coatings. We both chose the small plate of immaculately crispy enoki in a tempura batter, the texture of crunch serving as a good companion to the earthiness of the mushrooms.
I had the enoki as a starter and had a larger plate as the main which was beef massaman curry (which I have loved to eat for decades). This was very well done. The black pepper brought adequate heat to the proceedings which was centred on succulent and unctuous meat, slow cooked to the point where it had almost melted away. Apparently Aktar Islam’s wife also loved this dish when served it at this restaurant. She clearly knows a good dish when she tastes one; the accompanying jasmine rice was very edible
All the dishes were generously portioned but I had room for the only dessert on offer - the delightful mochi ice cream (pounded rice dumplings filled with my chosen flavour of vanilla ice cream) which I had not previously eaten and which I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the chewiness of the dumpling and the flavour of the good vanilla ice cream that lurked inside the dumpling waiting to be liberated.
Soi 1268 is a very pleasing neighbourhood restaurant though, because it is clearly popular, and because of the large numbers of diners in a relatively small space, not an entirely relaxing spot to while away a couple of hours. The rustic Thai food is enjoyable and filling and has a fine degree of authenticity about it though the menu seems to step out of its brief a little to visit dishes from other Asian cuisines. It serves street food in an environment that is more comfortable and much warmer than the sort of places Buddha Belly visited in the past but whether or not it might be nice to see the chef aiming to serve her food in a style with more finesse and in a more upmarket setting I shall leave to the reader. And it did ‘float my boat’ like one those little water vessels which serve as floating markets on the canals near Bangkok.
Rating:- 🌛🌛🌛🌛.
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