The Copenhagen Report

Saturday night's Thai food experience took the prize. Ranees at Blågårdsplads in Nørrebro. If you're a fan of Thai food, write that name down. Then go there. Even while travelling in Thailand did I rarely manage to taste such deliciously picante Thai food. Naturally, being something of an amateur Phad Thai aficionado, I had to try Ranees take on that one. My dinner companions for the evening went for a couple of equally delicious curries. The Phad Thai was a plate of steaming fresh noodles, sprouts and spices along with five or six giant tiger shrimp, a pile of crush nuts and a wedge of lime - the last two items being necessary to even be considered as a serious Phad Thai. And indeed, it had just the right taste and texture on the tongue. I've previously raved about the deserving Phad Thai at Sweet Basil, but this one managed to top it. Not an easy feat, but it was the freshness of the ingredients that did it.

But the highlight of the night was actually the starter (pictured above, photo courtesy of aok.dk). Thankfully the waiter was not afraid to push us to order it (not that we were hard to convince...). Eight little bowls filled with nuts, dried shrimp, coconut flakes, fresh chili, ginger, onion and tiny chunks of chopped lime and a pile of leaves (I can't remember their name). It look strangely like nothing as it arrived, like some kind of 'inside' Thai joke being played on the unsuspecting. It was not. After taking a leaf and forming into a bowl-like shape, putting a bit of each ingredient inside, topping it off with a bit of the chutney-like sauce (if chutney was Thai...I know, I know, more detail would be nice but I'm not getting paid to write this, so I didn't figure out precisely what this sauce was) it's "ind i munden!", as our waiter helpfully explained ('into the mouth').

Wow!!

Snap, crackle, pop, that's a lot of flavour! An explosion of sweet, spicy, salty, and sour - especially spicy, be warned.

Don't be deceived by the ambiance at Ranees, which is admittedly basic (but something far more original than the typical Thai restaurant). Wooden tables, some nice pics and almost funky florescent lights on the walls. Yes, florescent lights. Because the food is so damn good, it really doesn't matter.

Ranees at Blågårdsplads. Go there. You won't be disappointed.

By: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)



Once you’ve had a great Phad Thai – the classic of classic Thai (noodle) dishes - there’s no going back.

Personally, as a consequence of some travels in Southest Asia and an extended stay in Shanghai last year - home of a number of excellent Thai restaurants – I’ve been left craving a certain and specific version of Phad Thai that has proven rather challenging to find in Copenhagen. One with a certain and elusive combination of flavours, texture and spiciness.

That is, until a recent visit to Sweet Basil (danish link) in the center of Copenhagen (Grønnegade 33, tel: 33151565).

There are a fair number of Thai restaurants in Copenhagen, and some of them are quite good. In true Thai street food fashion, the best of them I've tried are actually take-out joints.

Probably Lai-Thai (Toldbodgade 2 - at the bottom of Nyhavn) would be the best, with a fairly close second place going to Thaiherb 2 (Fiolstraede 30, near Norreport). For something more leisurely then take-away, a few of my friends can’t seem to get enough of the Phad Thai at Thai Esan (just off Istedgade close to the main station).

Before I go further, allow me a brief Phad Thai digression.

Although every respectable Thai restaurant has a version of Phad Thai on the menu, there is no such thing as a ‘correct’ or ‘perfect’ Phad Thai. Each and every Thai cook, each and every Thai restaurant, and for that matter each and every Thai street stall - whether in Bangkok, elsewhere in Thailand, or someplace else in the world - make it just a little bit differently. Which is why Phad Thai - amongst countless classic national dishes in the world - is such an endlessly fascinating dish to taste at countless Thai restaurants. Each has their own take on the combination of hot, sour, salty and sweet - the fundamental four elements of Thai dishes - that should be used in it.



And hence why, if you are a person with an appreciation for Thai food, finding just the right version of your favourite Thai dishes to suit your tastes can be quite a preoccupation.

Sometimes Phad Thai can be outright spicy, still other times it can be rather sweet. Sometimes it’s made with thick rice noodles, sometimes thin ones (yes, in Thailand there are specific names for each of these dishes, but Thai restaurants outside of Thailand don’t typically get down to such specifics).

Though it isn’t always, Phad Thai should be served with a slice of lime - which when drizzled over top of a steaming Phad Thai brings the flavourful ingredients to life on your tongue, as few things can. To their credit, at Sweet Basil they did. I’ve seen Phad Thai served with a small bowl of sugar and a small bowl of dried crushed chillis, useful if you prefer your food on the slightly picante side, as I often do. As it was at Sweet Basil, it’s also often served with some uncooked sprouts on the side and a bowl of crushed cashew nuts, both of which, when mixed in, add that extra and highly satisfying crunch that is characteristic of so many great Thai dishes.

Indeed, the food at Sweet Basil was outstanding, though the service was not quite so.

Our waitress was lovely, pleasant and somewhat hopeless. When you pay 75 kroner for a premium beer, and it arrives just a notch below room temperature, as a waitress the way to resolve this situation is to offer another beer immediately (making sure it is really cold). It is NOT to say, ‘but it came from the same fridge as all the others – it’s been their since yesterday’. Because clearly it hadn’t, we noted as she wandered away.

But the outstanding food, which took quite some time to arrive, quickly outshone the issues we had with the lousy service, and left us in a rather forgiving mood. The other dishes ordered, classic Thai curries and spring rolls, were equally commendable.


'Thai minimalism' - minimalism with a touch of kitsch

Thai restaurants are normally rather distinct in appearance, and often for all the wrong reasons. The word ‘kitsch’ springs to mind. Budda’s and colourful junk everywhere, along with vegetation not unlike a forest floor.

Sweet Basil is different, much to the owner's credit, apparently espousing an esthetic which could perhaps be termed ‘Thai minimalism’. In other words, not quite minimal, as some tacky adornments are allowed to remain, but they are kept fairly scarce in quantity.

But how wonderful to discover there is another Thai restaurant in Copenhagen serving authentic Thai food worthy of it's hallowed and well-deserved international stature. We shall certainly return.