Lo-Fi Thrills at Wise Kwai
Wise Kwai is set in an intimate dining room space on the first floor of Dusit Thani's latest property in Barsha Heights.
Seemingly a culinary tribute to one of Thailand's most famous movie critics, the interiors strive to deliver a cinematic feel. The styling features some quirky elements, like the wood block stamps, large overhead light boxes with Asian inspired motifs and the old school cameras and movie projector. Bulb lights line the entry and the bar to add to the feel while the place mats feature vintage Thai movie imagery to complete the look.
There are only six tables in the venue along with a few more bench seating areas. The colorful mix and match furniture looks good and is comfortable, providing a pop of colour against the otherwise dark interior that features exposed ceiling plumbing all painted black.
Despite all this, the venue does seem to lack a certain buzz, coming across as slightly clinical. No matter, the food is what always gets top billing - so it was on to the menu to see what's on offer. The menu is extensive and is based on the unique flavors and aromas of Thai cuisine. With a host of recent openings all centered around similar offerings, my primary thought was that the food is going to have to be extremely good to mix it with the best Thai that I’ve had recently.
Complimentary prawn crackers kick things off in a genuine and thoughtful way which I think is a nice gesture. The coconut dipping sauce was good and the crackers thankfully not too oily.
There was a Prawn Salad (Yam Ta Kai Goong 45 AED) that caught my attention and when it arrived I have to say it looked spectacular. To back up the immediate visual appeal it was able to deliver a real punch with a perfect combination of zesty fire, sweetness and the five tangy prawns cooked just right. The butterflied prawns came with the heads still attached and they popped off just nicely and went really well with the crunch of the peanuts, lemongrass and julienne shallots. It was mouth watering stuff.
Next up was the That Red Beef Curry (Gaeng Phed Nuea 60 AED). For me this is always a must try item when it comes to Thaifood, so I was pretty excited to receive the lovely black bowl of fiery red curry in front of me. The sticky rice that comes as a side for the curry arrives in a nifty little woven container and is very cute. You the saying looks can be deceiving? Well unfortunately, the gravy on this curry was actually pretty bland as there was no real depth of flavor or punch to it. Given the pun Ines’s of the salad this came as a bit of surprise. Perhaps they’re playing to the broadest audience possible by toning the heat down? At the risk of nitpicking, it was also a rather large portion of gravy compared to the other ingredients, which included pineapple, some lovely beef pieces, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and intriguingly - red grapes. The kafir lime leaves and Thai basil definitely helped to elevate the dish and the grapes actually worked well. To be clear, it was really quite enjoyable but not an epic blockbuster.
The service was charming with everyone coming across as extremely humble and friendly which really added a nice touch to the experience. With a menu so vast and reasonably priced, there are plenty of opportunities to explore the venue and this is a place that seems to be perfect for getting a group together and giving a large selection of the menu a go.
That would be wise.
