David Thompson is a highly respected chef and expert on Thai food. In 2010 he opened his first restaurant nahm at the Metropolitan Hotel, Bangkok – currently on the San Pellegrino list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and considered to be the world’s finest Thai restaurant.
Hardly surprising therefore that when his book Thai Street Food was originally published in 2010 it became an instant best-seller. The book is now published in a ‘new mini format’. ‘Mini’, however, is not exactly a word that springs to mind for this mammoth 346-page volume.
The opening sentences of the Introduction had this reviewer hooked: ‘It’s all about food. Even a fleeting visit to Thailand can leave you in no doubt of this. Walking down the street – almost any street in Thailand – you can only be struck by the variety of stalls (sometimes literally) and amazed at the variety of food. Thais are obsessed by food, talking and thinking about it ….’. Not only is it a fully illustrated cookery book it is also a fascinating insight into life Thai-style.
Even if I never try any of the recipes, though I expect I will, the book with its superb photography by Earl Carter, is a great read. It is a terrific inspiration for anybody who has never been to Thailand to book a holiday there. And at least one of us will be heading for the nahm restaurant.
Thai Street Food. David Thompson. Conran Octopus. ISBN: 978-1-84091-628-7. £25.
