Wangthai

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

Chinos, they call 'em, and you'll find them all over Spain. Nothing to do with pants: they're Chinese restaurants. But not quite as we, or the good people of Beijing, know them. For one thing, Spaniards don't expect their restaurants to do vegetables. Or much in the way of spices. And when you produce most of the world's olive oil, soy sauce is a foreign concept.

Which leads to an interesting interpretation of the cuisine, and a lesson in what happens when you translate one culture into another, and take on its values or preconceptions. (In the case of those Spanish-
Chinese restaurants, a Latin translation.)

That might be worth remembering when you're at Wangthai, for this attractive, modern newcomer to the Viaduct has - as they say in the movies and TV - a back-story that is far different from most of the Thai restaurants in New Zealand. It's South African.

Ernst Fischer, who set up the chain and its associated Thaifoon and Chaiyo brands, has nine Wangthais in the Republic and the Indian Ocean resort island of Mauritius. In Jo'burg and Cape Town, they're regarded as upmarket and expensive places to be seen.

Just as Bolliwood and Oh Calcutta have rewritten the design and decor rules for Indian restaurants, there's little gilt, no brass, no obvious elephants and very little silk at Auckland's Wangthai. The split-level room, in one of those anonymous, all-purpose retail and office blocks one street back from the Viaduct Harbour's frenzy, is muted, modern, beige, with white tablecloths.

We've been told that many of the staff, notably five chefs, have come from Bangkok. Front-of-housers are clearly well trained, a tad more formal than most of their Kiwi colleagues, and have happily thrown out the too-obviously-eager-to-please style that some of their compatriots adopt in other places.

The maitre d' suggested cocktails and on a sticky night we agreed he had a long, iced and thirst-quenching point with his passionfruit mojito and whisky smash. In all, three staff attended to us (the restaurant wasn't particularly full, just a few family parties) and each gave thoughtful consideration to our questions about the food and planning our way through the menu. Nor did they play that old "give them the most expensive bottle" trick when we asked about a suitable wine: the Mud House chardonnay ($35) was the least expensive. At first taste it seemed sharp and thin but paired well with the food.

Head chef Rattana's Royal Thai cuisine is slightly more formal than the street-style usually served here. For starters, head straight to Meang Khum, slivers of toasted coconut, ginger, onion, lemongrass, peanuts, lemon and chilli that you scoop into spinach leaves and drizzle with palm sugar sauce. The satay chicken was ordinary.

We'd spotted Angry Duck on the menu but took our waitress' advice and ate a less fiery dish than that traditional combination of hot, spicy herbs and chilli. Ped Nam-Pheong, in which sliced duck breast is bathed in a honey sauce with bok choi, was a shade too sweet for our taste. Gai Gra-Prao, or chicken with basil leaves, chilli and a mild oyster sauce, could have come from the Med, with its red and yellow peppers. Pleasant but bland, too much the product of a restaurant chain kitchen. You can't fault Wangthai, though, for the quality and freshness of its ingredients.

I'd not sighted rambutan before so finished with what the menu describes as a "Thai lychee-like fruit" - which it is, I couldn't spot the difference - with icecream.

Take off the indulgence of two cocktails and a straightforward Thai meal munched up $111. I costed a similar night out at Sawadee and couldn't knock up a century. So, like its South African cousins, Wangthai's prices are up there. And as one reporter from the veldt noted, South Africa is a long way behind us in appreciating Thai food, so "you won't find anything too weird or far-out here - it's Eastern food tailored to Western tastes". Kiwis like real Thai (we've noted before that as the English have adopted India's curries as their national food, so we've taken to Gai Sam Ros) and most of the families who've opened restaurants here shouldn't be too worried about this Royal Thai arriving in town.

Open: Lunch 12-2.30pm (closed Saturday) Dinner 6pm-late 7 days

Owners: Ernst Fischer

Head Chef: Rattana

Food: Royal Thai

On the Menu: Geang Mussaman Nua (beef in a masala curry)$17.50; Ped Pi Roed (Angry duck, duck with Thai herbs and chilli) $23.50; Goong Nam Ma-Kham (prawns stir-fried with vegetables in tamarind sauce) $24

Vegetarian: Full vegetarian menu

Wine: Good cocktail list, classics and contemporary; shortish wine list, almost all NZ

Noise: You'll know the words: 70s and 80s pop

Bottom line: One street back from the Viaduct frenzy, a South African chain brings its upmarket Thai style and polished service to Auckland. New Zealanders more used to the cuisine may find the food is rather tamer and more expensive than they're used to finding on the streets of Kingsland or Onehunga.

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