Spice Paragon

 

 

There’s no place for confusion when you’re thinking Thai Fusion as there’s a paragon of excellence on the edge of the concrete jungle. Spice Paragon boastfully proclaims its place in the Asian food heirarchy as being at the top, the very top and nowhere but the top.
One cannot but agree with their corporate statement which reads, “Spice Paragon is more than a restaurant, it’s an experience...”.  I don’t disagree! In fact, I’d go further and say this restaurant offers a fresh whiff of style and pazzaz with its creatively presented dishes, adding value to one’s dining out adventure and its confidence of purpose is carried through to fine measures of taste, excellent, plethoric use of spices, ambrosial by their exciting nature, enhancing the essence of flavour in the dishes presented. Yes, an experience worth having!

Considerable effort has gone into fitting out the restaurant and you are absorbed into this on arrival, not failing to be impressed on entry as you fall into the trained, careful clutches of the uniformed staff.
We had a 6 person alcove which afforded a measure of privacy and a splendid view of an adjacent room or area, set for eight people and magnificently overseen by a polished, well-lit Star Anise on the end wall. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie. The dining room aboard the StarShip Enterprise perhaps.....

We were as hungry as an empty-bellied, bombastic Baltimorean in Bangkok, our tongues hanging out in expectation of the beautiful release that even the endorphins within could not provide; it was food, glorious food that we yearned for......and it wasn’t long in coming. Service, whilst not completely up to our expectations, was prompt and pleasant, suffering from no more than staff inexperience and the need for a two hour Mr Lu professional training seminar.

What’s in a name? Well, I couldn’t resist a  Marisco Bastard Chardonnay to pimp my ride..or should that be palate? An entree of “Lettuce cup topped with minced roasted duck, chicken and Shiitake mushroom” at a mere $6 (can you believe it?). “Roasted duck & fresh vegetables wrapped in rice paper with Hoi Sin nut sauce” came next and whilst there was a degree of sharing at the table we all got to taste substantially from our own ‘orderings’. The flavours were simply exquisite and there was general excitement at what was to come. The duck & vege rolls were crammed with the texture and freshness of thinly sliced ingredients, a balance of hot and cold, the sauce plentiful and offering its own marinading dimension to  paint the palate and complete the picture accordingly.

I felt like a judge as the Bangkok Street Grilled Whole Free-Range chicken with spice, lemon & tamarind sauce appeared before me, cleaved almost in two, splayed out flat on the plate waiting for sentence to be passed. I was disappointed with its presentation and at $39 it was alone on its China bed, a sad & solitary soul, destined for incarceration in my stomach; it should have had a companion or two for the trip within, perhaps some rice, or something equally as nice but, alas! It did not....
Cooked well, not too dry, easy going and sufficiently tanned just like a Bangkok Tuk-tuk driver in the tropical heat but not interesting enough for me. Too bland. I knew when it came to the table that I should have ordered what one of my dining companions had – “Eggnet Salad with ground pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts & a touch of citrus fruit”. A magnificent, artistic interlude of aroma and attitude, basking in webbed captivity yet so willing and  somehow so poignantly wistful. The owner of this particular dish was understandably reluctant to part with more than one or two mouthfuls but I managed to force my utensils through the soft,porosity of the egg net and into the succulent centre to claim a small share of the booty. The prize was worth it – a riotous revelation of gastric delight, a sanguine gift to gently trampoline its way across the tastebuds to find rest beyond these final arbiters of joy.

Dessert? Yes, indeed....an irresistible selection with my vote going to a baked cheesecake and ice cream. Vanilla ice cream to be precise; but this stunningly presented dish came with a slice or two of fruit and a patterned, decorative  chocolate ‘tiara’ just to provide a finish with a flourish.

Worth a visit? You’d be mad not to. All my guests were fully satisfied and I loved the experience even if my chicken just didn’t cluck with me.