Economical, first-rate and generous are the three words that best describe Azian by Blue Elephant, which is the subject of review this week.
My meal came from a kitchen on Sukhumvit Soi 13. There was nothing fancy about the delivery package which contained six heavy and warm food boxes.
Launched a couple of months ago, Azian by Blue Elephant is a takeaway brand that offers diners delicious ready-to-eat meals that, according to the restaurant's chef-founder Nooror Somany Steppe, have the customers' "health and pocket" in mind.
Thus, pricing is friendly and ranges between 75 baht to 160 baht per dish. Yet, there are no mediocre items here. The culinary quality reflects chef Nooror's reputation as one of the most respected global ambassadors of refined Thai cuisine.
However, Azian's style of cuisine differs from that of Blue Elephant to a certain degree.
It features a collection of home-style Thai dishes with Indian-Muslim influence alongside some world-famous Indian classics that chef Nooror grew up with and holds dearly to her heart. The dishes are also inspired by her years of travelling in India.
Azian's menu has 15 options, mostly Thai curries, Indian curries, biryani and grilled meat appetisers.
The biryani was not to be missed, I was told.
The reason was that the dish, featuring rice cooked with meat and a rich mixture of Indian spices, is prepared to the chef's family recipe and has been long cherished as authentic.
There are two meat options for biryani: chicken (99 baht) and beef (129 baht).
The chicken option was superb. A huge chicken thigh came atop the spice-laced rice and was impressively juicy and flavoursome.
Its beef counterpart would also warrant a perfect 10 rating if the meat, cut in large thick slices and ample in amount, was a bit more tender. However, taste-wise, it proved saucy and subtle as a celebrated rendition should be.
The biryani portion is big enough to fill a hungry man's stomach. However, for two ladies, I'd recommend sharing.
My order that day also included a chicken massaman (140 baht) and beef massaman (160 baht).
Normally, I'm no fan of massaman curry and don't understand why people around the world, including my teenage son whom I ordered the dishes for, like it so much.
But to my gastronomic elation, chef Nooror's rendering provided a delicious and indisputable clarification as to why this Thai dish was voted as the world's best last year.
Azian's massaman curry comes with jasmine rice on the side. When you see the portion, you will realise it will be best enjoyed in a family setting and not the way you enjoy khao gaeng (a personal-size rice dish with curry topping).
Nice bite-sized fillets of chicken were bathed in thick and creamy curry which also contained peanuts, sweet potatoes and pearl onions. It was one of the most addictive chicken massaman dishes I've ever had.
The beef massaman, featuring lean beef cubes in tasty curry, was nothing short of excellence.
Another Thai-Muslim dish that I couldn't afford to miss was a beef curry with bai yee-rah (160 baht). Basically, it's chef Nooror's exemplary version of classic green curry but with bai yee-rah (clove basil), instead of horapha (Thai basil), to give the curry a fragrance and deep heat tang.
Serving as evidence of true culinary generosity, the dish featured thick beef slices. I didn't see any eggplant in the dish but perhaps the vegetable was already dissolved in the coconut cream-based curry, adding to its nice consistency and premium taste.
The brand's repertoire of Indian dishes features the likes of chicken tikka masala, chicken Madras and chicken vindaloo.
My order of butter chicken with saffron rice (140 baht), featuring chunks of grilled spice-rubbed chicken in a creamy tomato and butter-based gravy, proved worth having.
Azian by Blue Elephant's meal boxes are available at its take home kiosks at Siam Takashimaya at Iconsiam, Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon, Tops Market at Central Chidlom and Tops Market at Central Lardprao.
Home delivery service can be ordered daily from 10.30am-7.30pm, at 02-115-9830 and 080-070-1771 or Line: @azian or via Line Man and Grab.
