Patara offers artfully presented dishes using quality ingredients and delivered with superior service. However, inconsistencies in the kitchen and a sub-zero dining room spoil the picture. With servers decked out in traditional Thai attire, elegant oriental décor, and an extensive menu of contemporary Thai cuisine, Patara has long attracted hisos from old families and up-and-coming power players. The class surrounds you as soon as you enter and are seated among vibrant silk pillows, in the lounge, for pre-dinner cocktails. Unfortunately, on our last visit, we forgot our mink coats and were left shivering all evening. Trying to block out the cold we focused on our dishes, which turned out to be a mixed bag of disappointments and delights. We remembered their hot and sour kaeng som as striking the perfect balance between spiciness and sourness. However, this time around the soup was bland and watery. In such an elegant ceramic bowl, we expect an equally impressive broth. The rest of the menu is and remains equally pretty, with obvious thought and consideration going into the presentation. Even your humble rice gets noticed with its four-color treatment: white, brown (wholegrain), green (rice steamed in pandan leaves) and yellow (steamed in safflower). For appetizers, the Patara premium hors d’oeuvre is a selection of beef, shrimp, pork and chicken satays, deep-fried soft shell crabs with mango salad and mini Thai tacos of prawns, chicken, tofu and bean sprouts. Tacos are passable; the crab gets lost in too much batter; but the satays wrapped in cha plu (betel leaves) are beautifully cooked tender pieces of meaty flavor. Perhaps meat is your safest bet here as the baby lamb shank in panaeng sauce is equally satisfying thanks to its generous and tender piece of lamb. The sauce is a tad too sweet for our liking, though. Patara does succeed in offering a refined dining experience, but when you’re paying this price for Thai food, you’re entitled to more consistency on your plate. Corkage B300.
Patara
