London Appetizer

Vegetarian Week Menu at Mango Tree and Awana

Are you getting your five a day? Need some inspiration, motivation or help to get your daily intake? Vegetarian Week (24th – 30th May) is the perfect opportunity for you to rediscover the fruits of the earth and explore delicious meat-free alternatives. Celebrating all things botanical, Executive Chef Mark Read has created two Vegetarian Festival Menus showcasing South Asian dishes bursting with exotic flavours and fresh ingredients at his restaurants Mango Tree and Awana. Available from 17th until 30th May, find out why eating vegetarian is tastier than you think.

Mango Tree, the fine-dining Thai restaurant in Belgravia and Awana, the fine-dining Malaysian restaurant in Chelsea, are the cream of the crop when it comes to serving the finest seasonal and locally sourced produce. Combining traditional dishes with innovative modern interpretations, whether it’s stir-fries, curries, grills or salads, there is a wide selection of vegetarian festival dishes to choose from, so you can enjoy something different everyday of the week.   

At Mango Tree, delicious Thai offerings include starters of deep fried salt and pepper marinated tofu; snow fungus salad with chilli and coriander; or crystal wrap fragrant herb and vegetable rolls. Spice infused mains include chickpea and roasted butternut squash yellow curry; stir-fried “five treasures” with water-chestnuts, jujubes and yam in oyster sauce; or wheat-bean stir-fry with king oyster mushrooms, snake bean and chilli paste.

At Awana, exquisite Malay offerings include Malaysian bread filled with chickpea, sweet potato with spicy red curry sauce; stir fried mixed vegetables with bean curd and mushrooms; stir fried assorted mushrooms with asian celery and green onion in a rich soy sauce; or butternut squash and brinjal curry with chickpeas, okra and bitter melon. 

To refresh your palate, Mango Tree and Awana serve a delicious selection of cocktail blends, alongside an international wine list and range of premium spirits and beers. 

In celebration of Vegetarian Week, Mango Tree and Awana’s Vegetarian Festival menus are the perfect antidote to help you get your 5 a day and are available from 17th until 30th May. Forever evergreen, both restaurants showcase a delightful selection of vegetarian dishes throughout the year. 

To make a reservation please contact:

Mango Tree

 46 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7EQ, Tel: 020 7823 1888 Email : info@mangotree.org.uk

  

Awana

85 Sloane Avenue,London, SW3 3DX, Tel: 020 7584 8880 Email: info@awana.co.uk

Taman Gang Opens for Lunch

This month Park Lane restaurant Taman Gang will open for lunch for the first time.  Already a hugely popular dinner destination, this glamorous Pan-Asian restaurant should prove a huge hit with West End shoppers and workers alike for lunch.

The chefs at Taman Gang have created a delicious à la carte menu made up of Starters, Dim Sum, Tempura and Desserts.  Starters include Prawn Toasts, Wasabi Tiger Prawns and Fuji Apple with Roasted Sesame and Thai Fish Cakes with Chilli Jam.  Enjoy Taman Gang’s signature Dim Sum dishes such as Chicken and Snow Pea Gyoza, Scallop and Prawn Dumplings and Beef and Foie Gras Gyoza with Teriyaki.  There is a full range of tempura dishes, including Salt and Pepper Squid, Soft Shell Crab Tempura with Green Chilli Mayonnaise and Sweet Potato and Asparagus with Yuzu Mayonnaise.  Round off the perfect lunch with an indulgent dessert such as Warm Chocolate Pudding with Green Tea Ice Cream or Mochi Vanilla and Honeycomb Ice Cream with Strawberry.

Taman Gang has also created several set menus that are great value and are composed of either vegetarian, chicken, beef or seafood ingredients.  Try the Vegetarian Set Menu which offers Miso Soup, Asparagus and Mixed Leaf Salad with Vegetable Pad Thai Noodles for £10.95 or the Seafood Set Menu offering Miso Soup, Salmon Sashimi and Mixed Leaf Salad, and Steamed Seabass with Yuzu Soy for £12.95.

‘Taman Gang’ means  ‘Park Lane’ in Balinese.  Taman Gang has established itself as a Mayfair hotspot, often frequented by London’s leading lights. Jetsetting stars make it their first port of call in the Capital, with the likes of Samuel L Jackson, model Erin O’ Connor and Strictly’s sweetheart Jo Wood sipping on champagne, and basking in the sultry surroundings and exclusive clientele.  The restaurant transforms into a nightclub every Friday and Saturday evening, attracting a dynamic and stylish crowd.

Taman Gang                                          
141 Park Lane
Mayfair
London, W1K 7AA
www.tamangang.com
Tues – Sat: 6am to 03.00am
 

Thai Beer Menu at Mango Tree

Although beer is the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, its complexity and compatibility with certain cuisines is often overlooked. Fine-dining Thai restaurant, Mango Tree in Belgravia, is revealing how Thailand’s best selling Chang beer enhances the delicate flavours of its dishes with a Street Food Beer Festival pairing menu, available from 5th until 25th October 2009.

With a cuisine historically influenced by Eastern and Western techniques, Thai food is a deliciously unique explosion of fresh tastes and textures. Sweet and sour, bitter and spicy, the host of culinary contrasts can be brought to life with a carefully considered brew. Through the Street Food Festival menu, executive chef Mark Read’s astute palate and attention to flavour guides diners to a host of his creations that are all best enjoyed with an ice-cold beer. With money saving beer packages available, including five bottles at just £15, groups of two or more can really make a night of it and enjoy exploring why beer can be the sophisticated choice.

Starters

goong sarm rod
sweet, sour & spicy prawn skewers, with sesame and a mixed cress salad
£7.50

pla muek yang
barbecued squid with a spicy seafood sauce and carrot salad
£7.00

thai hae gun
deep fried pork and chicken mince parcels with green onion and water-chestnuts, served with plum sauce
£6.50

Mains

pla kra-pong pad tow see
stir-fried red snapper fillets with celery, ginger, spring onion and a soya bean sauce
£14.00

gaeng pa ruam mitr
mixed meat and seafood jungle curry with bamboo, peppercorns, kra chai, chilli and thai herbs
£14.00

pla nueng bauy
steamed pomfret fillets filled with a mustard green, pickled plum, ginger and garlic puree, served in a crispy carcase shell
£15.00

Dessert

kow niew dum
warm black sticky rice with taro, longon fruit, coconut cream and garnished with banana crisps
£5.00

Chang beer packages

3 bottles for £10 (normally £12.75)
or
5 bottles for £15 (normally £21.25)

So Indulge at the Street Food Beer Festival at Mango Tree from the 5th until 2th October and see for yourself how beer perfectly complements Thai cuisine.

Mango Tree, 46 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7EQ, tel: 0207 823 1888

Busaba Thai Canteen

The founders of Busaba Eathai, the modern ethnic Thai canteen, have been reading up on their diners and discovered there is a renaissance for the written word with many of the restaurant’s chic urban crowd being members of book clubs.

Desiring to honour these lovers of literature, Busaba has put together a special book club deal to be enjoyed by groups making the most of their Store Street private dining room. Simply reserve the room and host a meeting for up to 20 of your book clubbers whilst making the most of a deliciously generous discount of at least 20% on Busaba’s fantastic set menus.

From the firm favourite thai calamari to pandan chicken; aromatic butternut pumpkin curry and ginger beef – each menu features 17 or more dishes, evoking the streets of Bangkok in a cool, central London setting. £16 menu for just £12.50 per person £19 menu for just £15 per person £24 menu for just £19 per person What could better than bantering about ‘The Beach’ or fighting over ‘Forget you had a daughter’ whilst discovering a feast of modern Thai delights.

With so much to choose from, there is something for every taste, offering more to talk about than the latest tome. Busaba’s Book Club Discount is available for groups of 12 or more in the private dining room of Busaba Eathai Store Street Monday – Wednesday ‘Booking’ your Book Club is essential, subject to availability.

Busaba Eathai 22 Store Street, London WC1E 7DF

020 7299 7900

www.busaba.com

Thai New Year Party at The Mango Tree Restaurant, London

Splash out with Belgravia’s fine-dining Thai restaurant, Mango Tree, as they celebrate Thai New Year with fine food, fruit carving, dancing and music as well as a chance to raise money for charity.

Familiarly known as ‘Songkran’, the New Year water festival is a time to pay respect to elders, friends and family as well as being synonymous with the throwing of water, marking the end of the dry season.
Mango Tree plays the perfect host to an evening of delicious dishes alongside unique Thai dancing, theatrical performances and an exclusive showcase of Thailand’s stringed instruments including the ‘cha khe’, for guests to get a real glimpse into the heart of the country dubbed, ‘the land of a thousand smiles’. Diners may also enjoy street food dishes from Mango Tree’s very own stall, serving boat noodles and authentic desserts.

Mango Tree’s £30 festival menu, courtesy of executive chef Mark Read, will whet your appetite with a host of signature Thai dishes:

Starter Platter
Moo ma-now steamed pork slices in chilli, lemon and garlic with fresh herbs
Hoi Jor crab, prawn and water-chestnut wrapped in tofu and deep fried, served with a sweet plum sauce
Peek gai yud sai corn-fed chicken wings braised in a spicy tomato and red wine sauce with spring onion
Som tum som-tum of yellow turnip with peanuts, snake bean and yum sauce

Main Platter
Gaeng pa nuer beef brisket jungle curry with bamboo and fresh peppercorns
Tom yum ruam mitr mixed tom yum with chicken, beef, prawns, mussels and cuttle fish
Pla sarm rod deep fried red snapper fillet with a sweet, sour and spicy sauce
Kow ob gai chicken with butter roasted fragrant rice and a ginger and mushroom sauce

Dessert
Sakoo gati sago and cantaloupe melon with coconut cream

As part of the celebrations, throughout April, Mango Tree will also be supporting WaterAid, a charity helping to overcome poverty by enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water. Diners at Mango Tree will have the opportunity to donate 50p each for unlimited tap water, with all donations going straight to WaterAid. This is part of the charity's Tap into WaterAid initiative, where restaurants across the UK are encouraging their customers to make a small donation in return for tap water.

So for a real taste of Thailand in all its glory, join Mango Tree on the 8th April to celebrate Songkran.
Mango Tree’s Thai New Year menu at just £30 per person will be available for lunch and dinner from 6th – 19th April 2009.

46 Grosevnor Place, Belgravia, London SW1X 7EQ
t: 020 7823 1888 www.mangotree.org.uk