East Putney Is 'All Thai’d Up’
Yum Sa brings elegant street food and a meditation room to the new Plaza Gardens development
Yum Sa's crab dum yum and por pia tod
Roger Narula has every right to be very proud of his first independent restaurant, Yum Sa, which which offers exquisite Thai food with a modern twist and a stunning space where he showcases traditional Thai art and culture.
The open kitchen allows you to experience the delicious scent and theatre of the busy kitchen from a row of stylishly-furnished booths. We enjoyed our view and our pre-dinner drinks - including a Thai twist on G&T - the tonic is mixed with fresh watermelon juice from Thailand with a twist of cucumber - a pretty and refreshing twist on the traditional British drink. The restaurant is Tardis-like as from the street it appears to be a bar and small restaurant, but wander past the kitchens and you discover more dinning areas, a soundproof meditation room, which is open to all, and an art area where the exhibitions will change every six weeks.
Our starters were both delicious to the taste buds and also to the eye; the crab dum yum (£9.95) has firmly-textured crabmeat served in a black (squid ink) wrapper topped with the slight saltiness of orange fish roe; the chicken yum mai (£8.95) were steamed parcels, combining chicken with glass noodles, pumpkin and strongly-flavoured with delicious wood ear mushrooms and, finally, light crisp por pia tod (£6.95) offering the combination of garlic, coriander and chinese mushrooms with glass noodles served with a delicious light and tangy chilli dip.
 Chicken yum mai |
 Art exhibition area |
There were many options on the menu that we could have chosen from curries to grills but we opted for 'one pots'. My dining partner chose seafood tom yum with a subtly-flavoured spiced sausage (£19.95) - a Thai take on paella. I chose a more commonly known Thai dish -chicken pad thai (£14.95) - however this is cooked at Yum Sa wrapped in the egg omelette which keeps the noodle and tamarind dish moist.
 Seafood tom yum |
 Chicken pad thai |
We were tempted by the dessert menu which once again offers a Thai take on some British & European puddings: Banoffee pie with fried bananas; rice pudding - but this one is sticky wild rice with mango salsa; and creme brulee with a delicate flavour of kaffir lime; plus Far Eastern delicacies such as garam masala ice cream, and exotic fruit-salad. We opted for a sample of four!
Deserts range from £4.95 - £6.95.
Banoffee pie, kaffir lime creme brulee and garam masala ice cream
Yum Sa is a welcome addition to Putney and I am very jealous of those living by East Putney tube station who have the restaurant on their doorstep - the restaurant is also open for lunch including bao; South East Asian buns, which are easy 'comfort food on the go' in the morning as a healthy alternative breakfast, and delicate soups, salads and dim sum for lunch. I can’t leave without mentioning the loveliest sinks in Putney!
November 3, 2017