il Giardino Romantico

在上一篇『新四川』提到因為有了那次的聚餐，才會讓我想到要再安排一次。其實原因很簡單，因為煮出來兩份泰式料理都被我室友稱讚不已。而今年這群朋友聚餐好像還沒吃過泰國菜。當然就想趁離開前辦一次。不過其實原本看中的是一加新開的。風評非常的好。怪就怪我拖太久。等到人數確定後要定位，他們竟然跟我說『客滿了喔！』所以只好再上網找另外一家。不過這幾家我都沒吃過，很怕帶大家採到一顆大地雷。還好夜晚結束後大家都對當晚的餐點還滿意。我也終於鬆了一口氣。

In my last article, which was published only in Chinese, I mentioned that the meal was the inspiration for me to organise another dinner.  The reason was simple:  my flatmate loved the two simple Thai dishes I made, and on top of that, I don't think they have been to a Thai restaurant, yet, this year.  So I wanted to make use of the opportunity to devour Thai food and spend quality time together. However, I originally planned on booking a newly opened restaurant.  Due to my immense amount of work, plus some delay in confirming the number of people attending, I called only to find out they were fully booked.  Therefore I had to make a contingency plan, and hope that the food will be just as good. 


泰國進口的酒精飲料
Hibiscus Wine Spritzer imported from Thailand

點完飲料之後，大家紛紛討論不知道該點什麼好。而我呢，其實也是。因為菜單上的我全部都想吃！最後，我看我室友他也猶豫不決，就問他要不要乾脆一起點『veggie banquet』。所以我室友又被我拖下水跟我一起吃素食套餐啦！

After ordering our beverages, people took their time to study the menu.  Everyone had trouble deciding what to get!  I'm one of them as well! Because I wanted everything on the menu!  Finally, I saw that my flatmate was also having trouble deciding, so I suggested that we do the veggie banquet once again, to save us the trouble of decision making.



湯有兩種。原本我直覺上只點了Tom yam。後來才想到說既然有兩種，為何不兩種都點？我們再交換喝就好了啊！！想到之後馬上就跟店員改了一下開胃湯。這兩道都是又酸又辣。Tom Kha有加椰子醬。我室友說Tom yam 比較辣。兩種都非常的好喝。

There were two soups to choose from.  At first, I ordered tom yam for both of us, but then realised that we could enjoy both by ordering one of each.  I told the waiter to make the change, and we got to enjoy two different soups.  Both of them are sour and spicy.  Tom kha has coconut milk, and is slightly milder than tom yam. 



這盤是炸蔬菜。每一樣都非常好吃。我吃到最後才發現有些是洋蔥！不過我還是吃完了。[不是不能吃，是我本來不太喜歡吃洋蔥的]

This is our veggie fried platter.  Every piece tasted delicious.  I didn't realise until it was half gone that there was actually onion in it! [I dont' like onions]



這盤忘了叫什麼。其實是主餐之一。還有另外一盤，不過我忘了拍。

I can't remember what this is called.  It's a part of the main course.  There was another dish, but I'd forgotten to take a picture of it.



這就是最出名的泰國料理：泰式酸辣鮮蝦湯。點這餐點的朋友因為有來過，所以很『識貨』喔！

This is probably the most famous Thai dish: tom yam goong! [spicy and sour shrimp soup]  The friend who ordered this had been here before, and that explains why he knew what to order, probably.



會這麼說的原因不是因為tom yam的關係，而是因為飯，他點的是泰式糯米飯！不過點了還是沒用啊！他還是依舊用叉子湯匙再吃。我只好告訴他正確的實用方法：拿一小塊在手中，捏幾下再入口，口感會更好！起初他以為我在耍他，不過他捏了幾下吃下肚後跟我說：真的有比較好吃耶！[廢話... 我騙你幹嘛... ]

The reason I say that is not because of the tom yam, but because instead of steamed rice, he ordered Thai sticky rice.  I was impressed.  However, seeing that he still consumed it using fork and spoon, I gave him a little tip on how the Thai's eat it: grab a bit of it, squeeze it with your fingers, then eat it.  At first, he must have thought I was pulling his leg, but once he had tried it, he told me that it did make it taste better!



這碗一點都不道地的炒飯叫做鳳梨炒飯。好吃是好吃，不過我不太明白他『泰』在哪裡就是了。

This un-authentic fried rice came with our banquet.  It's called pineapple rice.  It was delicious, alright.  But I had a hard time understanding what was so 'Thai' about it.



最後，就是飯後甜點啦！吼！你不知道我看到菜單上有糯米芒果的時候是有多開心啊！！那時候真的是樂翻了！因為真的太久沒吃到了！這道甜點很簡單，就是糯米加芒果加椰漿。聽起來好像很簡單，不過我也不知道為什麼就是沒有試過自己來做做看。

總之今天吃的很滿足。除了自己的味覺有滿足到，當然最重要的還是肯賞臉參加這天晚上的聚餐的大家！

Finally, there is the desert!  I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to see 'mango sticky rice' on the menu!  I had not had this in ages!  It's quite a simple desert.  Just mango on sticky rice, with coconut milk.  I don't know why it never crossed my mind to try and make this myself. 

It was a fabulous night.  I was really satisfied with the food, but more importantly everyone else was just as satisfied. 



店家資訊：
地址：Harrington Chambers, Flat 26
26 North John St
Liverpool, L2 9RU
[A Hard Day's Night Hotel 正對面]
Tel: +44 151 236 7655

天仙念：Sabai [สบาย]的意思是『舒適、舒服』Sabai一下，就是舒服一下囉！