Location: London, England
Cuisine: Thai
Part of my childhood was spent in Bangkok and while I have mixed memories of growing up there, one thing for certain that I adored was the food! I have such fond memories of all the salads, soups and snacks. Thai food will always have a special place in my heart. When I first moved to the UK, it seemed like the only Thai food readily available was either from a chain or at a local pub restaurant. I didn’t see any promising places in London until I tried two restaurants in particular. Today, I’m highlighting one of them: Supawan.
Supawan serves southern Thai food. Southern Thai cuisine has been influenced and shaped by Indian, Javanese, Persian and Hokkien Chinese cultures. Seafood is a common feature, and the region uses a lot of coconut milk and palm sugar due to an abundance of coconuts and sugar palms in the South. Dry curries are also common.
First visit
I first visited Supawan in April 2023. I was so excited when I saw all the salads on the menu. Starting with a Thai Iced Milk Tea, I explained the dishes to Victor and then ordered.
We wanted to get the Yum Hoa Plee, a banana flower salad, but they were out of banana blossom. They offered us the dish with winged beans as a substitution. And, so we got Yum Toa Pruu. The winged beans were incredible and this was actually our favourite dish of the evening.
We also got the Yum Khao Tod, which is a crispy crushed rice salad with coriander, peanuts, ginger, shallots, makrut lime leaves and chillies. ‘Yum’ means mix, and these ‘mix’ dishes are often my favourite Thai dishes. I’ve seen this particular dish in Thailand and Laos, and it’s usually called Nam Khao Tod. It’s often served as an appetiser / small plate by street food vendors.
We also go the Aubergine Laab. Laab, or larb, is a type of Lao meat salad that is the national dish of Laos. While laab is of Lao origin, it is also eaten in other regions, most prominently in the northeastern and northern areas of Thailand, Isan and Lanna. It’s also a popular dish all over the country, hence its feature here. This particular laab had no meat, it was instead made up of smoked aubergine served with a tangy tamarind and palm sugar sauce.
We only ordered one main, the Geng Hed Klang, i.e. red curry. Gaeng is the Thai word for curry, and the rest of the dish I believe means a type of mushroom. We also got a side of lotus root.
For dessert, we got the Durian Coconut Ice Cream, which came with nut brittle. The ice cream was incredible and immediately blasted me to the past.
Second visit
Victor and I went for a second time around my birthday, obviously at my request. From the small plates part of the menu, we got the Meiang Phuket, which is grilled prawns served on cha-pruu (betel) leaves. The prawns were topped with a lovely salsa made up of roasted coconut, peanuts, ginger, shallot, chilli and lime. It was all drizzled with shrimp paste and a palm sugar dressing. The salsa was seriously so good!
We got the Yum Khoa Tod, the crispy crushed rice salad, again because it was one of my favourite dishes from our previous visit. It was still delicious.
Moving onto the Southern Thai Side Salad section of the menu, we tried to order the Yum Hoa Plee, or banana flower salad, again and this time they did have banana flowers. The banana flower is the star of the show. The flower is not cooked, but rather the rigid outer purple leaves are removed, and the soft flesh is then spritzed with lime juice. After being cut into the intended pieces, it’s deposited into a bowl with cold water and more lime juice. Right before mixing with other salad components, the blossom is squeezed of moisture. Supawan’s version comes with prawns, roasted coconut, coconut milk and a tamarind dressing.
And then, one more salad, the Yum Ma Muang is their version of a green mango salad. This has to be one of the most famous Thai dishes known throughout the world. It’s a combination of sweet, tart and spicy. I also find green mango salads incredibly refreshing and flavourful, and this was an excellent example.
We also ordered a side to complement the salads. We chose the Bai Lieng Pad Khai, stir-fried wild Melinjo leaves with egg. My understanding is that this dish is really only around in the South of Thailand because the leaves are from a tree located in the South. It’s a super simple dish, but super flavourful and comforting.
Supawan is one of my favourite restaurants in London, definitely in my top 10. I love the nostalgic flavours of my childhood. The bold and unique blend of flavours is something I already crave again! Supawan’s food is both exciting and restorative. My heart, and stomach, are happily full.
Looking for another great Thai restaurant in London? Check out my review of KILN.
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