Chef Ananda Solomon

The Master Chef Returns

He’s back! The chef whose reputation precedes him is at the helm of Bombay’s swish new Asian restaurant that goes by the name Thai Naam. We are pleased to introduce Ananda Solomon and his culinary art

Text: Javed Gaya     Photographs: Vivan Bhatena

Ananda Solomon is a name to conjure with, he is one of the master chefs of our time. He was responsible for the success of the Taj President in Bombay as being one of the most successful of the Taj properties in Food and Beverage. He had set up the popular Thai Pavilion, a pioneering effort which, after his retirement five years ago, continues to be one of the most iconic of all Thai restaurants in the city. After retiring from the Taj and leaving behind a stellar legacy, Solomon is back with a bang opening a new restaurant, Thai Naam, in the Marriott Orb complex near the International Airport at Andheri. Unfortunately for him, the timing was wrong as he opened his doors in February 2020 just a month before the COVID-19 lockdown. However, on my visit to the restaurant, along with Farzana Contractor, editor of this magazine, I noted how busy it was with takeaway orders and catering.
It is unfortunate that this once-in-a-century occurrence like COVID should have bedeviled this restaurant which has otherwise lots going for it, its location for one. The Orb is rather a curious space, filled with eccentric and quirky eateries designed to cater to people in search of novelty, so you have a Korean family restaurant, a South Indian restaurant provocatively named (South Bombay), but the cynosure of this eclectic collection of restaurants must be Thai Naam, capacious in size, a 96-seater space suffused in happy hues of rose pink wood and white marble which gives a cheery informal feeling to the dining experience with authentic Thai artifacts and features. Most of these artifacts have a consciously temple feel ranging from the Benjarong jars, heritage porcelain, which means five colours is emblematic of the restaurant. You have Thai parasols at the entrance and exquisite Thai murals on white marble which summon the delicate aesthetic sensibilities of an ancient culture.
Chef Solomon is one of a kind, one always thought that the President not just with the Thai Pavilion but with the Konkan Café and Trattoria eclipsed the Taj at Apollo Bunder as the centre for dining excellence. All hugely popular and, for their time, pioneering. Thai Pavilion was the first Thai restaurant to open in Bombay, the Konkan Café took coastal cuisine into the 5-star world and represented the elevation of regional cuisines. Trattoria was just unpretentious. It served hearty Tuscan dishes, great pasta and superlative pizzas, and the most delicious dessert, the tiramisu being the best in town.
As a chef, Ananda is never afraid to get his hands dirty, he regularly supervises in the kitchen and plays an important role in sourcing; in fact, most of his herbs and vegetables are flown in from Thailand. When he was at the Taj, he used to go to Sassoon Dock to buy seafood to ensure its quality and freshness. There is an attractive and alluring simplicity about the man, he is a chef of the old school, in whom the greatest praise you can bestow is that everything is perfect, that there is a standardisation of excellence and service without any undue fuss or image-building. The mission is in the delivery, and it is perfection every time. It is for this reason that Thai Pavilion, in its heyday, attracted an eclectic crowd of corporate czars like Ratan Tata – who visited the restaurant on a weekly basis – South Bombay socialites, Bollywood actors, everyone was entranced by the décor, the consistency of the cuisine and the warmth of Chef Ananda’s welcome.
Ananda has spent much time in Thailand and it was not just at the food stalls, which constitute the core of the Bangkok dining experience, but he also had the privilege of working in the Thai royal kitchens. And on his return in 2005, he launched a new and dazzling menu, foie gras being one of the dishes which he introduced to the surprise and consternation of regulars, but it worked. Bombay was ready to be adventurous and Thai food had too long been confined to the comfort zone of green curry and Pad Thai noodles. So, Chef Ananda wanted to stir things up.
His journey as a chef, and one whose sensibilities to the quirks and intricacies of Thai food are on full display, come out into their own at Thai Naam. This is a standalone and he has the authority to do dishes which excite him, and it shows. He is very much old-school, he believes in getting the classics right. Now, this is something you don’t compromise on! So, the Prawn Tom Yum Soup was superlative, it was a masterclass in simplicity, minimalist strong flavours from few herbs, the galangal, the lemon grass, all brought a wow factor; a simple but alluring classic. This was followed by Pan-grilled White Prawns with Chilli Cardoon Laced with Sour and Spicy Sauce, the cardoon is essentially an artichoke thistle which gives an edgy bitterness and adds to the sweet and sour sauce. The Chicken Pandan in the Thai lexicon is traditionally a restaurant dish, not street food, chicken pieces are doused in red vinegar and soy and wrapped in pandan leaves, and grilled. These were excellent as were the fish cakes which had a lightness and subtlety I have rarely had; they were also firm and not rubbery as often fish cakes have a tendency to become. What Farzana and I both enjoyed most was his homage to the royal kitchens called Duck Liver in Mango Sauce. It was not foie gras, but any liver lightly fried with a fruit sauce is destined to be a success! As Ananda started his professional life as a French chef, this dish must have been something like a homecoming.
Before we started with the main course, and to cleanse the palate, he served us a Pomelo and Raw Mango Salad which I much preferred to the Som Tam salad. The main course was the Steamed John Dory in a Lime and Garlic Sauce which was perfection, the milky white flesh complemented by the tangy lemon and garlic was a joy. The crescendo was the Thai Green Curry, surprisingly complex, though light and served with jasmine rice. It must be remembered that the Thai phrase for eating is kin khao which translated means “to eat rice,” which shows the centrality of rice in Thai cuisine.
For dessert, there was the classic Diced Water Chestnut with Coconut Milk that was cool and refreshing. Chef insisted that we try the signature tiramisu.
Unfortunately, there is no drinks license yet so we could not indulge in any alcohol.
The big question is once the pandemic recedes, what does the future hold for such standalone restaurants? It has been a difficult year for many restaurants and we do not know how many will survive. Chef Ananda has a loyal clientele from South Bombay and when we visited, it was evident that the party room had been taken by a young group of fans who had grown up eating at Thai Pavilion. Chef feels that the suburban crowd may not be as open to sophisticated dining but he has gauged the market and sees that his menu is workable. It is vegetarian friendly and its pricing is very competitive, almost 50% less than what you would pay at Thai Pavilion, and to a younger crowd that matters. We wish him every success in this new venture of his, despite the unfortunate impact of COVID on this restaurant we have every confidence that he and his young team will pull through and make a lasting mark on the Bombay restaurant scene.

Thai Green Curry	Delightful Cocktails	Coconut Soup
Dark Callebaut Dessert	Thai Naam, Marriot Orb	Water Chestnut Coconut Milk