Dubai Food Review: Thai Time, Al Safa
"Don't waste another day eating junk." It says on Thai Time's website and true enough, trying out their healthy (but very delicious) food choices will make you question what you have been consuming for the past few days.
Thai Time is a quiet and simple restaurant tucked inside the Safestway Supermarket building. It was established back in 2006 as a locally owned and operated Thai restaurant here in Dubai. Although it may seem like barely anyone ever comes here to eat, don't judge because Thai Time offers one of the most authentic and mouthwatering Thai cuisines.
Ambiance
The first thing a customer always takes note of when entering a restaurant is how they were treated. Thai Time surely didn't disappoint. We were greeted with friendly smiles and a warm welcome, ushering us to our chosen seat. Immediately, we were handed the menu and briefed a little on their specialties.
Looking around, there were only quite a few other customers. Usually, that makes one a little uneasy. But Thai Time has that very casual and relaxing vibe to it that made us really comfortable.
The staff were very attentive to our needs and ready to help us with any concerns or queries.
Food
Thai cuisine will always, always have a special spot in my heart. I love how each dish was prepared with finesse and authenticity. Excited, we ordered a few favourites and also tried Thai dishes readers recommended.
(c) Sarah Zonio, 2016
We started off with Som Tam, a papaya salad. It was undeniably very tasty and delicious, you wouldn't think it's raw papaya. Served fresh with shrimp and thinly sliced veggies.
(c) Sarah Zonio, 2016
Falling under the category of appetizer, and specially catering to the vegetarians, we greatly enjoyed our Po Pia Sod (fresh vegetable spring roll). It comes with two different sauces.
(c) Sarah Zonio, 2016
My favourite, Tod Mun Pla, is a Thai traditional fish cake. You may either opt to eat it as is (which I greatly prefer), or by dipping it on three different Thai sauces. It had a well-balanced texture and none of its ingredients overdid itself. Bravo.
(c) Sarah Zonio, 2016
Deep fried and wrapped in pandan leaves, this Gai Hor Baitey is basically chicken waiting to be exposed. It is a fun way of serving an appetizer, but I was honestly expecting something more.
To finish off, we had a Bualoy Samsee. It is sticky rice dumpling served in coconut milk with a hard boiled egg. Slicing through the egg, it's yolk generously oozed out adding a richer texture to the dessert. Bualoy Samsee was a little sweeter than I have expected, but definitely left a very good impression on our taste buds.
We left Thai Time with very happy faces and stuffed tummies. It was truly a healthy and tasty Thai cuisine experience.
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All views are my own and all photographs are © Passport Bites, unless otherwise stated.
Note from the author: This was originally posted on passportbites.wordpress.com, dated April 14, 2016
