• 
• 

Published on July 15, 2007

For five years, Blue Elephant has been fully ensconced in the century-old Thai-Chine Building on Sathorn, but under the guidance of founding partner and director Nooror Somany-Steppe, it's kept on growing in surprising ways.

Starting in Brussels 27 years ago with its first branch, Blue Elephant has expanded to 12 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with plans to open more. All these restaurants are supplied with fresh ingredients from Thailand through the Blue Elephant Trade Office in Bangkok.

In addition, Nooror has opened La Porte des Indes, a restaurant featuring Indian cuisine, in London and Brussels.

And there's more. In Central World in Bangkok, you can enjoy Noodles by Blue Elephant or take home frozen dinners under the newly launched Asian by Blue Elephant brand from upmarket supermarkets around town.

Curry pastes, spices and sauces under the Blue Elephant name are also available, as is a range of ceramic tea pots, all designed to look like blue elephants. Blue Elephant International has also launched its own wine in conjunction with Siam Winery.

The Blue Elephant restaurant in Bangkok is different from all the others in one other way. On these premises, Nooror has opened up the Blue Elephant Cooking School, which offers daily classes, or classes tailor-made to requests from students.

Diners will find the Bangkok restaurant itself charming and comfortable, carefully decorated to recall a Siam of the past. Antiques and "faux-antiques" are scattered throughout the subdued but welcoming ambience. The restaurant seats around 80, plus a VIP room, which seats 20.

The restaurant menu features traditional dishes alongside contemporary creations. Signature dishes, for instance, include a scallop and mangosteen salad (Bt480), green curry with black chicken (Bt450), seabass marinated with herbs and grilled in bamboo (Bt390) and foie gras served with a tamarind sauce (Bt580).

Why black chicken with the green curry?

"I use that because I think it's healthy," says Nooror. A cook who learned the arts of Thai cuisine from her sister and grandmother in her home in Chachoengsao, she herself has created the recipes for all the dishes in her restaurants.

She's looking for taste and balance, as in the scallop and mangosteen salad, a yam that's spicy but not too much. The seabass arrives in an attractive presentation reminiscent of produce in a market (but, of course, much more delicate), with two different sauces, hot and hotter.

Although not really traditional Thai fare, the foie gras dish is proving popular.

"I put this dish on the menu because foie gras has become popular in Bangkok," Nooror says.

One taste shows you why diners order it. With its slightly sweet, slightly sour tang, the tamarind sauce "makes" the dish, as does the accompaniment of the mash of sweet potato, zucchini and basil.

She has also scattered dishes of imported beef and lamb throughout the menu - lamb chop krapraow (Bt680) and takrai steak (Bt520) (grilled beef tenderloin). Traditional Thai dishes are also available - laab kai (Bt240) and pla sam rod (Bt420) (crispy garoupa with chilli).

Also on the menu are dishes to attract the adventurous, such as the "Forgotten Beef Curry" (Bt320) - grilled beef in a "mysterious" curry based on a recipe from the past. This dish may be on a special menu in a month or two, when Nooror introduces her "Back to the Past" promotion.

"I'm looking for old recipes," she says, "the ones that very few people have tasted today."

She's planning much, much more. Also trained as a hairdresser and dress designer, she has dreams of other businesses, but for now, she won't commit.

"I already have a lot to do right now," she says, "but who knows?"

The restaurant has its own carpark. The tariff for wine by the glass ranges from Bt180 to Bt350.

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation