Benjarong needs no introduction to the Food loving crowd of Kolkata. For nearly a decade it has been serving authentic Thai cuisines at affordable price while setting benchmarks in case of  taste & quality. So when I was invited as a member of #PanchPhoron to try out their menu from the Bangkok Street Food Festival, I was more than happy to oblige. To tell the truth, I am no connoisseur of Thai cuisine, but I am ever ready to try out new things. As long its tasty, I can eat anything. Hence although cautious about the pungency of fish sauce, I was ready to tackle it as I entered this outlet.
I won't go into the details of the interiors, as that would make this post unnecessarily long. But it suffices to say, seating is spacious, done in a way to go with the vibe of Thailand. The Reclining Buddha, Chinese lights add to the feel. there are Three separate dining areas, one of which is a cozy place with a single table & six chairs to seat a family comfortably. This was reserved for the PanchPhoron team.
Mr. Arindam welcomed us & gave a brief introduction about the whole theme of the festival. How this is being done to celebrate the Thai New Year which is coincident with the Bengali New Year.
He also informed us that he has prepared a pre-set menu for us, in which he has tried to include all the star dishes from the festival menu, however we were free to choose anything extra as we wished.
Without much ado we started on this Thai journey.

The welcome item was not some drink but a platter with small bowls of peanuts, diced onion, ginger, cubed lemon, fried garlic,red chilli etc along with spinach leaves & a jaggery based sweet sauce.We were supposed to put the ingredients inside the spinach leave & have it in a folded fashion as we do with Paan. But this one was so different! The tangy lime, hot chili, sweet jaggery along with crunchy peanut & chewy ginger literally burst inside the mouth. So much so, I ended up having three of this. Really a great start to the meal.

Next we had the following Drinks:

Mock tails:

1. Chaa yen:
As the name implies its a tea based drink. Add to that some milk, ice & may be some secret Thai spices we don't know of. But whatever the ingredients were it was one of the most refreshing drink I've had till date. Coming from the hot humid Sun, this indeed was a soothing fresh summer cooler.

2. Bangkok breeze:
This one was made from carrot, orange & a hint of lemongrass extract. Optimally sweet for my taste, this too is a keeper.

3. Summer cooler:
The name is misleading. Nowhere does it mention that they are going to serve a whole green coconut! Anyway the tender coconut water is mixed with lemon juice, mint leaves & a dash of honey. This too was really great.

4. Litchi mojito:
This one has to be my favorite!  May be for me its a tie between The Chaa Yen & this. Basically a virgin mojito prepared with crushed pulp of litchi. How can be anything bad if it has litchi in it! :D I am sure this one's gonna win many hearts.

Cocktails:

1. Thai twist:
This is the Thai version of Mojito with  lemon grass, galangal, lemon and kafer lime leaves replacing usual mint leaves. Tasted, well Thai-ish with the lemongrass & Kaffir lime leaves. Liked it.

2. Water melon and basil Martini:
Water melon juice mixed with basil leaves & vodka . In my opinion could do with a little bit more sweetness. & the basil leaves imparted a different flavor altogether. Wont say that I didn't like it, but didn't hate it either.

Drinks aside, lets discuss the food we had. Since this festival is of street food, starters were the main attraction & also the stars of the evening. The starters we had are briefly discussed below.

1. Gai ping:
These Marinated chicken skewers were perfectly grilled. The accompanying dip had the right amount of tanginess to complement the chicken. The look, taste & smell all were just perfect & I would urge everyone to try this once.

2. Lookchin pla yang:
Grilled fish dumplings on skewers, this one was served with Chef's special sauce. Flavors weren't overpowering, yet the texture & flavors were amazing!

3. Sai krok Isan:
A spicy chicken skewers, & as I was told by my friend, a common sight by the streets of Bangkok. Can't guarantee the authenticity as I haven't been there, but the taste was again too good..

4. Goong tod chatuchak:
Panco crumbled prawns rolled in a layer of minced chicken, further coated with breadcrumbs & dip fried. This somehow reminded me of Chicken a la Kiev, however the prawn of course is so much different from piece of butter. Innovative & undoubtedly tasty, this one was liked by all.

5. Thung nung goong & Thung nung je:
Varieties of dim sums served, first one with prawn fillings, while the second one had tofu & water chestnut. Although the fillings tasted decent, the outer skin of the dim sum felt a bit thick & hard. Also the accompanying basil paste was not really complimenting the dim sums. We all felt it could do with a little more spicier dip.

6. Hed ruam prik khi no:
Assorted  mushrooms wok tossed with garlic chillies & Kaffir lime leaves. Each & every mushroom tasted great, & felt different in the mouth. Liked it, recommended.

Main Course:

1. Hormok talay:
Steamed sea food mousse served in small bowls. Although supposed to be eaten as a side to rice, I ended up having it on it sown. Amazing taste, again recommended.

2. Jasmine Rice:
Variation of plain rice with, as the name suggests, infused jasmine scent. Though I personally don't like Jasmine tea, this rice was just perfect to go with the seafood mousse.

3. Poo pahd pong kari:
Red sea crabs cooked in a red Thai curry with celery. The creamy curry was more than amazing, as was the crab flesh. But I really wished that they would have smashed the crab claws before hand, so that  more juice could seep inside flesh of the claws.

4. Bamee pahd gratiem prik daeng haeng gai:
Wok tossed soft noodles with chicken, garlic & dried red chilies.Tasted good, no complaints.

5.  Bamee pahd gratiem prik daeng haeng je:
Wok tossed softnoodles again, but this one's the veg variant with exotic noodles replacing the chicken in the last dish.

6.  Lard na gai & Lard na je:
The former is Thai Flat noodles tossed with sesame, garlic, soya sauce and chicken pieces. The only drawback was that pieces of noodles were sticking to each other, would have been far better if they were separate.
The later is the veg version, with exotic veggies replacing the chicken.

Dessert:

1. Khao niew dahm polamai:
Basically a fruit salad along with sweetened sticky rice & topped up with coconut cream. This one was something which everyone loved equally. However I expected this one to be a bit more sweet. But it was good nonetheless.

Overall, this was a great experience. A culinary delight of a meal that I would remember over the years. Although am not that much into Thai food, i really loved most of the dishes. The drinks were mostly amazing, specially the Thai tea. The starters were out of the world, if not heavenly. Of course this being the street food festival those are the stars of the menu. The mains were good as well, if not for some glitches regarding the dim sums & flat noodles.
Regarding the price, some of the items may seem a bit costly, but be sure all the ingredients are hand picked & procured fresh. Also its not easy to replicate the authentic Thai flavors here without using the right exotic ingredients, still they have maintained the price at a moderate range.

The festival runs until 24th of April. Apart from these amazing street foods, you can feast on other Thai delights from their regular menu. Also they have amazing happy hour & unlimited beer/liquor offers. Check with Mr. Arindam ( +91 8438965495 ) for the updated details.
This time missed their soups, will definitely visit sometime soon to try those out.
Till then,
Happy Eating.
Cheers.