David Thompson at the Bentley Bar
Taste test ... David Thompson at the Bentley. Photo: Dean Sewell
IF THERE'S one authentically unauthentic word in cooking it is, well, "authentic". Few chefs have striven for authenticity more than Australia's David Thompson but even he has to concede that truly authentic Thai cuisine outside Thailand is an essentially hopeless cause.
Nothing can substitute, after all, for the quality of the produce that is found, prepared and cooked in the country where the cuisine originated. It's something that Thompson, back in the days when his Sydney restaurant, Darley Street Thai, was the hottest Thai restaurant outside Thailand, may not have admitted.
And while most of his dishes are as spicy as ever, the chef has mellowed. He's even allowing for some mild curries to find their way on to the menu of his world top 50-rated Bangkok restaurant, Nahm. Back in Sydney yesterday, Thompson was testing a pungent Thai pork and tomato curry.
The dish will be served at two Sydney International Food Festival dinners this week at Surry Hills's Bentley Restaurant & Bar. But you still can't find tomatoes of the sour Bangkok variety Thompson favours here so he's had to substitute ordinary cherry tomatoes, made a tad more sour with the addition of tamarind water.