Food Review: Sabai Sabai Thai Birmingham City Centre

For a city as into it's food as Birmingham, there really aren't too many places to go for Thai. However, Sabai Sabai, the local chain that started off in Moseley before spreading to Harborne, Stratford and now Waterloo Street in the city centre, is now on hand to cater for all your Thai food and cocktail needs.

With a good sized bar offering diners or simply drinkers a place to perch, there is a great selection of cocktails on offer from classics to something different. We started off with the Bangkok Fizz (£8.25), a prosecco based cocktail with citrus flavours. This was a great way to kick off the night, where bloggers from the city and beyond had gathered to try out the new joint. 

At the table, we were treated to sharing portions that weren't really that. I'm pretty sure we all had more than one dish each, which meant that we could avoid the awkward "oh no, you take the last one" situation because there really was plenty to go around. The portion sizes themselves were also extremely generous.

The first dish to arrive was the Meat Sharing Platter (£12.95 each), a mix of lamb chops, spare ribs, chicken wings and crispy duck rolls. The lamb chops were served pink, which is how I like them, and were very, very meaty. The chicken wings were again, thick and meaty and seasoned with chilli and salt. I was also treated to a warm bowl of Tom Yam Goong, Spicy and Sour Prawn Soup to cater to my gluten free dining requirements.

Next, we moved onto the main event, where the table was laid out with Monkfish Thai Green Curry (£17.95), Short Rib Beef Massaman, Papaya Salad (£9.95), Weeping Tiger Steak (£16.95), Pad Thai (£10.95), Tenderstem broccoli and Garlic Rice. 

A veritable feast, and something I would heartily recommend to anyone dining in a large group, please do order as we did and get stuck into a variety of dishes; it really is the most fun way to dine!

The stand out dishes here were the Massaman Beef, a delicious, thick nutty curry sauce poured over the softest piece of short rib beef you'll ever try paired with the garlic rice, with nutty flavour hints that complemented the sauce.

For fresher flavours, it was the Papaya Salad and Pad Thai that worked well together. Pad Thai was exactly as you'd expect it to be, a consistently good dish that never fails to deliver just the right balance of sweet, nutty and sour. The Papaya Salad was something little different, with shredded papaya and veg brought together by some big, crunchy peanuts and a touch of sour and sweet from the lime, chilli and palm sugar. 

For dessert, we opted for the prettiest Espresso Martini, just because food bloggers don't do Dry January. Cheers!

*With thanks to Sabai Sabai for the complimentary meal

Food Review: Zen Metro Gluten Free Menu

Whilst we are usually spoiled for choice when it comes to curry in Birmingham, it can be somewhat harder to find a great spot for Thai and Pan Asian food in the city.

Recently opened on Cornwall Street in the Colmore Business District, Zen Metro has been newly refurbished and transformed into a stylish Zen space.

Open for lunch and dinner, by evening this has fast become a favourite for after work drinks amongst the stylish Colmore set serving delicious cocktails and more from the long bar.

However, I was invited to try out the menu and as always, was on the lookout to see how gluten free friendly the restaurant is.

Round the corner and past the bar lies a beautiful restaurant space, and at it's centre, a stunning cherry blossom tree. Behind here, in the glass walled private dining space, we sat down to enjoy our thai dinner.

Starting off with the obligatory crackers, we took a look at the dinner menu and I was helpfully given my very own gluten free menu; we were off to a good start.

I noticed the set menu for £24.95 (minimum four guests) which seemed great value for two pre-starters, four starters, four mains and a choice of dessert, especially since it includes many favourites including Tom Yum, Chicken Satay, Green Curry and Massaman Curry. 

There was a huge amount of choice on the gluten free menu and I was glad to see my favourites were on there, including a whole host of Thai curries.

I opted for the Chargrilled Jumbo Prawn (£8.95). Usually served on fried noodles with a garlic and chilli dressing, my dish was altered slightly to exclude the noodles and instead come with a sweet chilli sauce.

The prawns were absolutely huge, meaty and tender topped off with a sweet chilli sauce. They were that good, I could have eaten them plain and they would have still been delicious.

I quickly polished these off before our mains arrived. I opted for Green Curry, with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, green beans and basil leaves (£13.95) with steamed jasmine rice (£3.25).

As well as coming out at a very generous portion size, my Thai Green Curry was everything you expect from the dish. Smooth, creamy, with large pieces of soft chicken, this was perfect with the plain rice. Besides a few spicy peas which made this spicier than normal, the dish itself is creamy and mild.

Although we could have stopped here, we couldn't help but take a peek at the dessert menu. Although there were a few gluten free options including ice cream, creme brulee and creme caramel, I decided instead for a glass of dessert wine which was a delicious sweet way to end the meal. 

Throughout the evening, the service was fantastic, with the waiters topping up our water glasses and very well versed in the gluten content on the meals.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at ZEN Metro. From the stylish, luxurious and comfortable surrounds to the quality and taste of the food, as well as the portion sizes, I wouldn't hesitate to come back here again for a fabulous Thai meal.

*Thank you to the team at ZEN Metro for the meal and for looking after us.