Whilst I can firmly say that the food served at Pim’s @iCookThai is lovely, I don’t know how good the legendary after dinner entertainment is. Mrs G and I left before Pim, the owner / chef / singer / guitarist, took to the stage.
Judging by the evening’s background music, which included guilty pleasures such as Extreme’s More Than Words and Simply Red’s Stars, Pim’s vast array of guitars and equipment, and the lyrics to Stand By Me chalked on the wall, it’s safe to say the post-dinner concert would have been a lot of fun.
Pim’s @ iCookThai on Crwys Road is a cookery school on Monday to Tuesday and a BYOB Thai cafe and restaurant from Wednesday to Sunday.
The dining space has a warm homespun feel with its shelves of cookery books, strings of fairy lights and eclectic nicknacks.
The menu is reassuringly focused with its 5 starters, 10 mains and 1 dessert. However, if there are any Thai dishes that don’t feature then Pim is happy to cook them for you if you give him 24 hours notice.
Mrs G and I shared a gorgeously light and fruity Hans Michel Riesling (free corkage) before moving on to a couple of bottles of lager.
Thai dim sum (£4.50) was reminiscent of Siu Mai, the classic Chinese dumpling. Soft wonton wrappers were filled with a light mix of minced chicken and mushroom. A good drizzle of soy dialled up the umami.
Som Tum salad (£4.50) was made with mango instead of the usual green papaya. The sweet mango, crisp shredded carrot, green beans and tangy tomatoes were bathed in a mouth-tingly hot citrus dressing.
A lamb shank special with tamarind (£12.50) was everything I wanted it to be. A fall-apart-tender piece of meat was bathed in an intensely meaty gravy balanced by the tang of tamarind. Pieces of red pepper and courgette completed the delicious plate.
A red chicken massaman curry (£11.50) contained tender meat, peppers, courgette, finely diced carrot and peanuts bathed in a coconut milk-based sauce that was loaded with flavour and spice. It was a very good Thai curry.
Both our mains were accompanied by a dome of sticky Jasmine rice (£2.50).
We had a lovely meal at Pim’s @ iCookThai. There were a couple of fairly hefty waits for our starters and mains but if you’re sticking around for a night of food, booze and entertainment then it wouldn’t be too much of an issue (although perhaps they could sell prawn crackers as a snack).
Next time, I’m going to make sure I hang around for the after dinner sing-a-long.
The Details:
Address - Pim’s @ iCookThai, 45 Crwys Rd, Cardiff CF24 4ND
Telephone - 07789016354 (Book by text message)
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