Paladarr

Paladarr is, in the best way, a traditional restaurant. Deliberate service delivers Chaloem Chaiseeha's polished northern Thai cuisine - some of the city's best - and the former State Bank premises have a certain prudential grandeur, even if the sweeping curtains and lush carpets are starting to look just a little tired. But that's a quibble, as the food is vivid, the menu urging diners not to pull back on the chilli in the house-made curry pastes. Prawns make an aromatic entree, seared and glossy with ginger, lemongrass and chilli making a tart, syrupy dressing. Wok-tossed, thin-sliced beef is tumbled with garlic and Thai basil. The daily fish might be gently steamed, herb-stuffed snapper drizzled with nam jim sauce feisty with fresh lime, while pieces of chewy/crunchy belly pork punctuate glossy Chinese broccoli, stir-fried with a hit of chilli. Desserts have a sophisticated touch, coconut rum cream and Ricketts Point ginger and lime icecream conjured into a parfait that tastes of the tropics.