From Apr 13th to 19th, 2022, Charm Thai restaurant presents a bespoke menu to share the celebration of Songkran Festival in Dubai – a delightful culinary trip to Thailand.

First of all, festival or not, Charm Thai offers a superbly decorated and appointed restaurant lounge and bar, with a unique location along the Dubai Marina Promenade in JBR.

In fact, inside or outside, the seating options are excellent for a lovely dinner out!

The kitchen is open-plan, and so you can sit close to the action or find a private nook all to yourselves, or you may prefer a seat at the fully-stocked bar to start off!

Visiting during Songkran Festival is quite special, although also consider that the regular a la carte menu remains available during the festival period – and that amplifies the choice.

Several extremely interesting and unique signature cocktails attract the attention early, and they come with a warning that they can be spicy – “Would you like it mild, medium, or spicy?” is not usually asked for apertif!

But hey, it’s charming and it’s Thai!

And the resulting cocktails were fantastic!!!

Unmistakably Thai, but also a fusion, an innovation – one with coconut cream and a startling but complementary salty rim: and red chili pepper, of course! – and the other a very well-balanced concoction garnished with sweet lychee.

Strirred and not shaken, but certainly spiced up!

The Songkran menu offers a selection of specialties presented for the occasion, featuring shrimp satay creatively adapted with what were perhaps Indonesian spices – distinguishing it from the well-known chicken satay (also with Indonesian roots, by the way!) – and a starter of chicken dumplings accompanied by a deep, sweet and thick soya sauce, which even the regular visitors to Thailand may not have tried before!

Combined with a la carte selection, the table is already humming with yumminess.

For the curious, and so you may try them either at Charm Thai or next visit to the Land of Smiles, the dumplings are called Saku (aka Sakoo), and they are steamed tapioca pearl dumplings. In this case the filling was savoury minced chicken and ground peanuts – and yes, our hosts very carefully inquired as to our food allergies.

In fact, the charm of Charm Thai goes beyond the delicious dishes and is actually highlighted by the team of servers, hostesses, and chefs – warm welcomes, sincere smiles, and a wonderful professional service.

This charming attitude of caring for respected guests was refreshing and most welcome, and it also included adapting the traditional dishes to the international preference of sweeter and less spicy flavors – so if you want the authentic Thai taste, make sure you ask for it!

After the starters, and the soups, came the mains – and the Songkran set menu really took off!

Thai beef dishes in general tend to focus on the spices, both in marination as well as for dipping, rather than the prime cut of the main ingredient – very rarely have I been served a Thai steak at the level of meat quality that Charm Thai did : absolute excellence.

Truly exceptional, and I don’t mean to detract from the marination with Thai herbs, the very precise grilled searing technique, nor the sweet-and-tangy tamarind dipping sauce; and neither do I want to take away from the expert use of the fire wok in embedding that incredible smokiness to the sauteed vegetables – but the meat itself was top grade AAA, melt-in-your-mouth, best-in-class!

Look closer…

And if that weren’t enough, the second mains dish was a magnificent seafood extravaganza, with soft-shell crab, scallops, cuttlefish, prawns, and all sorts of delicacies from the sea.

And, incredibly, dessert was able to compete with that exquisite main course, with two superb Thai sweets…

…one of which the world’s most beloved Thai mango and sweet sticky rice with coconut dressing – decorated and served with real Thai charm.

All in all, if you can catch the Songkran Festival special menu in time, definitely go for it, especially the Saku for originality, and the Grilled Beef with Spicy Tamarind Sauce for steak lovers!

But, if not, Charm Thai restaurant offers delightful Thai dishes all day every day; and whenever convenient to you, a lovely Thai dinner awaits at the Crowne Plaza in Dubai Marina, JBR.