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Published: 25 June 2009

Nickie Chulakasevee

Thai Secret is a hidden success

WHEN Nickie Chulakasevee arrived in London to study English 20 years ago, she never thought that one day she’d be the owner of not one but two popular Thai restaurants.
Nickie and her Irish husband Mark have just opened Thai Secret in Plender Street, Camden Town, following the success of their first restaurant the East Thai in Covent Garden.
“The secret of the success of Thai cooking,” says Nickie, who has two young children, “is that it is so varied and we use little fat or oil. There are more than 100 dishes including bitter, sour, spicy and non-spicy. We can cook according to a particular taste.”
There are 13 starters and with the usual meat, chicken and seafood main course dishes there are a dozen or more vegetarian specialities.
As a starter I had the excellent fish cakes spiced with mild curry and served with a sweet chilli and cucumber relish, while my colleague began with a mixture of prawn crackers and chicken satay, with one spicy and one peanut dip.
There are four soups, including one called Floating Market – a seafood soup flavoured with lemon grass and other fresh herbs.
For a main course I enjoyed non-spicy Thai traditional noodles and vegetables with rice and salad garnish while my colleague tucked into Gaed Phed Phak – red curry with coconut milk, bamboo shoots and vegetables, garnished with sweet basil leaves.
PETER GRUNER

* Thai Secret,
6 Plender Street, NW1. Free home delivery on orders over £15. Open 12-3pm and 5-10pm. 020 7380 1196. thaisecret@live.co.uk

* East Thai, 176 Drury Lane, WC2.
020 7405 5551. www.eastthai.co.uk

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