It always adds extra pleasure to be invited to a restaurant you already adore and like, especially when you don't get to go there as much as you would like. So being invited to the Moseley branch of Sabai Sabai to try out their Christmas menu attracted that exact emotion. I was invited to their 10 year anniversary last year, which led to me winning a complimentary dinner at the restaurant in the raffle that was held that night, which was amazingly good and not only opened up my world to the culinary delight that is Thai Food but to Sweetcorn Cakes too.
Onto the food now.
For the starters, we were presented with a mixed platter that had Scollops, Chicken Satay, Lamb Chops and Sesame Crisp Thai Crab Cakes. Although the chicken is halal, I only had eyes for the Scollops and Sesame Crisp Thai Crab Cakes. As you can see from the image above, the Scallops, that were presented with a garlic and pepper sauce, were presented beautifully. They tasted even better, as they were soft, tasty and tangy with the sauce. The crab cakes were just as good, if not amazing, and I loved the light batter that worked really well with the crab. To be honest, you couldn't really tell it was crab, so if you don't like your fish too fishy then this is perfectly. I loved the presentation of the dishes, especially the roses and leaves, shown in the image below.
The image above shows Monkfish, yes Monkfish! It is pan fried, served with bamboo shoots and fine beans, wrapped in an aubergine slice and topped with a Thai Green Curry sauce. It is a little awkward to eat but the taste is out the door, this is a good thing. Everything seemed to work so well, the mellowness of the green curry sauce with the slight bitterness of the aubergine, the heat of the chilli, the sweetness of the bamboo shoots and the earthly-ness of the fine beans made my tastebuds dance. Just exquisite and again, the presentation was stunning.
I had to borrow an image from the lovely Laura from Full to the Brum, as I was obviously too busy eating to get a good image of the Seabass. This was a stand-out dish that I couldn't stop eating. I loved the crunchiness of the seabass with the crunchy veg and flavour of the garlic and pepper sauce. I would have this everyday and I can completely understand why Len Goodman in Len and Ainsley's Big Food Adventure put this on his list of favourite dishes. Anyone else watch that show? Loved how they celebrated Birmingham's mix of culture and Birmingham itself. I actually saw them filming some of this, so it was good to see what that was for.
The last dish was a Chicken Yellow Curry, which is a mellow and creamy sauce with chicken, onions, carrots and potatoes. The best thing about this was the potatoes. I think it is the asian within me that always makes me love potatoes in any type of curry. They just seem to take on the flavour and have a softness that you would not get in a boiled potato. Another great dish!
Overall, I loved the dishes at Sabai Sabai for many reasons but the main reasons are that they have lots of options that are already dairy-free, they have halal chicken, they use veg in great ways in each dish and it all tastes so goddamn good! I wish they had a branch in the City Centre because I would be there on the regular.
Would I return? Yes
Food - 4/5
As you can tell from the rest of the blogpost, I love the food at Sabai Sabai but the only critique I would give the restaurant is the repetition of the garlic and pepper sauce can be slightly samey, so perhaps a slight alteration for each dish would be great but that does not take away from how good this restaurant is.
Dairy-free options? - 5/5
Most of the Christmas and normal menu are dairy-free and a lot can be made to suit any dietary requirement, such as vegan, gluten-free and even pescatarian.
Cleanliness - 5/5
Location - 4/5
Down a road a stone's throw away from Moseley Village, it can be a little tricky to find but Google Maps helps.
Value for Money - 4/5
The portions are great, the Christmas menu is £24.95, which I feel is good for a three course meal of this standard.
Worth trying? Yes!
Instagram worthy? Fo'sho!
Overall - 22/25
(I took out the service option, as I didn't receive the standard service as I was attending a bloggers event)
Have you been to Sabai Sabai? Do you agree with my opinion? Tweet me, let me know on IG or just comment below peeps; is that enough options?!
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