Siamais has recently opened and is located in the Brindley Place area of Birmingham, which is central yet still away from the hustle and bustle of Broad St and the Bullring.
The place is decorated interestingly. The bar area is darker, plush and, most notably, full of skulls (which speaks to the goth in me). Then the dining area is well lit, sleek, has wicker baskets falling from the ceiling and graffiti that alludes to the Thai cuisine that they serve.
I was invited to try Siamais within a Birmingham Bloggers Group I follow and was given a three-course meal as a part of it. This is the same group that Ting from The Ting Thing and Laura from Full to the Brum are the leaders of. These ladies work hard to get the rest of us some amazing opportunities, so I thought I would take this chance to say thank you to them both! Ok, now on to the vegan three-course meal I had at this restaurant.
Allergens are not marked on the menu, however, the staff were knowledgeable and there were a number of vegan options to choose from, as well as options they could alter to make vegan. Always a good sign!
Allergens are not marked on the menu, however, the staff were knowledgeable and there were a number of vegan options to choose from, as well as options they could alter to make vegan. Always a good sign!
For my starter, I went for the Mango Salad (£9). This contains cashew nuts, mango, red onions, spring onions and cherry tomatoes. I love mango so I was happy to see so much of it and the vast amount of cashews. But I found that there was no depth of flavour to the salad and I got bored of eating it after a while. Probably wouldn't order this next time but I am glad I tried it.
For my main, I went for the Red Curry (£12.95), which contained bamboo shoots, tofu, red chilli. aubergines, broccoli, baby-corn and I asked for coconut rice to accompany it, as I am a sucker for all things coconut. In order to make this substantial for a vegan, the waiter let me know that they would be adding more veg to it. Music to my ears! The sauce was creamy but not watery. The veggies were perfect, as was the tofu and the rice was sticky and worked well with the red curry. I cannot fault this main dish and I would happily have this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was sad I finished the plate, as I would have loved this for lunch the next day but that's an incentive to go back! It was easy for the staff to make this vegan for me but the best thing was I didn't feel like I missed out compared to everyone else because I had the vegan option.
Last but not least, is the dessert (all of which are £5.95). You never know what you're gonna get when it comes to a vegan dessert. You pray it's not gonna be a boring sorbet or fruit salad. Thankfully it wasn't either at Siamais. Their vegan option was a Green Apple Sorbet but it wasn't a sorbet as I know it. It looked so creamy that I had to get the waiter to double-check that it was vegan, yep I am that person. It tasted creamy too with a hint of the green apple taste. All the desserts sounded and looked good, from the ones I saw, but I wonder how in keeping with Thai cuisine they actually are.
Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Siamais. The company, food, ambience and location were all good. I most likely would go back to for the main meal because I loved the flavours, veggies and vegan choices that they had.
Would I go back? Yes
Why? Amazing food, drinks and place.
How was the service? Friendly, knowledgeable and attentive.
How did they cope with the vegan dietary requirement? They didn't bat an eye, it was super easy and the food was still tasty. Sometimes that isn't the case.
What are the prices like? The prices are reasonable and this three-course meal would have been around £30.
More information - Siamais website
Have you been? What did you think?
*Many thanks to the team at Siamais for looking after me and catering to my dietary requirements so well. FYI this meal was complimentary but my opinions are my own**
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