The best of Thai cuisine – Why Thai a year later

We wrote about the Thai restaurant  WHY THAI at Wiejska 13, near the Sejm (the Polish Parliament) a year ago… It was just after they’ve opened, the first stylish, elegant, marvellous Thai restaurant in Warsaw, perfect for a dinner for two, a meeting with friends, or for a business lunch. We’ve just returned from Thailand, so we were craving our favourite flavours – chicken pad thai, deep-fried nems, peanut sauce served with chicken skewers, even the Thai beer Singha. Last year we left Why Thai almost perfectly happy – despite the fact that the chicken satay didn’t fulfil our expectations, because it was very different from the ones we’ve had in Bangkok or the Krabi restaurants. We were happy with the emergence of a new lovely Thai restaurant in Warsaw, suitable for various occasions, even for a romantic dinner for two. 

We’ve returned to Why Thai several times, but we also received controversial feedback. On the one hand, a friend of ours complained that the pad thai was getting worse, that it used to be better, on the other hand, in October the readers of Gazeta Wyborcza (the major Polish daily newspaper) awarded Why Thai with the title of the Restaurant of the Year 2013! So, we decided to visit it once more and check how Why Thai is doing a year after, and which of the opinions are true and trustworthy 🙂

There was a perfect occasion – dinner with friends from abroad, who we haven’t seen for a while. Their wish: “Maybe Thai food?”. It was a quick call – modern but cozy interior of Why Thai is the perfect spot for long conversations by a delicious meal. Has it fulfilled our expectations? Check for yourselves! 🙂

We set out with starters – as the last evening has proven to us, it’s best to have them “Spanish style”, as we call it. Spaniards always order loads of various tapas “para picar“, or “to munch on”. We enjoy eating this way because it allows everyone to try a variety of delicacies. This time we didn’t even have to persuade our friends to choose this way of eating starters – they proposed it themselves – and I could’ve expected it, as they’ve been living in Madrid for 7 years 🙂

Therefore, we ordered fried nems with shrimps with the homemade sweet and sour chilli sauce (PLN 19), fresh nems with marinated carrot and white radish, also served with the sweet and sour sauce (PLN 14), chicken satay with peanut sauce (PLN 16) and my favourite grilled squid (PLN 18).

grilled squid with salsa

a choice of starters for 4: squid, fresh nems, fried nems with shrimps and chicken satay

There’s a little something for everyone. Everyone of us could try each starter, depending on personal preferences. Obviously, I most enjoyed the squid with sweet and sour sauce and with the mango sauce, and of course the fried nems. Delicious, crunchy, mouth-watering. The fresh nems aren’t my favourite – there’s too much green-stuff for me 🙂 On the other hand, it’s definitely the healthiest and least caloric starter, and even I had a bit with the divine homemade sauces.

Similarly to last year, the chicken satay didn’t fully satisfy us and only the perfect peanut sauce brought back the memories of Thailand…

The starters were followed by main courses. The menu has developed since last year, there’re more courses, and our last-evening’s experiences prove that a longer menu works better for Why Thai. Everything we’ve had was marvellous!

Łukasz went with the classic, or the vegetarian variant of pad thai with tofu (PLN 33). We always initially evaluate a pad thai with our eyes: is it served with lime (like in Thailand) or lemon (a cheaper, Polish variant ;))? Is it sprinkled with peanuts and sprouts? Is the dry chilli served separately allowing us to decide on the level of spiciness by ourselves (in Thailand pad thai is not spicy!)? This time all the parameters checked by sight were there! As we later found out, the taste was also perfect.

I chose beef with chilli and sweet Thai basil (PLN 38) – delicate bits of beef, colourful peppers, delicious sauce. Marvellous! Our friends went for chicken green curry (PLN 34) and also fully enjoyed their meals.

beef with chilli and Thai basil – I think I’ll come back for it!

the classic pad thai

chicken green curry

Why Thai also offers soups, including the spicy Tom Yum with chicken (PLN 21) or shrimps (PLN 23), fish (salmon with mango salsa, Thai bass), tofu, chicken and beef dishes. There is a lot to choose from! 🙂

There are also deserts. When we were leaving the house I was speculating aloud – “I wonder if they have the sticky rice with mango?”. Sticky rice with coconut milk served with mango is our discovery of 2013 and our great love. I wrote about it i.e. here. After choosing our mains, I rushed into the desert page of the menu. Sticky rice with mango and coconut milk (PLN 18)! Yes! We couldn’t had left without trying it. When I saw it I got a bit sceptical. The desert served in a vast wineglass looked lovely but differently than in Thailand. When I tried it, my doubts were gone. Sticky rice in Why Thai is to die for and probably the best one, we’ve ever had! 🙂 Mango sliced in tiny bits, the coconut-milk frosting and the perfectly sticky rice with a coconut aroma. You simply have to try it! 🙂

one of the reasons to come back soon 🙂

So, if you’re wondering what to do for a Sunday dinner, now you know! 🙂

Practical info:

Why Thai Food & Wine

Wiejska 13,
tel. 22 625 76 98,
tel. 790 869 977,

biuro@whythai.pl

Opening hours:

Sunday-Thursday – 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Friday-Saturday – 12:00 pm – 00:00 am

New Year’s Eve – 12.00 pm – 6.00 pm

New Year  – 2.00 pm – 11:00 pm