What we tried
Cee Krong Moo Tod Ta-Krai (deep fried pork ribs with lemongrass), Som Tum Thai (spicy papaya salad) and sticky rice, Massaman curry, Panang gai (red curry with chicken), Koo Pad Kra-Praw (meat fried with hole Basil – preferably with pork), Gai Tod (Thai-style fried chicken) and probably other things!
Verdict
Simply the best Thai food I’ve had outside of Thailand.
You can tell from the number of dishes tried that we’ve been here A LOT. I lived in Thailand for a while and despite my frequent cravings for Thai cooking, I always leave largely unsatisfied when eating in Thai restaurants, both here and in the US – not at Kaosarn. This place gets the aromatic flavours so right, and although it’s still probably not quite as spicy as things come in Thailand, it’s much much better than any other place I’ve tried. They also use a lot more of the original vegetables rather than substituting them for bland European ones.
Where do I start?
Ribs!!! Of all the reviews I’ve seen of this place, no one mentions the lemongrass ribs. This is a travesty and is part of the reason we wanted to start this Brixton series. They are seriously the most tasty morsels of meat you will try – crispy, aromatic, tender and juicy and perfectly complemented by the tangy-sweet dipping sauce. We have developed something close to an addiction for them (seriously, I have dreams involving these ribs). It got so bad that we scoured the internet, YouTube and books we had on Thai cooking to find a recipe that somewhat resembled these ribs. We didn’t find the exact thing, but managed to cobble together a pretty close approximation – you can try it here.
Ok, so you can’t JUST eat ribs (though, we admit, sometimes after eating somewhere else we just get ribs from Kaosarn to take away) and there is so much else that is great.
Pad Kra-Praw (spellings variable – most often pronounced Pad-Ka-Pow) was my favourite dish in Thailand – you find it everywhere. Traditionally chopped up pork (not as fine as minced), fried with lots of garlic, fresh red chilli and holy basil leaves (European basil doesn’t really cut it, you lack the aniseed punch). This is always my test for a good Thai restaurant, and pre-Kaosarn, I hadn’t found one that remotely lived up to the roasted chilli and basil depth that I remember. This is mostly down to the fact that most Thai places here don’t chop up the meat but leave it in large pieces (apparently adapting to local tastes), which means it can be pretty dry and the flavours don’t meld in the same way. Kaosarn’s is pretty close – they still don’t chop the meat (though it might be worth trying to ask them to do it, I haven’t so far there, but many places are happy to since this is the way it is meant to be anyway) but the flavour is definitely there.
The Massaman curry was the real surprise. I don’t tend to order this dish because it’s typically not spicy, which in most Thai restaurants in the UK means BLAND, but not at Kaosarn. Doug ordered it and after trying his, I got serious order envy. It has a depth of flavour that is pretty indescribable, underlined by a creamy, rich coconutty base (they must make their own coconut milk, because you never get this kind of taste out of tinned). An absolute must try. The Panang curry (I stupidly ordered the chicken and not the prawn) is pretty good also, though my one grumble is that it doesn’t have any vegetables in it, not sure if the prawn version does. The Gai Tod is also not that exciting, but then it generally is pretty similar to our own fried chicken, even in Thailand.
Also excellent is the Som Tum salad – pretty much the national dish of Thailand, made from shredded raw green papaya, pounded with garlic, chilli and lime. Often with dried shrimps, tomato and green beans as well. Anyone who’s eaten this in Thailand will be aware of how blow-your-head-off spicy it can be. Kaosarn’s probably doesn’t quite reach those levels but is definitely more punchy than any others I’ve tried here, and they get the blend of aromatic flavours just right. Order with sticky rice to help put out the fire so you can keep on eating!
They’ve opened a ‘proper’ restaurant location in Clapham Junction, but we haven’t tried it yet. I’m slightly worried the food won’t be as good once they have to up the ambience – would be great to hear reactions from those who’ve tried it.
The Pepper Pot 
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