Review: Sabai Sabai, Waterloo Street, Birmingham

Sabai Sabai is the perfect eatery for all sorts of occasions. The restaurant is situated in the heart of Birmingham’s City Centre shopping district, not more than 5 minutes from New Street Station and walking distance from several hotels.
On arrival we were welcomed by the very warm and professional Manager Stefanos Tsekrezi, who led us enthusiastically to our tables. Sabai Sabai has a wide and varied range of drinks and  cocktails to choose from. Our favourites were the Dragon Punch and the Bangkok Fizz at £9.25 and £8.95 respectively.
Starter
For starters we ordered the Meat Platter at £14.25. This was a mix comprising of Lamb Chops, Spare Ribs, Chicken Wings and Crispy Duck Rolls. All the elements of this dish were exceptionally well-cooked. It was also a light dish as well as very flavoursome. The Thai seasoning used left a wonderful fusion of subtle flavours that lingered happily.
We also ordered the Seafood Platter at £14.95. This was a platter combination of Scallops, grilled Jumbo Prawns, Thai fish cakes &  Thai Calamari with 2 Seafood Sauces. This was a very generous and flavoursome platter that was comprised of very well-prepared and fresh ingredients. It was also the perfect size as to not leave us feeling too full for what was to follow.
We also tried the Thai Calamari Squid for £8.55. This was made of Squid rings, fried tempura batter with bread crumb coating, seasoned in sea salt with pepper and chilli and sweet chilli. It was also served with sweet chilli and Thai style salad. This again was a flavoursome dish with the sweet chilli not being overly sweet as to overpower the dish in any way. The Squid was very well cooked; soft and not overcooked as to be overly hard to chew. We also selected the Prawn Crackers to accompany the meal for £3.45.

Main
For our main courses we first chose from the excellent Geng-Thai  Curries; the Panang with Lamb at £14.95. The curry is comprised of a rich Panang sauce with Coconut Milk, Kaffir Lime Leaves, Sweet Peppers and Red Chillies. This is a warming, creamy dish with a genuine multi-layering of the bitter from the Lime Leaves, the sweet from the peppers and the ever so slight heat of the chillies, that we expect from Thai cuisine. All in all, a truly wonderful and skilfully prepared curry. Then we elected for the Nam Peung-Duck with honey sauce at £14.25.  Again a dish that did not disappoint. The Duck was succulent and well-seasoned with the sweet coming through to just the right degree, as to offset perfectly the rich game-like flavours of the Duck. Once more it was impossible to fault – another exceptionally delicious dish.

Dessert
For dessert we chose the Dark Chocolate Cheese Cake for £6.25. This was well-composed with a light crunchy biscuit base and an indulgent sweet filling, dressed with coulis and served with cream and containing Coffee Liqueur.

In short it was the perfect way in which to end an incredible dining experience in one of my favourite restaurants.
Review by Andre