Review: Rosa’s Thai Kingston
By Tilly O'Brien
25th Oct 2024 | Local Features
Rosa's Thai on Kingston High Street officially opened its doors on Monday, 21 October, and I had to try it.
So, last night, Thursday 24 October, my friend Ayushi and I popped in for a lovely three-course dinner.
Upon entering the restaurant with its recognisable red exterior, we were welcomed by a lovely waitress who seated us upstairs.
The interior is casual and projects a red glow similar to the exterior.
For 6.30pm on a Thursday, the new Rosa's Thai was already pretty busy, and it only got busier as the night went on.
Punters included a wide mix of people, including people I assumed were on dates and families – it really is the perfect restaurant for anyone.
What I really loved about the restaurant is that all the staff seemed to be happy to work there and they were attentive yet not overbearing – it can get a bit annoying when waiters constantly check in on you.
For drinks, we started with Lychee Ginger spritz', which consist of Sapling Vodka, Triple Sec, Lychee, Ginger, Prosecco, and Soda.
The cocktail was delicious and I'm a sucker for a spritz.
Spritzes are usually better suited for the summer, but the tang of ginger in this spritz was perfect for an autumn night, even if it was oddly warm yesterday.
The mix of lychee with ginger reminded me of a lovely lemon and ginger tea, but this was more exotic and alcoholic, of course.
Later in the evening, I tried a Thai-inspired cocktail, called Dragon Star Martini, which consisted of Sapling Vodka, Passion Fruit, Dragon Fruit, and Citrus.
As with the classic Pornstar Martinis that many cocktail lovers enjoy having on cocktail night, this martini came with a shot of prosecco, but, whilst it was basically a Thai twist on the popular cocktail, it was red instead of the usual orangey colour.
Now, whenever I've had a pornstar, I've never known whether you're supposed to pour the prosecco into the martini or drink it separately, so last night, I thought I'd try the martini without the prosecco first.
It was yummy, but for me, slightly too sweet, so I immediately added the prosecco, which with its somewhat bitter taste, created the perfect balance between sweet and dry, and I think the Dragon Star Martini might be my new favourite cocktail.
For Ayushi's second drink, she got a Chilli Margarita, which she enjoyed, especially with the chilli, but said it was just like any other margarita really – I mean how spectacular can you make a classic marg?
To start with food, Ayushi and I shared the Plamuek Tod (Thai calamari) and the Tod Mun Goong (prawn doughnuts), which is a new recipe and special to the new Kingston restaurant.
The calamari was delicious, though similar to calamari you'd get elsewhere, but unlike classic calamari dishes, this dish came with a sweet chilli dipping sauce which gave it that Thai twist.
Both Ayushi and found that the batter of the calamari had a slightly powdery texture, which we couldn't quite work out what it was, but it added to the sublime mix of textures of the light, crispy batter and the chewy squid.
Sometimes calamari can be batter-heavy, but this dish was not, making it a light starter, which was ideal for us seeing as we had mains and desserts coming.
However, the prawn doughnuts were even better, and definitely my favourite dish of the night.
As a Rosa's Thai special, I would definitely recommend this dish to anyone.
It was basically big juicy prawns baked into a circular doughnut shape with a light breadcrumb on top.
The prawns were incredibly juicy, which is often hard to find, and mixed with a honey dip, the dish was bursting with flavour.
For my main, I had a Pad See Ew with veg and tofu, but you can get it with chicken, pork belly, or king prawns too.
Pad See Ew is classic Thai comfort food consisting of wide rice noodles stir-fried with eggs, spring greens, and sweet soy sauce.
It was definitely comforting and super tasty, and the tofu was cooked to perfection – I've always wondered how Thai restaurants cook their tofu as they seem to make it slightly crunchy whereas when I cook it, it's always rubbery.
The tofu soaked in the sweet soy sauce, along with the veg and egg was to die for.
Ayushi had the Gaeng Tay Po (red curry) with king prawns and jasmine rice.
This dish is Rosa's Thai's signature curry and "balances Rosa's legendary rich red curry paste with crunchy 'morning glory' greens, vibrant tamarind, fragrant basil, and fresh chillies".
You can also have it with chicken, pork belly, or slow-cooked beef cheek.
Ayushi loved the curry; she said that it had "the right balance of a coconutty sauce and basil tinge" and was "not too spicy".
She also said that the jasmine rice is the perfect accompaniment to the curry.
With our bellies full, we couldn't quite indulge in our own desserts, so we decided to share the Khoa Niew Ma-Muang (mango & sticky rice), and it was the ideal end to our meal.
This dessert is a Thai favourite, consisting of sweet mango and warm coconut sticky rice drizzled in sweet coconut milk.
Usually, I would go for something a little more chocolatey, like a chocolate brownie or churros (which were both on the menu), and I've never tried any rice-based dessert like rice pudding, so I was slightly sceptical, but oh my, this dessert was sublime.
The coconut milk melted into the soft, sticky rice, was warming to the stomach and perfect for my sweet tooth.
And this accompanied with the slightly warm slices of fresh mango created a delicious light dessert - just right for the end of a very filling meal.
It's safe to say that we were both in food heaven.
As it's still opening week for Rosa's Thai Kingston, I was lucky enough to meet its glamorous co-founder Saiphin Moore, who is from Thailand herself.
From the moment I met her, I could tell she was extremely passionate about cooking and Rosa's which was incredible to see.
Moore already has 41 Rosa's Thai restaurants across the UK but has been super excited about opening the restaurant in Kingston as Kingston has a "special place" in her heart.
She told Kingston Nub that she began teaching cooking lessons in a restaurant in the Bentall Centre back in 2019 and that she would often visit her sister-in-law, the sister of her co-founder Alex Moore, in Surbiton.
Thus, she's wanted to open a restaurant in Kingston "for ages", but just needed to find the right venue for it.
Speaking about her journey, Moore said that when she first moved to the UK, she turned her living room into a kitchen and began teaching lessons there.
"I'd always dreamed of opening a restaurant," she said.
Moore explained that her best dish was classic Thai spring rolls.
So when she first pitched her restaurant idea for Rosa's in Spitlefield, she told the man in charge that she was "good at cooking" and made him some spring rolls and after trying them, he instantly accepted her pitch.
It really was a 10/10 experience, and I would definitely recommend that everyone in Kingston tries the new restaurant.
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