Always a favourite, I introduced my mother to Jimmy Liks on Saturday night. Mum, this is Jimmy. Jimmy, Mum. I had a feeling they’d get on very well…
Whenever Jimmy and I meet up, the corn fritters are always on my mind. Whenever anyone mentions Jimmy, I salivate for those perfect parcels of crispy corn all golden and good and grand and great.
The official menu description reads: spicy corn fritters w shiso leaf mint & soy ginger dipping sauce.
“I eat the leaf?”
“Yes, Mum.”
A bench mark at any Asian restaurant is their Salt & Pepper squid. Jimmy prefers to call it, salt & pepper baby squid w vietnamese dipping sauce. Jimmy doesn’t like capitals. He thinks they’re passé. Squid. Yes. Delicious. Light and tender. Powerful and lithe. Yes.
The final dish to Charleston across our palates, I say Charleston as the Charleston is indicative of energy and vibrancy, was the stir fried tuna w chilli jam snake bean cashew nut & thai basil. Packed with hunks of blushing tuna ensnared in the serpentine beans and a flagrant coating both hot and herbaceous, this dish never disappoints.
Vino as I will pick most of the time to pair with Thai was a glass of Austins 08 riesling for Mum, and a Farmingham 08 gewürztraminer for me. The riesling was dominated by lemon and lime notes, and a ripe acidity, perfect to cut through the spice of Thai cuisine. The gewürztraminer had overtones of potpourri and grapefruit marmalade, again perfect to balance the spice.
Jimmy opens at 6pm and I advise you to go early if you don’t want to wait. We arrived at 6.08pm to a virtually empty restaurant and by the time we left an hour later, it was packed. No doubt Jimmy and I will catch up again soon.
