SUDA

Noodle Month

SUDA Thai in Covent Garden is deservedly beginning to build a bit of a reputation for itself; a reputation for doing things a little differently and finding the best ways possible to bring some of the more obscure aspects of Thai cuisine to a wider audience. In June last year it had Mango Month, during which time they offered a specialised menu where every dish contained the exotic fruit in some manner. It quickly followed on from this in October with Oyster Month, which offered a celebration of one of the true Marmites of seafood. This March, it sees SUDA's next endeavour: Noodle Month.

The noodle is a key ingredient in a whole host of Asian cuisines, but a number of common misconceptions pervade the consciousness today. These notions were lovingly dispelled during a brief talk before we were demonstrated some of the various different methods of cooking noodles by one of the restaurant's expert chefs. For example, did you know that there are five or six different kinds of noodles commonly found in Thai cuisine, and that the type of noodle you might eat depends on the main content of the dish. Some noodles can be eaten with pork and fish, but not chicken or beef, and so on.

In addition, noodles are rarely eaten after lunchtime in Thailand, except late at night, when one might stumble into a noodle shop after an evening of revelry. The noodle came to Thai cuisine from China and slowly permeated the culture, until today when, it is said, each Thai person has their own favourite noodle shop, which they will often travel miles to reach to stave off that feeling of peckishness.

The restaurant, which is now approaching 18 months in operation, provides some top class Thai food. On the evening we arrived, we sampled a number of the restaurant's signature dishes, including duck in an excellent red curry sauce and a traditional noodle dish, pad see-iew, served with chicken and a delightful, but not overpowering, soy based sauce.

SUDA continues to impress with its innovative, honest and most importantly delicious take on traditional Thai cuisine, and after keeping us fed and happy for the last 18 months since their launch, we say bring on the next 18.

23 Slingsby Place, Covent Garden, WC2E 9AB

See our other reviews: SUDA; Mango Month