“The turning point of my career as a chef began at Longrain, a Thai restaurant in Sydney. Those four years I spent there reignited my love for cooking,” regaled Freddie Salim, chef-owner of Pan-Asian restaurant Silk Bistro. This led him to establish an offshoot with BIKO Group that specifically highlights Thai cuisine, Silk Thai. Upon arriving, one would come face to face with the colonial-style façade decked with an interior of crisp white walls, radiant stained glass décor and warm wooden accents, set in a family home in Gandaria that coincidentally belongs to a Silk Bistro regular.
Finding similarities between Thai and Indonesian ingredients, he began deepening his knowledge of the cuisine. “I also encountered many Chinese-Thai dishes that are reminiscent of things I ate at home,” he adds, citing the influences of Teochew immigrants from South China, where his grandfather (who was also a cook) came from.
Chef Freddie’s key to mastering it lies in balancing the flavours of sweet, savoury, spicy, sour, and bitter. One of the most basic examples of this is nahm jim, a dressing made from lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar and red chilis that can be found on Silk Thai’s menu in the Squid Sashimi, bathing slices of fresh, springy squid. The Massaman Curry Beef is another evidence, juggling the sweetness of pineapples with a bitter bite from roasted peanuts and the savoury notes of cinnamon and star anise for a velvety sauce coating fork-tender brisket.
Similar to Silk Bistro, the dishes at Silk Thai are also served in sharing sizes, encouraging the communal dining style that is familiar to Indonesian and Thai cultures where food can bring people together to engage with one another. And, once the meal is over, there is no hurry to leave either. Conversations would naturally carry over to the second floor, inviting diners to find their way to the bar and lounge area for a nightcap that would round out the dining experience.
The cocktail menu plays with herbs, aromatics and fruits synonymous with the Thai palate for creations like BKK Spritz, where the classic Italian apéritif is accentuated with Thai basil and mango, and Thai Tea Boulevardier, a recreation of the whiskey-based cocktail infused with Thai red tea. Or, if you’re partial to something more adventurous, opt for the Chili Crab Bloody Maria, Silk Thai’s twist on the Bloody Mary that incorporates clarified tom yum and chilli crab sauce to replace the traditional lemon juice, celery salt and black pepper.
With a menu that draws influences from various regions of Thailand, Chef Freddie is always eager to explore more flavours. Yet at the same time, he wants to keep things familiar, grounding his dishes in the comforting essence of Thai cuisine—offering diners the same warmth and familiarity that once inspired him.