Best Thai restaurant in Dublin? Arguably a toss-up between Saba and Koh.
Saba is consistently delicious, with fresh flavours and imagination always to the forefront. A few weeks back, Jean and I attended the launch of their new cookbook, Saba: The Cookbook.
It’s not unusual, of course, for a restaurant to bring out a cookbook. What is unusual is giving away all the profits to charity. Saba’s decision to split all the proceeds between the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin, and the Thai Red Cross Society is very generous.
A senior representative of the children’s hospital attended the launch and outlined the vital work of the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. He explained how they need just a few million euro to refurbish the unit and make it suitable for the extremely sick children who have to use it. I can’t help but feel deeply resentful that he had to be there at all. A few million euro is all that’s needed, and the hospital has to resort to selling cookbooks – albeit a particularly good cookbook.
This is a very handsome volume. Framed around soups, sides, curries, mains, wok dishes, and sides, the vast majority of the ingredients are easily accessible. A lot of Thai cookbooks require a trek to an Asian food market, but most of the recipes here can be made with a trip to your local supermarket – Superquinn has a particularly good Asian selection.
The book, priced at €30, also features the story of this consistently delicious restaurant, and is beautifully laid out and designed. The Irish Times recently published a few recipes from the book, alongside some top Thai cooking tips. A gorgeous gift, jammed with mouth-watering, accessible recipes, reasonably priced, and helping two worthy charities? Sounds like Christmas to me.
- Available from Saba, Saba To Go, Easons, Hightide in Westport and all good bookshops, priced €30.