Foodie favourites with Mathieu Damman

Mathieu Damman is passionate about Thai cuisine and travel. He’s the founder and manager of a new Thai fast food restaurant near Flagey called Walkin’Thai.

Situated at 38 Rue Lebroussart, it specialises in Thai street food. The idea for Walkin’Thai came to Mathieu while he was travelling in southeast Asia, specifically in Thailand, where street food is everywhere. The fast food concept was born from his desire to provide people in Brussels with an opportunity to have the Thai street food experience – “fast, fresh and easy” – at a reasonable price.

www.walkinthai.be

BAR

There are so many good bars in Brussels but right now I’d say Chez Franz is my favourite. It opened just a few months ago and it’s the ideal place to relax and have a drink with friends. The music is great and they often have live concerts. The best is when it’s nice out and you can enjoy a drink on their sunny terrace. It used to be a bar called Mont Chauffe and there’s still a bit of that same nostalgic feel about the place, which I like. I highly recommend their Sunday brunch as well.

CHEZ FRANZ

30 Avenue du Haut-Pont, Brussels

www.chez-franz.be

DRINK

If there is one thing Belgium should be proud of, it’s its beer. One life is not enough to taste them all. Still, you can find an extensive selection in most Brussels bars. I really enjoy La Rullés Estivale, a nice citrusy, hoppy Belgian pale ale. But it’s Tripel Karmeliet that I miss the most when I’m travelling. Although we don’t export some of our best beers, fortunately you can still find things like Duvel and Leffe while abroad, even in Bangkok.

We say: La Rullés Estivale comes from Brasserie Artisanale de Rullés in Belgium’s southernmost tip, near Arlon. They organise guided visits of the brewery on request, and their open days this year fall on June 2 and 3

www.larulles.be

RESTAURANT

When I’m not eating Thai food – which is really rare – I like to eat local. My favourite Belgian restaurant is Fin de Siècle, where you can eat the best stoemp in Brussels and drink excellent beers. This is not the kind of restaurant where you would propose to your girlfriend but it has a real Brussels vibe and is a great place to go with a group of friends, or even to meet some new ones. Tables are close together so you can easily have a chat with the people next to you. They don’t take reservations and it’s always packed, but when I’ve been away for a while it’s the first place I go to eat when back in town.

FIN DE SIÈCLE

9 Rue des Chartreux

02.513.51.23

INGREDIENT

I love turmeric. It’s one of the key ingredients to making a good Thai curry. The smell alone takes me right back to the street markets of southeast Asia. Plus, it has medicinal properties.

SHOP

I frequent all the Asian food shops close to the Bourse. There is a big Asian food store called Kam Yuen where you can find an impressive range of Asian ingredients. But by far my favourite is Wang Li. It’s smaller than Kam Yuen but it has a much better selection of produce and ingredients specific to Thailand.

WANG LI

3 Rue des Halles

www.wangli.be

We say: Wang Li also organises monthly cooking classes (in French) where you can learn the secrets of southeast Asian cuisine in a friendly atmosphere for €25 per person, followed by a tasting. The next session is on April 29

RECIPE

Pad Thai, basically stir-fried noodles, is Thailand’s most famous dish. This version is a Walkin’Thai speciality and, like everything on the menu, it’s prepared by Thai chefs.

PAD THAI

Serves 4

• 150g medium-sized flat rice noodles
• 300g large raw prawns
• 3tbsp tamarind purée
• 2 ½tbsp fish sauce
• 2tbsp palm or brown sugar
• 3tbsp vegetable oil
• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 85g Chinese chives (1 bunch)
• ¼tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
• 2tbsp preserved turnip, chopped
• 2 ½-3tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped
• 180g bean sprouts
• 3 spring onions (scallions), sliced
• Coriander and lime to garnish

Soak the noodles in hot water until soft, then drain. Peel, de-vein and cut each prawn down its back. Mix the tamarind, fish sauce and sugar in a bowl and toss the prawns in the mixture. Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the garlic until light brown. Add the prawns, cook for 2 minutes then add the eggs, scrambling for 1 minute. Add the noodles and chives, stir-fry for a few seconds before adding the remaining ingredients (but only half the peanuts and leaving some onions). Test the noodles for tenderness and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve and garnish with the remaining peanuts, coriander, spring onions and lime wedges.

Photo: www.jenniferjansons.com