Pad BKK

The start of the Festival in Edinburgh means different things to different people. Some are ambivalent to its charms; some embrace the season for the cultural explosion it detonates. In the past couple of years, it has brought with it great things in terms of food diversity to match the artistic panoply.

For me, one of the great benefits is the arrival of the Street Food Cartel in our fair city. I made it an early order of business to visit Thai food specialists Pad BKK who have been joined by Scoop and SoLaTiDough to round out the Cartel’s Festival offering.

Located within George Square gardens, these street food purveyors have a lot to live up to after last year’s excellence, with the veggie burger from Scoop having been one of the finest things I tasted all year.

Pad BKK’s 2014 offering encompasses salads, banh mi, noodles and Thai curries. On a mid-evening visit, I opted for a veggie curry (£6).

With elements assembled by a slickly functioning production line, I was soon toddling back towards my picnic table seat with a box of goodness in hand.

The dish proved to be of exceptionally high quality. The generously chunky pieces of butternut squash were outstandingly good and the aromatic and creamy coconut curry sauce was spot on. Topping elements brought good textural variance making for an extremely satisfying eat.

So overall, it’s a great way to start the Festival month with a resounding five-star thumbs up for Pad BKK. I look forward to trying SoLaTiDough for the first time and renewing acquaintances with Scoop, later in month. I suspect we’re all in for a considerable treat.