Barbra Streisand had her dog, Samantha, cloned.
The results were Miss Violet and Miss Scarlet.
She also has a third Coton de Tulear, Miss Fanny, created in a no-petri-dish-involved style. (I just wanted to mention her because of the amusing Ru Paulโs Drag Race-esque name).
Apparently, Barbra was interested to discover that the cloned pups had different personalities to the late Samantha. It goes to show, a copy of something doesnโt always measure up to the original.
I hoped it wouldnโt be the same for the Ting Thai Caravan redux on Lothian Road. Theyโve slotted in the place of sandwich shop Coletti & Co, at the lower end of the street, so perfect for pre-theatre land.
The menu and interior seem almost exactly the same as the Bristo Place venue, including that strange computer generated image of a bichon frise. Unlike the first branch, this clone is not rammed yet.
I thought about getting my usual kai look-keuy son-in-law (ยฃ3.40) โ a deep fried egg elevated with crispy shallot, dry chilli and Ting chilli jam โ but we shared the goong frong beer (ยฃ3.80) instead. On two skewers, these consisted of king prawns in bubbly puffas of โgrated coconut beer batterโ, with pencil shavings of deep fried sweet potato crisp and a mango salsa and green salad.
Our relatively mellow peng gai kao prik (ยฃ3.40) โ aka Bangkok spicy chicken wings, or a ramekin of soft little flappers anointed with a dark red sweet sauce โ guaranteed sticky paws, as if you were scooping jam from the jar.
From the Sides list, we went for cap moo (ยฃ1.60) โ not the head sailor on a cattle boat, but puffy crispy pork skins with more of their unctuous and opaque Ting chilli jam.
In case any taste buds were still hibernating, we also ordered the yam sam krob (ยฃ3.80), which featured two more of those cap moo, as well as prawns studded with chilli seeds, pale strips of tender squid, and a pop of lime juice. To complete the triple prawn whammy, there were a more of these critters curled up on my nua yam talay (ยฃ7.80), or grilled and sliced rump steak topped by a salty Thai spicy talay.
Also from the Other Boxes section was the ped nam pueng (ยฃ6.80), which featured slices of pan seared honey duck breast in a soupy and smoky tamarind broth, as well as bits of frilly edged carrot, pak choi, onion and other bits of vegetation.
We also got some steamy Thai jasmine rice (ยฃ1.60) to share.
If you want carbs to be included, choose from the Rice & Noodle section. There was another pile of jasmine rice with the khao mun gai tod (ยฃ6.80), as well as shallow fried chicken and a sauce that was similar to the talay that came with the rump steak, as well as a minimally dressed ajard salad on the side.
Yep, Iโd say this place is as good as the original. It doesnโt disappoint, like Miss Violet or Miss Scarlet might.
For pudding, we walked to Fountainbridgeโs new plant shop and cafe, Grow Urban (92 Grove Street), where you can drink coffee amongst polka dot begonias and rattlesnake plants.
(I own a lovely prayer plant from here, which has stopped โprayingโ โ ie drawing its leaves up at night โ because itโs given up on life, thanks to my terrible botanical parenting skills).
We hoped for loads of cakes, but there was only one โ the salted caramel brownie (ยฃ3.20), which was being portioned up as we arrived. This has become our best cake of all time, and weโve been back three times since.
Itโs rich and dark, with a fudgy texture on its upper levels and a marbled swirl of salt dusted caramel. I suppose itโs lucky that my frothy Callebaut mocha (ยฃ3.50) was only gently sugary, as even I couldnโt have managed both.
Lovely, so I hope, if it ever chooses to do so, this place will also successfully propagate.
