I was out for lunch last Friday at Joeys with some friends from work.   Joeys is a relatively small restaurant chain where new world cuisine and a charged atmosphere melds with hip comfort. This means a globally diverse yet distinctly North American menu is creatively served in an attractive manner by even more attractive woman – and quite honesty, it works.

One of my colleagues, who happens to be a passionate Irishmen with a solid respect for good beer, recommended a pitcher of Hefeweizen – I gladly accepted.   Joeys serves a selection of house brand beer  that is brewed by none other than Whistler Brewing, better known as KB Brewing.  Once the beer was ordered my choice of food became quite simple, I had no option other than to order the Panang Prawn Curry Bowl.  Proper Hefeweizen has a subtle too strong banana flavour with a hint of cloves.  Although A Red Thai Curry uses neither banana or cloves as  ingredients, the spicy tropical flavour found in most Thai curries seemed to be a natural match with Hefeweizen.

My food was delivered by an attractive woman and was creatively platted with a large banana leaf garnish on the side.  The banana leaf suggested that I had hit a home run with my food and  beer selection.  The fork reached my mouth and in went the Thai curry -  it was delicious, pleasantly sweet with a tropical coconut flavour countered with a spicy finish.  Down went the fork and up went the glass of beer – had I been working at my job for over a month I would have jumped up and down victoriously, the pairing was a success.  I subdued my reaction to a small grin, although in my head I was doing a victory dance, and carried on savoring my lunch.

Those who say Singha and Thai food are a match made in heaven are wrong – sorry, but it is the truth.  If you ever happen to find yourself in a Thai restaurant that serves a well brewed Hefeweizen I highly recommend taking full advantage of this spectacular flavour combination.

Erik