Renowned restaurateur Terry Laybourne has teamed up with one of his head chefs to launch a new style, specialist Asian restaurant in Newcastle.
The restaurant – to be called Ko Sai – is the latest within Terry’s expanding 21 Hospitality Group and the second he will be operating within Fenwick’s multi-million pound new-look Food Hall.
Ko Sai is a joint venture between Terry and Thai-born award-winning head chef Parichat Somsri-Kirby, who has worked at Café 21 Fenwick since it opened in 2006.
Pla, as she is better known by many, has worked alongside Terry since 2000 and has always had a dream of one day running her own restaurant, particularly one focussed on Pan-Asian food flavours inspired by the South East Asian street food she grew up with.
The noodle-bar will offer fast, casual dining. The food will be big on flavour, fresh and healthy. The menu will be flexible, offering finger food snacks along with steaming noodles and meals that can be washed down with a craft beer, glass of wine or a fresh juice. A house beer, Ko Sai, is being developed in conjunction with Wylam Brewery.
The menu will feature some of the favourite flavours found in Cambodia, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Korea – including fragrant ingredients such as lemongrass, ginger, coriander and kaffir lime along with coconut. Dishes will include soup noodles, stir fry and curries, steamed buns and fresh flavoured Thai and Vietnamese style salads.
Plates will be served to around 40 counter-seated customers. Elsewhere within the Fenwick Food Hall, a selection of Ko Sai dishes will be available for take away from the Delicatessen counter.
Recruitment is now underway – for a sous chef, a chef de partie along with servers. Pla, head chef and co-owner, said: “We’re looking for bright, enthusiastic people. They must have a passion to learn about authentic Asian cooking, for delivering good service and be able to live up to the high tempo of a noodle bar.
“We’ll be serving food inspired by genuine Asian street food and recipes my mother made on the family rice farm in Thailand.”
Job details can be found by visiting http://www.21hospitality.co.uk/careers/
Ko-Sai – opening in early October – will be open seven days a week, 11am to 7pm.