Stamford Plaza,
22 Albert Street,
Auckland Central
Auckland,
1010

(09) 308 9211

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3 out of 5 stars

With its surprising and brave combination of sweet, sour, and salty, Thai food is one the world's great cuisines and it's a style that's been perfected across many centuries. So when a new restaurant in a flash hotel opens promising "Modern Thai", what does it really mean?

In the case of the new Grasshopper in the Stamford Plaza in Albert St, it's a nod to the culinary experimentation at places like Longrain in Sydney and Melbourne, where the traditional mix of sweet, sour and salty is applied to innovative dishes like stir fried kingfish with ginger green peppercorns and Thai eggplants. Unfortunately at Grasshopper someone has forgotten to tick the box marked 'innovative', and at first glance the menu largely reveals Thai favourites I've come to know and devour from suburban eateries around town.

However I dive into the menu and look forward to be surprised. "Modern Thai" here I come.

It's lunchtime on a Friday, and the stylish and spacious dining room - if size is important to you, Grasshopper is apparently the biggest Thai restaurant in the country - is awash with inner city desk jockeys enjoying one of Grasshopper's 'Quick Lunches' (three courses for $15). I go for the 'Business Lunch' of four courses and a Tiger beer for $30. At night main courses from the a la carte menu approach around the $25 mark, well above my regular suburban haunts.

Service is prompt and my entree of scallops in a peanut nahm jim sauce is alive with zingy, fresh flavours. I'm then allowed to mix and match off the a la carte menu and order a red curry with duck, tomatoes and pineapple. What I'm served omits the tomatoes and adds capsicum and canned lychees instead. It's not unpleasant, but just a little everyday and prosaic in a "ten bucks at the local food hall kind of way". Modern Thai? I think not.

Ironically it's Grasshopper's good value lunch options which are its most attractive point. Sometimes it's nice to not to dine under glowing fluorescent tubes and it's good to have a more leisurely lunch with friends or workmates where the wine list is actually worthy of consideration. Grasshopper scores well on both those points, and it's a buzzy and classier alternative to other Asian eateries in the central city. But if you're seeking an upscale Thai dining experience worthy of the title "Modern Thai" then I recommend you jump on a plane to Sydney or Melbourne.

To paraphrase a saying popular in Thailand.

"Same, same, but not really different.

Just more expensive.