Siam Health – Eat Yourself Young

I was invited to one of Siam Thai’s Health & Nutrition talks in Dundrum during the week. The talk was given by consultant nutritionist Gaye Godkin and entitled Eat Yourself Young. I was intrigued by the title of the talk, what almost 40 year old doesn’t want to feel younger?! Being currently on a journey to make healthier and cleaner choices for the whole family, I felt this talk would be very beneficial. The ticketed event included a glass of prosecco on arrival, 2 course meal and tea and coffee. 

The talk was held in the Candlelight bar which is on the 3rd floor. Just as you step outside the lift you are greeted with this fabulous candle display worthy of the ‘Candlelight’ name of the bar.

The bar is upstairs from the restaurant and is a beautiful space with lots of comfy armchairs quirky lampshades and of course plenty of candles! It would be a lovely place for a romantic meal, I am looking forward to bringing himself at some stage. There are also cocktails at the bar which I’d love to try out when it’s not a school-night. In terms of bringing the family, I will definitely bring the boys to the restaurant part, read on to see why. 

We were greeted with a glass of Prosecco while they set up for the talk. I hadn’t heard of Gaye Godkin prior to the talk, she is a consultant nutritionist, and deals with clients who come to her for all sorts of reasons from weight issues to intolerance to fertility issues. I was very impressed with her common sense approach and her excellent delivery of the topic. She spoke about what we do wrong as a nation in terms of eating and what we should be doing but managed to never come across judgemental or preachy. I found myself giggling at many of her anecdotes. While the talk was entitled ‘Eat yourself young’, the basic premises ring true for eating well for overall health. I took a few key points away from the talk. A very simple but critical issue is that we have no national nutrition plan in Ireland. This is part of why we are constantly bombarded with conflicting and incorrect food advice. We should engage with our food. This seems simple but how often are we eating on the go and not even thinking about what we are putting into our bodies. And the third key point is to eat more plant based proteins. 

Gaye led us through some of the main things we hear about food all the time and advised on whether they are myths or truths.  For example, the Always Eat Breakfast rule is true! And the don’t eat too many eggs is a myth. We are surrounded by so many rules all the time which keep changing that it is no wonder we as a nation eat so badly. I will not try to recreate the talk here but do go to one of her talks if you get a chance! You can also check out some of her podcasts over on her website. 

The menu for the evening was divine. Gaye had worked with the chefs in Siam to create new dishes which embraced all her advice around nutrition. While the talk was going on we received our starters. A little taste of four starters was presented beautifully. They were Dim Sum, Carrot and Papaya Salad, Fresh Spring Rolls and Laab Gai. Everything was crisp fresh, and really delicious. The flavours were exquisite. 

The mains included a range of noodle dishes, seafood, duck, curries, and wok specials. Something for everyone.

With an easy to follow numbered allergen guide at the base of the menu, I soon realised the entire menu was DAIRY FREE! The menu had a number code for each of the 14 allergens and this was clearly laid out at the bottom of the page. As this is a subset of their main evening menu, always check before ordering but it is safe to say that many of their dishes are dairy free. I ordered the ginger prawns from teh wok, and it was divine! I am already dying to go back to order exactly the same dish! Really delicious! 

From speaking with the owners, there will be some new additions to their dessert menus too to make it more healthy and more accessible for those with different eating requirements. At Siam Thai restaurants all their frying is done with coconut oil and they never use monosodiumglutamate (MSG). With their new expanded menu I think there’s more reason than ever to give them a try for a meal out, especially knowing that the dishes are created with a healthy balanced diet in mind. 

I would definitely recommend the talk and dinner if you get a chance to go along to one. Gaye Godkin will be doing more talks at Siam Thai over the next few weeks. 

Disclaimer: I was invited to this event and as usual all opinions are completely my own.