Cairns business: butterfly flower the secret ingredient in startling Thai starter

A remarkable flower long used in colourful cocktails has a starring role on the menu at a new northern beaches restaurant.

VETERAN chef Joe Nimnual sought a sea-change with his wife and the couple quietly opened their new restaurant – Yada – at Trinity Beach this week.

Mr Nimnual has more than 20 years as a Sydney chef including a stint with Sheraton on the Park – but he moved north with wife Eye Taveesuk to help care for his elderly parents.

Co-owner of Yada Thai restaurant Eye Taveesuk serves a platter of the violet dumplings. Picture: Brendan Radke

A big hit on an authentic menu is violet dumplings – beautifully presented bright purple morsels shaped like flowers.

“We use the butterfly pea flower, put in boiling water, for the purple colour,” Ms Taveesuk explained.

“The dumplings have peanut, sweet radish and shiitake,” she said.

“It is challenging opening a new restaurant as we are new to Cairns and our food is quite different.”

Yada Thai restaurant has just opened at Trinity Beach, with the three piece violet dumplings, originally created with special ingredients for the Thai royal family, proving popular with diners. Picture: Brendan Radke

The menu features items such as Yada duck pancakes, blue swimmer crab in an aromatic yellow curry sauce, and pipi clams with Thai chilli jam sauce and sweet basil.

A signature dish is crispy pork belly with chilli jam sauce.

Originally published as Cairns business: butterfly flower the secret ingredient in startling Thai starter