The Irish food scene has undergone something of a taste revolution, now a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. Travel and immigration have brought distinct new flavours to our little island, and even broadened the tastebuds of all of us living here. Simply walk along any row of restaurants or peruse any line of supermarket shelves: the promise of Asian, African and South American cooking lingers.
In what has become a mosaic of international cuisine, Thai and Vietnamese food is a standout.
The aromatic lightness of lemongrass and rich creaminess of coconut milk possess a universal appeal and, as Paul Cadden, managing director of Saba and Saba To Go argues – it’s simply hard not to like.
“The great thing about Thai and Vietnamese food is it brings in all the different flavours: sweet, sour, salty, spicy. All those flavours are very complex,” says Paul.
Saba represents a new generation of Irish restaurants, located in three different spots across Dublin and Kildare: South William Street, Baggot Street and Kildare Village. Paul also represents a new generation from his parents, who formerly owned Asgard The Bar & Restaurant on the quays in Westport, Co Mayo for 20 years. A fiery green curry could not be more different from the mussels in white wine that Paul was helping his parents to make in the kitchen, along with his two younger brothers.
Still, having grown up around food and in the kitchen, it seems only logical that Paul would end up in the same industry. “Me and my brothers learned our trade there,” Paul says, “and the three of us went on to do hotel management. My brother Mark has a place in Castlebar called Bar One which has won many awards. Then Alan is with me in Saba, and he runs the operations of the business,” says Paul.
A team of Thai chefs have been employed at Saba from its beginnings in 2006. “Chef Yo is our executive group chef and he has been with us for 19 years. He is based in Saba Baggot Street,” says Paul. “Chef Paek is also with us 19 years and is head chef of Saba South William Street.”
Simple Better Thai Yellow Curry Paste.
Simple Better Thai Coconut Milk. \ Claire Nash
Fresh ingredients
Back when Saba started in the early to mid-2000s, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine was far less mainstream than it is now. “Over the years, there’s been more international travel,” Paul explains.
“People have been trying new cuisines – you take backpackers, people going to Australia and doing a tour of Thailand and Vietnam – they come back and they know the dishes and often they’ve done cookery classes abroad.
“If you look at social media, Instagram or TikTok, there are influencers and chefs cooking Thai cuisine all the time. Now everybody’s doing it.
“I don’t think there’s any international chef that doesn’t use some form of Thai curry paste.”
With more and more TV chefs and online recipes showing how to whip up Southeast Asian dishes in your Irish country kitchen, Saba wanted to introduce the right products to match.
In January 2023, Saba began working with Simply Better to develop a suite of Thai pastes, Simmer sauces and Wok sauces, all made directly in Thailand with fresh ingredients. These products are designed to make Thai cooking more accessible and versatile, while also serving their customer base who live outside Dublin and Kildare but still adore this type of cooking. “We get questions all the time from customers saying: how do I get your sauces in Cork? Now we can tell them it’s there in store, and you can try it.”
A full range of green, yellow, red and tamarind pastes, all with different levels of spiciness, launched on the shelves in May 2024, alongside condiments, including Thai Coconut Milk and Thai Palm Sugar. It’s everything you need to cook at home.
Reflecting on what it was like bringing the retail products to life, Paul says: “the team at Simply Better were brilliant to work with. They brought us in under their wing, and guided us through the process. Bringing a product to retail is a difficult journey, but it was really exciting journey and a new experience for the Saba team.
“Thankfully Simply Better had the same objective as us: delivering a high-quality product and delicious sauces to a restaurant standard. We’re delighted to be able to bring it to people’s homes so they could cook it and make themselves.”
All the sauces are made in Thailand and shipped to Ireland. Coconut milk, lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaf, galangal, chillies: you name it, it’s all from fields in Thailand.
Paul has been out in Thailand to visit the farmers who grow the ingredients and manufacture the pastes.
“I’ve met the farmers and I brought some of the jars with me to the farms, and they were absolutely delighted. Some of them would be small farmers, growing coriander, basil leaf and lemongrass, and then for them to see they’re part of a bigger story, they’re obviously delighted.”
Paul Cadden, Founder of Saba Restaurant pictured with his Simply Better range. \ Claire Nash
Pairing pastes
One of the advantages of Southeast Asian cooking, Paul explains, in contrast to other cuisines is that it is fresh and flavoursome because it can be done very fast. “You can grill stuff in the barbecue, especially at this time of year, and serve with salads. You can do chicken and marinade them in some of the pastes and then grill them and serve them with salad. You’ve got all those fresh herbs, lime, lemongrass vegetables, and it’s lighter, it’s healthier. The fresh herbs all keep their flavour, and they’re very adaptable as well.”
Paul recommends pairing the pastes with Irish ingredients – Irish beef, lamb and seafood – just as they do in Saba.
“In the restaurant, we have authentic recipes and showcase Irish produce,” says Paul. “I think that’s what makes it so popular. It’s still exotic but it’s also comforting.
“There’s nothing like a bowl of curry. It’s very healthy and rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. It’s naturally gluten free, which can be difficult to get, and it’s dairy free because coconut milk is vegan. It just gives people choice.
“In the restaurant, we find that people come in and go for your full Irish Angus ribeye, or you can go for a stir fry, noodles or a salad. It just gives people endless choice when they’re dining out.”
The Wok sauces that Saba have produced with Simply Better also take the pressure away from cooking, Paul explains. “If you’re cooking Asian at home yourself and you find a recipe to make the sauce, it can be five or six ingredients. We have an Original Wok Sauce and a Phad Thai Wok Sauce out with Simply Better and these can be used for stir fry noodles or soups to give rich, savoury notes. Phad Thai is one of the number one dishes in Thailand, everybody knows it.
“The great thing about them is you can thinly slice fresh chicken, blanch your vegetables and just add the sauce as it cooks. So, it cooks really quickly.”
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Saba, and the restaurant group-turned-takeaway-turned-retail brand has many achievements over the past two decades to remember.
“It’s fantastic,” Paul smiles. “You know, the hospitality and restaurant business is a tough industry. So, we’ll definitely be celebrating 20 years.”
Scan the QR code to make Neven Maguire’s Simply Better Thai Steak Crispy Rice Salad.
The Irish food scene has undergone something of a taste revolution, now a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. Travel and immigration have brought distinct new flavours to our little island, and even broadened the tastebuds of all of us living here. Simply walk along any row of restaurants or peruse any line of supermarket shelves: the promise of Asian, African and South American cooking lingers.
In what has become a mosaic of international cuisine, Thai and Vietnamese food is a standout.
The aromatic lightness of lemongrass and rich creaminess of coconut milk possess a universal appeal and, as Paul Cadden, managing director of Saba and Saba To Go argues – it’s simply hard not to like.
“The great thing about Thai and Vietnamese food is it brings in all the different flavours: sweet, sour, salty, spicy. All those flavours are very complex,” says Paul.
Saba represents a new generation of Irish restaurants, located in three different spots across Dublin and Kildare: South William Street, Baggot Street and Kildare Village. Paul also represents a new generation from his parents, who formerly owned Asgard The Bar & Restaurant on the quays in Westport, Co Mayo for 20 years. A fiery green curry could not be more different from the mussels in white wine that Paul was helping his parents to make in the kitchen, along with his two younger brothers.
Still, having grown up around food and in the kitchen, it seems only logical that Paul would end up in the same industry. “Me and my brothers learned our trade there,” Paul says, “and the three of us went on to do hotel management. My brother Mark has a place in Castlebar called Bar One which has won many awards. Then Alan is with me in Saba, and he runs the operations of the business,” says Paul.
A team of Thai chefs have been employed at Saba from its beginnings in 2006. “Chef Yo is our executive group chef and he has been with us for 19 years. He is based in Saba Baggot Street,” says Paul. “Chef Paek is also with us 19 years and is head chef of Saba South William Street.”
Simple Better Thai Yellow Curry Paste.
Simple Better Thai Coconut Milk. \ Claire Nash
Fresh ingredients
Back when Saba started in the early to mid-2000s, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine was far less mainstream than it is now. “Over the years, there’s been more international travel,” Paul explains.
“People have been trying new cuisines – you take backpackers, people going to Australia and doing a tour of Thailand and Vietnam – they come back and they know the dishes and often they’ve done cookery classes abroad.
“If you look at social media, Instagram or TikTok, there are influencers and chefs cooking Thai cuisine all the time. Now everybody’s doing it.
“I don’t think there’s any international chef that doesn’t use some form of Thai curry paste.”
With more and more TV chefs and online recipes showing how to whip up Southeast Asian dishes in your Irish country kitchen, Saba wanted to introduce the right products to match.
In January 2023, Saba began working with Simply Better to develop a suite of Thai pastes, Simmer sauces and Wok sauces, all made directly in Thailand with fresh ingredients. These products are designed to make Thai cooking more accessible and versatile, while also serving their customer base who live outside Dublin and Kildare but still adore this type of cooking. “We get questions all the time from customers saying: how do I get your sauces in Cork? Now we can tell them it’s there in store, and you can try it.”
A full range of green, yellow, red and tamarind pastes, all with different levels of spiciness, launched on the shelves in May 2024, alongside condiments, including Thai Coconut Milk and Thai Palm Sugar. It’s everything you need to cook at home.
Reflecting on what it was like bringing the retail products to life, Paul says: “the team at Simply Better were brilliant to work with. They brought us in under their wing, and guided us through the process. Bringing a product to retail is a difficult journey, but it was really exciting journey and a new experience for the Saba team.
“Thankfully Simply Better had the same objective as us: delivering a high-quality product and delicious sauces to a restaurant standard. We’re delighted to be able to bring it to people’s homes so they could cook it and make themselves.”
All the sauces are made in Thailand and shipped to Ireland. Coconut milk, lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaf, galangal, chillies: you name it, it’s all from fields in Thailand.
Paul has been out in Thailand to visit the farmers who grow the ingredients and manufacture the pastes.
“I’ve met the farmers and I brought some of the jars with me to the farms, and they were absolutely delighted. Some of them would be small farmers, growing coriander, basil leaf and lemongrass, and then for them to see they’re part of a bigger story, they’re obviously delighted.”
Paul Cadden, Founder of Saba Restaurant pictured with his Simply Better range. \ Claire Nash
Pairing pastes
One of the advantages of Southeast Asian cooking, Paul explains, in contrast to other cuisines is that it is fresh and flavoursome because it can be done very fast. “You can grill stuff in the barbecue, especially at this time of year, and serve with salads. You can do chicken and marinade them in some of the pastes and then grill them and serve them with salad. You’ve got all those fresh herbs, lime, lemongrass vegetables, and it’s lighter, it’s healthier. The fresh herbs all keep their flavour, and they’re very adaptable as well.”
Paul recommends pairing the pastes with Irish ingredients – Irish beef, lamb and seafood – just as they do in Saba.
“In the restaurant, we have authentic recipes and showcase Irish produce,” says Paul. “I think that’s what makes it so popular. It’s still exotic but it’s also comforting.
“There’s nothing like a bowl of curry. It’s very healthy and rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. It’s naturally gluten free, which can be difficult to get, and it’s dairy free because coconut milk is vegan. It just gives people choice.
“In the restaurant, we find that people come in and go for your full Irish Angus ribeye, or you can go for a stir fry, noodles or a salad. It just gives people endless choice when they’re dining out.”
The Wok sauces that Saba have produced with Simply Better also take the pressure away from cooking, Paul explains. “If you’re cooking Asian at home yourself and you find a recipe to make the sauce, it can be five or six ingredients. We have an Original Wok Sauce and a Phad Thai Wok Sauce out with Simply Better and these can be used for stir fry noodles or soups to give rich, savoury notes. Phad Thai is one of the number one dishes in Thailand, everybody knows it.
“The great thing about them is you can thinly slice fresh chicken, blanch your vegetables and just add the sauce as it cooks. So, it cooks really quickly.”
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Saba, and the restaurant group-turned-takeaway-turned-retail brand has many achievements over the past two decades to remember.
“It’s fantastic,” Paul smiles. “You know, the hospitality and restaurant business is a tough industry. So, we’ll definitely be celebrating 20 years.”
Scan the QR code to make Neven Maguire’s Simply Better Thai Steak Crispy Rice Salad.
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