IT’S the age-old problem that faces every global food connoisseur – Chinese or Indian?
When hunger comes a-knocking, there’s just so much to love about both cuisines.
How to choose? The tangy, zingy charms of sweet and sour, or the rich, fiery goodness of a proper curry?
Mercifully, when you just can’t make your mind up, the good people of Thailand have the answer.
With a vast array of meals across the whole spicy spectrum, Thai food really does offer something for everyone.
And if it’s great Thai food you’re after, you can’t get much better than Bhan Thai.
The Rose Street restaurant has staff as friendly as the grub is tasty, and my girlfriend and I were quickly ushered to a beautifully-decorated table with a bowl of crackers waiting for us – just one of the lovely touches that make dining here such a delight.
Carrying on our indecisive theme, we couldn’t quite pick just one main course each so we plumped for the Bhan Phawinee set meal (£21.95 each).
It was the cheapest of the meals on the lengthy menu, but we certainly wouldn’t have been able to guess that as our mountains of food arrived.
First up was the Bhan Thai platter – a large bowl of mixed starters served with three lip-smacking dips.
The mix of juicy chicken satay, Thai fishcakes, sticky honey pork ribs and prawns was wonderfully grease-free and there was just the right amount of food to whet our appetites for what was to come.
The beef with chilli in an oyster sauce was tender beyond belief, with the delicate hint of seafood adding a delicious dimension to the meat.
Not a big fan of red meat, my girlfriend was a lot more interested in the chilli prawns.
Bathing in a hot dark sauce, the big critters packed a pleasantly surprising punch.
The acid test of a Thai restaurant has to be its green curry, and the one that completed our trio of main dishes certainly didn’t disappoint.
Rich and creamy with chilli again to the fore, it was definitely one of the very best I’ve tasted and the mere memory of it is enough to leave the mouth watering.
With jasmine rice and a bowl of noodles to mop up the sauces, and bean sprouts to add a bit of crunch to proceedings, our meal would have comfortably fed three and left us stuffed.
But with so many other dishes still to explore, we’ll definitely be back!