Street food is really popular in most Asian countries as it tends to be cheaper than eating in a restaurant, its casual and most of all its home cooked. There are usually various number of stalls where you can pick up small bites on skewer sticks or in pots whilst exploring the markets. Personally, there isn't a lot of street food in the UK but the market is expanding as we get the occasional food markets every weekend around Manchester but maybe we need something a bit more permanent?
Anyway on to food...
Street style decor - baskets to cover up the sauces underneath it to keep it away from flies
Simple plastic chopsticks in a not so fancy cutlery pot but it goes well with the street food style
Bags of pork scratchings on sale on the tables - 50p for a decent sized bag isn't too bad
No thai dish is complete without fish sauce, dried chilli flakes and more chilli sauce (mmmm)
Drinks:
Thaikhun cocktail - £7.95 A mixture of Chivas Regal, Velvet Falernum, Ginger, Lemongrass, Chilli and Mint topped with Apple Juice and Coconut Gomme. This is not your ordinary sweet cocktail, its a cocktail bursting with three main Thai flavours - chilli, lemongrass and ginger. The first few sips were quite difficult as the chilli kick was quite strong but after that I think I got used to it. A thai packed cocktail :)
Cocoloco Mojito - £7.95 Like your classic mojito but with Rum, Koko Kanu, Coco Lopez, Corriander, Mint and Gomme. As recommended by the waitress this was definitely the favorite and I simply agree! With the creaminess from the coconut it definitely helped calm my tastebuds down from all the chilli I ate. It may may not be as refreshing as a classic mojito but the coconut is a perfect match with chilli Thai food!
Iced Coffee - £2.75 Strong in coffee taste, full of ice and really smooth to drink.
Grape Escape - £4.50 Freshly blended raw grapes, sweet and refreshing but a bit too frothy.
Starters:
Bangkok Street Platter - £5.25pp (2 person portion pictured below) A platter full of four Bangkck classics and favourites served with sweet chilli dip, satay and thai style chilli sauce.
Pork Skewers - the pork was soft, succulent and not dry with a smokey grilled flavor and sweet honey glaze. Minced Prawn and Chicken Wontons - probably my least favorite as it didn't wow me but it was enjoyable. Chicken Skewers - one of my favorite Thai starters of all time. Strong satay flavor and grilled perfectly.Steamed Chicken Balls - I really really enjoyed these chicken balls as it took memories back to eating street food in Thailand.
Poh Tak Talay - Hot and Sour Seafood Soup with lemongrass, chilli, lime leaf, coriander and basil - £5.50
Usually I would go for a Tom Yum soup but I thought I go for a change and I'm glad I did as this soup was full of flavor and was light and delicate to drink. There were a combination of mussels, king prawns, squid and mushrooms; they were quite generous on the portions to be honest. The soup was well balanced with the lemongrass and lime leaf coming through but there was a light chilli kick at the back of the throat too which was warming.
Laab Gai - Hot and Sour Salad with Chicken Mince, Lemon, Roasted Rice, Shallots, Kafir lime leaf, Spring Onion, Ground Chilli and Mint - £8.50
Warning - the chicken mince can be extremely spicy especially for those who can't handle their heat, but the combinations of flavours is so strong it's definitely not an ordinary salad. All in all the components were paired up well, the coolness of the lettuce and cucumber calmed the chilli heat down from the dressing and the raw green beans gave it a crunchy texture.
Main Course:
Pla Pao - Marinated seabass with lemongrass galangal, lime leaves wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled served with a chilli and garlic dip - £14.95
Presented and grilled in a banana leaf is quite impressive as the banana leaves keeps all the moisture in the seabass whilst locking all the flavours in the fish. As you unwrap the fish, the aroma from the lemongrass is strong but also refreshing. The fish was moist, soft and delicately flaking off the chopsticks.
The fish was also deboned perfectly without ruining the presentation of the seabass. The chilli and garlic dip also complimented it well for those who prefer it to be hot - I loved this sauce, I had it somewhere in Bangkok and I can never forget it. Now I'm glad I can get my chilli sauce fix somewhere closer to home.
Massaman Gai - Curry with cinnamon and star anise cooked with chicken, potatoes, onion and cashew nuts served with Jasmine rice - £8.95
A nutty and slightly mild curry, my partner really enjoyed it as he doesn't really cope with heat well. The nutty flavor was well balanced with the hint of chilli and cinnamon and there was a good amount of chicken to potatoes and onions.
Phad Thai - A classic chicken flat noodle stir fry dish with egg and bean sprouts tossed with Kim's mum's secret sauce - £8.95
A sweet, tangy and well cooked phad thai - the noodles were cooked and stir fried perfectly and was not too soft. The sauce was actually incredible with a good balance of sweet and sour which was not too over powering as you could still taste the smokey ness of the wok.
All in all I really enjoyed my meal at Thaikhun and most of the dishes took me back (well my mind back) to Thailand. The portions were quite reasonable for the price and the amount of ingredients for each dish was quite generous also. I would definitely be returning to try out more mouth watering dishes! Maybe next time I make it to dessert as well :) and seriously why isn't mango sticky rice on the menu?I would definitely recommend Thaikhun for Thai lovers or even newbies as there is a range of flavoursome dishes suitable for everyone. The staff and service was also incredible, the waitress was attentive and helped recommend on food as well as drinks.
Have you tried Thaikhun?
C x
