What's on the menu?

What's on the menu?

Sunday 27 December 2015

Taste Testing the Fox and Hounds, Blidworth

Sometimes you've worked up an appetite and simply can't stomach cooking at home. That's what happened for us today after heading out cycling. A cold and rather damp morning and a lack of wanting to stay at home lead to us saying "Lets go out for some Sunday lunch".

The toughest question was where to go. Usually at the spur of the moment we'll head up to the Woodthorpe Top, a JD Wetherspoon pub but one we've pretty much over indulged over the last year. We wanted a good hearty meal so the Fox and Hounds at Blidworth suddenly became a good idea as from experience their food is good and their portion size enough to satisfy even the hungriest of cyclists appetite on a Sunday afternoon.

On a dull, damp Sunday between Christmas and New Year we made our way the short journey North to Blidworth Bottoms to what must be one of Nottinghamshire's most isolated pubs. The pub itself is always somewhere you get a warm welcome and we've been happy to go back time and again over the years,

The Fox and Hounds at Blidworth Bottoms, Nottinghamshire
We've been visiting the Fox and Hounds for a good number of years although surprisingly haven't actually put together a review for the blog. Sometimes at takes a rainy Sunday afternoon trip for us to highlight what we like about a place as not everywhere we go gets onto the blog.

Monday 14 December 2015

Visiting Thaikun Part 2- The Food Review

The Victoria Centre has changed quite dramatically over the last few months with the refurbishment and regeneration of the area around the old Clock Tower. What used to be Vision express, Farmfoods and a number of less glamorous retail units have been replaced by many impressive eateries. Thaikun has moved in upstairs directly above the entrance to the new Intu Victoria Centre in what appears to be a promising development of the centre as somewhere for more than just a visit to the shops.

We previously visited for their opening VIP party and were impressed with an ambience that brings the hustle, bustle and street food culture to Nottingham. So much so we were more than happy to accept an invite to return for a review. Thaikun has the atmosphere and decor of Khaosan Road in Bangkok, a kind of mixture of lively and yet laid back, and perhaps appealing to a crowd for whom the meal will feature as part of a longer night out or day than those who are simply just going out for a meal.

Thaikun Thai Restaurant Nottingham


Sukumvit 38 Platter at Thaikun


The Starters


Our Main Meals at Thaikun
Bringing something very different to the Victoria centre, Thaikun offers adventurous diners the opportunity to sample something a little more unique. Whether it's a meal with friends before a night on the town or simply refuelling ready to hit yet more shops.

Mark and myself decided to go with the Sukumvit 38 Platter.(£7.50 per person, minimum 2 people)

Mark: "This is a combo platter with four rather tasty morsels for us to try, Salt and Pepper squid, fish cakes, Chicken spring rolls, Honey pork.

2 of these dishes we tasted previously – chicken Spring rolls and the honey pork. Just as tasty and Moorish as they were the first time I tried them! You could serve them in a big bag like popcorn at the cinema for me. 

The fish cakes were unlike what I had envisioned – small and almost balls, red in colour with a nice spicy taste with herbs. At a risk of being a bit repetitive but they were really tasty and quite Moorish! Full of flavor these were unlike any fish cakes I have had before. Very tasty!

The Sukumvit 38 Platter at Thaikun

Next on the platter is the salt and pepper squid, we all know the bad Calamari strips you can get that have the taste and consistency of an elastic band.  These were nothing like that; tender and subtle flavor moist and tasty and if you are the one person who hasn’t had squid before then here is a good place to see what they are like.

All this was served on a raised up wooden board presumably because tables in restaurants’ are not the most spacious of places so in that sense it works as a unique and practical way to serve multiple starters."

For me the highlight of the starter was the squid. Beautifully soft so it almost melted in your mouth as you ate. Lovely with a dip of the chili sauce accompaniment. 

Liam opted for the Fresh Tofu Rolls (Por Pia Sod Tofu, £5.95)

The Fresh Tofu Rolls
Liam "The rolls could possibly be enough for two people. The mint is the first flavour which hits you, leaving a very fresh impression on your palate. There's lots going on with plenty of shredded carrot, lettuce, coriander and basil to hit your senses, I have also tried the Sweet Corn Cakes which provide a lighter starter if that is your preference."


Our Main Meals at Thaikun


For our Main Meals we opted for the classic vegetable Thai Green Curry (£8.95) Panang Goong, a creamy red curry (£12.95) and the Pla Pao- a sea bass fillet filled with lemongrass. galangal and lime leaves served in a banana leaf (£16.25) served with a portion of Coconut Rice (£3.25)

Liam "Our mains followed on swiftly from the starters.  For those of you who have eaten Thai before, you are no doubt aware that a Thai Curry uses coconut milk as the main constituent of the sauce which gives it more of a soup consistency than an Indian Curry.  The Thais also like their chillies, using them not just as a spice but serving them sliced in the curry itself.  All their curries come with Jasmine rice as standard and the dish did not disappoint.  The blend of heat, flavour and a hint of sweetness is what makes a Thai curry the dish it is, all of which were present here.  If anything, it perhaps could have been just a touch hotter with the spice, although I would urge caution with making any such request as the Thais tend to prepare their food much hotter and spicier and probably temper it a little to the tastes of Europeans like ourselves.  If you ask for it a little hotter, you may end up being surprised by the results"

The Thai Green Curry which came with Jasmine Rice

Mark (who's not usually someone to go spicy opted for the Panang Goong which didn't have a chili scale showing hotness on the menu. 

"Large, juicy, King prawns cooked in a creamy red curry sauce with Jasmine rice. This was a spicy dish with rough chopped chili’s and green beans. This was one of those dishes that builds in temperature as you eat, a very tasty and flavoursome dish that gives you a great taste of authentic Thai cooking- I loved it – even if on balance it was a challenge for me on the chili side of things, but then I am a bit of a wimp on the hot curry scale.  The inclusion of the fragrant Jasmine rice served slightly sticky made a great accompaniment to the curry which had a reasonable amount of sauce but not so much as to drown the prawns. The mixture of spices and the herbs bringing the dish to a great flavor. Though the dishes used to serve the food were not overly large, I was left feeling that I had eaten enough – except for the desert to come! (we all know that goes in to the desert stomach not the main one!!)

The Panang Goong at Thaikun

My choice was the sea bass fillet. This was beautifully cooked in a banana leaf. Having never actually had anything cooked this way previously I had to ask the question "Can you eat the banana leaf?". I little bit of running round by the waitress and we now both know the leaf isn't for eating.

The sea bass, whilst cooked over charcoal was so soft it could almost have been steamed. I loved the additional elements of the lime leaves and galangal at first but over time the galangal did get to be rather harsh on the palate. It may have been that it's something I'm not used to but it does have quite an overpowering element to me.

The Pla Pao- Seabass fillet cooked in a banana leaf thai style
I complimented the sea bass with a bowl of coconut rice. I was rather surprised that at such a price the sea bass doesn't come with a portion of rice as fish and a small amount of salad is not going to satisfy many people. I'd certainly like to see it offered with rice as standard. 


Desserts at Thaikun


When you think of pancakes you generally think of Shrove Tuesday with nice big golden round discs around 5 mm thick drizzled with whatever your topping of choice is. The pancakes at Thaikun certainly didn't quite meet up to our usual expectation in a very different way.

Mark "So what do you get when ordering the Pancake Sankaya (£5.95)? Well for a start its green, I mean really green! And the custard is green as well! Normally they come with vanilla ice cream however they had run out as a very apologetic member of staff advised so what would I like instead? Well coconut of course!- the pancake was on one  side with ice-cream on a slice of orange – a very attractive looking dish.

Mark's Pancake Sankaya


In terms of taste it was quite different to anything I have had before the pancake looked half cooked but that is judging by how we do pancakes! So it was almost certainly cooked correctly and the custard was a good custard consistency. As for taste it was very subtle to me and difficult to determine any particular flavors. On its own I am not sure I would have this again as the flavors were not that bold, unlike the other dishes of the night. The coconut ice-cream in contrast was full of flavor and tasty, not to sweet but clearly made with shredded coconut and on balance I think worked better with the pancakes than the vanilla would have.  I did grab a taste of the mango sorbet that my friend had with his desert, this was Really good! A strong flavor that cut the palate like a sharp knife, this was tangy and refreshing I would almost advise having one between courses to cleanse your taste buds in preparation for the next course!"

As a contrast I opted for the Khao Niew Moon Pancake (£5.95), a Pandan pancake made using a south-east Asian leaf which sends the pancakes green due to it's chlorophyll content. The pandan leaf adds flavouring although the pancake itself had the consistency of a fine sheet of cake icing.


Khao Niew Moon Pancake (£5.95)



The pancake wrapped a portion of sticky rice which was flanked by a beautifully refreshing mango sorbet which to me worked will to add extra flavour to the pancake. Without the mango sorbet the dish would have been a little on the bland side but it was subsequently transformed as a result into a very nice dessert.

One of the best things we noted of Thaikun were the staff. Extremely friendly and seemingly forever smiling without it seeming forced. It seems that Thaikun appears a nice place to work. The staff were attentive and informative as well as being a real pleasure to deal with. 


The amazing staff at Thaikun
Thaikun
Unit R7Victoria Shopping CentreUpper MallZone DNottinghamNG1 3QN

For more info visit http://thaikhun.co.uk/and book your table online




Thursday 3 December 2015

VIP Opening Night at Thaikhun

Nottingham has had an influx of new Thai restaurants with two opening in the last couple of weeks. Having visited Zaap we sent Mark to visit Thaikhun, which forms part of the new food development within the Intu Victoria Centre.


The intriguing decor of Thaikhun, Thai Restaurant Nottingham


Mark's VIP Night at Thaikhun


On Wednesday 25th November saw the VIP launch of a new Thai restaurant in Nottingham, The Thaikhun. Situated in the newly refurbished Victoria centre by the old clock tower with easy access to the restaurant from lift or escalator taking you practically to their front door!

Thaikhun Nottingham- Upstairs in the Intu Victoria Centre
On arriving I am greeted by the staff and the organiser with a traditional Thai greeting. The decor is styled on eateries in Thailand even to the extent of importing everything that is used in the decorations.  Due to this kind of detail the ambiance leads you to almost believe you are actually in Thailand on one of the streets famous for its street food-which is the aim of this restaurant.

The restaurant has a wide range of seating on split-levels – I was advised by the host  that this is unusual as they usually have a single level. However this floor plan creates little dining areas that if you want are much more intimate and private for that romantic date! If you want that sort of thing! Along with a lower area that can be a private dining area or hire for parties and is a bit more secluded.

Down one side is the kitchen area, an island bar and lastly an out side area that will have great sun coverage in the summer- assuming we get any that is!.  All in all it is a casual looking restaurant centred on the street food style of Thailand. Having received their  “Monks Blessing” that day meaning they were set to open, So I was advised they don’t open properly until they have been blessed!