satay

tom yum soup

thai pancakes

When Sarah invited me to Chaophraya near the Bullring in Birmingham, I wasn’t too excited because I thought it was a buffet. But when I got there it soon became apparent that we were going A la Carte. I love sea food tom yum soup so I went for it while Sarah had the satay. My soup was not as hot and spicey as I expected it to be but Sarah seems very happy with her satay. I am used to the searing aromatic heat of tom yum as a clear soup but this seems to be closer to the consistency of a French bouillabaise. It was goodbut not what I expect a tom yum to be.

For the main course I had a seafood stir fried udon dish while my companion had a massaman lamb curry. My noodle dish was fine, the seafood was not overcooked, the noodles had just the right amount of sauce and was just plentiful enough to leave me in a happy mood. Sarah was satisfied with her curry and we had just enough room to share the dessert of Thai pancakes.

Now the dessert, that was what hit a high note for me. It brought me back to the days of high tea favourites – it was pandan flavoured, there was coconut, there was mango and sticky rice. Yum! I ‘d go back for that.

And on another note, there was a birthday party there while we were there and there was some serious drumming/ gong (?) and clapping. Very noisy.

Chaophraya Birmingham Spiceal Street, Bullring, Birmingham, B5 4BH, accessible restaurant