STEPHANIE TYE finds a contender for the title of ‘best Thai in town’

Thai Orchid 133-134 Victoria Road, Swindon. Tel: 01793 480800

Open Mon-Sat, noon to 3pm and 6pm to 11pm, and noon to 5pm on Sundays, serving a traditional roast. Takeaway also available.

EVER since we came back from a holiday to Thailand last year, my boyfriend and I have been on a mission to find the best Thai food in Swindon and the surrounding area.

And Thai Orchid is definitely up there with the best of them.

We visited with two friends on a Wednesday night. We hadn’t booked a table but there was plenty of space, with only a few other diners already seated.

The greeting was warm and our drinks order was taken within minutes of us being seated, while we salivated over the menu.

There was plenty of choice in terms of starters (all priced at around £5.25). Given the sheer number of tempting options – and the fact we were all ravenous – we decided to save time by ordering the Thai Orchid appetiser platter for four (£6.75pp). It features five of their top appetisers – satay chicken, Thai fishcakes, vegetable spring roll, sesame chicken toast, and red wine chicken wings – served with a selection of sauces.

There was one piece of each per person and they were perfectly cooked mouthfuls. For four people we could have done with slightly bigger bowls of sauc, but I’m sure they would have obliged if we had requested more.

Mains courses were also choice overload, with each dish sounding as delicious as the last. We decided on chicken panang (£8), beef with fresh chilli (£8.50), chicken massaman (£8) and prawns with cashew nuts (£9.25).

To accompany the dishes we selected pad thai (£7.75) and two portions of egg fried rice (£3 each).

Other options on the menu include sizzling black pepper lamb (£10.50), sweet and sour chicken (£7.95), duck in black bean sauce (£8.95) and trio fish (£10.50).

There are also a range of vegetarian dishes priced from £7.50.

The prawns’ fishy flesh melted in the mouth, the massaman was ‘absolutely delicious’, the panang was rich and creamy and the beef was incredibly juicy and tender. There wasn’t a single element of the food we could criticise.

The chef has obviously perfected the art of blending the wonderful Thai flavourings ensuring that each comes through and none becomes overpowering. If you want food with a bit of a kick, but that doesn’t blow your head off, then this is the place to go.

The only negative thing I would say about eating at the restaurant is that you are quite cramped – there are a lot of tables in the space available (which goes to prove the popularity, I suppose).

It wasn’t too bad during our visit but I’d imagine it could feel quite claustrophobic if the dining room was full.

Three of us had just enough room left for pudding and took the waitress’s recommendation of Thai custard (£3.95).

It is a set custard dessert made from the juice of the padanus leaf and had a similar texture to bread pudding. The boyfriend wolfed his down in about three spoonfuls and declared it a triumph.

Our total bill, including drinks, came to £110.41 and we left with four very happy, full stomachs.