I don’t think I’m used to the way restaurants are set up in the UK. In Nigeria, there’s usually parking and/or a gate (the property might be fenced) in front of the establishment. In the UK, you might be walking into an office building and voila, Restaurant X is on Floor Y of the building.

Chaophraya was the choice for lunch after running some errands. As soon as you enter, you feel like you’re in a different place; there is a dimly lit foyer with two flights of stairs leading you to the restaurant. On the other side of the restaurant floor is a bar which I assume would be a good place to wait for your table or grab drinks with friends. We hadn’t made any reservations but we were able to get tables. A little warning for us though: the tables would be needed in the evening. We planned to be done eating before then.

We weren’t at the restaurant during rush hour as there were only a few people, mostly couples, seated. You would definitely recognize the rush hour crowd in their suits and formal clothes.

After some time, we made our orders of veggie spring rolls, stir fried prawns with sticky rice and seafood medley with rice. I don’t remember now how long it took for our main meals to arrive but by then, the veggie spring rolls had been devoured.

The spring rolls were very fresh; the lemongrass was fragrant and not overwhelming and the spring rolls were themselves very nicely presented. L was very hungry and if I’m not mistaken, started to eat the decorations on the plate. 😀  They were served with a sweet chilli sauce which I could have done without.

The sticky rice was very soft and flavorful but not as I had expected (a fragrant Jasmine rice taste). It was also, you guessed it, sticky. The stir fried prawns were nicely prepared. The ginger wasn’t over powering although I would have preferred a stronger taste.

The seafood medley was surprisingly lovely and would be a good candidate if I ever visit again. Good choice L.

For dessert, we decided to try something Asian: Deep Fried Ice -cream. L couldn’t get over how ice cream could be deep fried. I went to school in Asia so I knew about it. I had seen fried ice-cream before, but never tasted it, so I knew it wouldn’t be melted. Ours was chocolate and coconut ice-cream covered in Panko bread crumbs and deep fried.

The bread crumbs gave the dessert a nice and lovely crunch. It’s not your usual dessert and I will definitely encourage people to try it.

Chaophraya served us some quality Thai food and I would definitely recommend it to you. They have several locations in the UK so check out their website for the one closest to you.

Feeling adventurous and want to surprise your family with a different kind of dessert? Try this recipe and let me know how it goes!