There”s a definite buzz around Spinningfields at the moment, with new places seemingly opening their doors every week. None more lively than Thaikhun, a Bangkok street food themed joint, and sister restaurant to popular Chaophraya, it”s proving to be quite the young upstart.
Stepping inside there”s a pretty laid back atmosphere, in places it”s got that feel of a backpacker bar, just a bit more cool. No Polaroids of drunken Australians anywhere to be seen, in their place vintage Thai movie posters and weird memorabilia. I think any comparisons to Khaosan road probably do Thaikhun a disservice, and that would include both the decor and food from my experience.
Before getting stuck in to the Chang beers in true backpacker style then, we sampled a couple of cocktails. The cocoloco mojito, a Thaikhun twist on a classic was definitely potent but palatable too with the addition of coconut rum and coconut cream as well as coriander to complement the mint. A gin cooler also hit the spot, refreshing, with cucumber and apple juice joining the mix.
The Bangkok street platter is made up of grilled chicken and pork skewers, minced prawn and chicken wontons, steamed chicken balls on online casino a skewer and selection of street style dips. The skewers are the best for me, tasty succulent meat, but it’s all good. The table also comes adorned with hot sauce and chilli flakes, for those who like their flavours even more fiery.
I then chose to go for a salad in the form of som tum grob. It’s deep fried raw papaya and ginger, served alongside a bowl of seafood tossed in a palm sugar and fish sauce dressing that you then pour atop the battered papaya and ginger. The result is quite something, crispy deep fried textures and salty seafood it’s deliciously dynamic.
Poh tak talay is a classic hot and sour seafood soup and a very good rendition at that, super spicy and not for the faint-hearted. Incorporating chilli, lime leaf, coriander, lemongrass and basil though there’s a lovely depth of aromas.
We were being pretty greedy in all honesty so also sampled the king prawns stir fried in a garlic and pepper sauce which was really great.
We were being pretty greedy in all honesty so also sampled the king prawns stir fried in a garlic and pepper sauce which was really great. Juicy prawns in the sort of tangy sauce you wish you could bottle and take with you. The nua yang, grilled beef steak was slightly over for my liking but came with a cracking black pepper sauce.
Thai cuisine probably isn’t best known for its desserts, but then they do make a good pancake over in South East Asia, and these were nice, served up with a Thai style custard. For me though it was banana fritters, always going to be a bit of a crowd pleaser these were nothing but, slightly savoury crispy batter surrounding tender banana and a dollop of ice cream on the side.
Street food has been a bit of a buzz word for a few years now, but in Thailand it’s been a way of life a lot longer than that. It was really good to sample some dishes you might not normally choose from a Thai place, we didn’t even try the curry, which surely warrants a return trip alone. There’s plenty to recommend on the menu and you’d be hard pushed to find much better value in town, Thaikhun might just have a monopoly on their hands.
