Wednesday 15 June 2016

Father's Day Menu Launch and Thai Cookery Class at Chaophraya

What comes to mind when you think of a Father's Day meal? Is it a Sunday Roast, pub grub, or maybe a steak. Thai food may not be your first answer, but why not?

Chaophraya Thai has launched a special menu to enjoy on Father's Day. For £14.95 per person, there's a choice of a starter, main meal and a bottle of Singha or Chang beer included in the price.


I was invited along with a group of Birmingham bloggers to try my hand at a traditional Thai dish and taste test the menu.

Making our way up to the first floor of the restaurant, a space which can be used for special events, private dining and in our case, for masterclasses, we started off by making a Strawberry Mojito.


Not traditionally Thai, you may say, but Chaophraya has an extensive cocktail menu, and I was all too happy to rustle up this particular creation. Refreshing and sweet, I made mine with just a touch much sugar than necessary to satisfy my cravings.


Next, we were able to tuck into a selection of starters from the Father's Day menu, including Chicken Satay, Chicken Tom-Kha and Vegetable Spring Rolls. Although I didn't sample the Chicken Satay as it's not gluten free, I did instead sample the Chicken Tom-Kha. Unusually, I had never tried this dish, and was surprised at the rich, creamy flavours of this coconut based soup. Complete with a piece of young coconut, straw mushrooms and the subtle flavours of galangal, lemongrass and chilli, I would happily order this again.







The final option wasn't delivered to the table, however, and for this one we grabbed a partner, headed to a cooking station and rustled up our very own Spring Rolls. Firstly chopping then cooking the filling mixture, we then filled and rolled our spring rolls before frying them until golden brown. Although I sadly couldn't eat my spring rolls, they looked pretty good!


Thai Red Prawn Curry, Panang Beef Curry, Tofu and Pineapple Curry

After all the hard work of cooking, we were then able to tuck into the main courses, which came served in adorable boat shaped bamboo plates for us to sample. The main course selection includes Panang Beef Curry, Massaman Lamb Curry, Thai Green Chicken Curry, Tofu and Pineapple Curry and Thai Red Prawn Curry. I was served a full sized portion of Thai Green Curry as this was the only gluten free option from the selection, but as I can tolerate soy sauce, I did also try small portions of the other dishes.

Thai Green Curry

As it happens, my favourite dish was the Thai Green Curry. Large pieces of chicken had been simmered in coconut milk with courgettes and aubergine, and topped off with basil and chillies. This dish to me is Thai comfort food, and served with a helping of Jasmine Rice to mop up all the great flavours in the sauce, makes a sublime dish.

Thai Red Prawn Curry

My favourites of the tasters was definitely the Thai Red Prawn Curry. The prawns were huge, juicy, and tender, and the sauce was creamy and full of flavour, balanced out in favour of sweet with some sour lime notes. The sauce was the best Thai Red Curry I've tried anywhere.

Massaman Lamb Curry

Panang Beef Curry

Tofu and Pineapple Curry

A big thank you to the team at Chaophraya for hosting such an enjoyable masterclass. If you haven't already booked for Father's Day then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it; you could even book your dad in for the Cooking School is you're stuck for gift inspiration.


To view the Father's Day menu click here. To make a reservation or find out more, visit the Chaophraya Birmingham page. 

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