Chaophraya

Voted number 8 in the top Manchester restaurants, this Thai restaurant was possibly the most beautiful restaurant I have been in, with it's lavish decor and open kitchen for all to see the sheer precision and pace the staff at Chaophraya work at. This restaurant was first brought to my attention by my roomate who came home and raved about the food and how lovely it was inside. Shortly after my birthday came about, and yes where to eat out was one of the first things on my mind! After searching for a new place to eat I googled the best places to eat in Manchester and this little beauty came in at number 8. I'm not going to lie most of the other options were rather out of my price limit so Chaophraya it was ( I still am unable to pronounce this word, so it makes it somewhat hard to explain when recommending to others, if anyone knows please let me know as I feel like a right uncultured foodie!). 

As we arrived they seated us upstairs right next to the kitchen which was fun to watch and I always find something comforting about the idea of being able to see your food being made. For starters my friend and I decided to share the tempura prawns, the reason for this being that all of the starters were in the 9 to 10 pound price range. This was at first off putting as I feel this is somewhat steep, however the main meals were also the same price range so it balanced out. The prawns arrived about 5 minutes after ordering which was good as I was starving at this point. Though the portion sizes weren't huge the quality was extremely good, on the plate were 2 large tiger prawns covered in batter which melted in your mouth and on the side an onion ring served with salad and sweet chili sauce. 

For my main I ordered the Massaman lamb curry which supposedly is what the Royal Thai family eat, yes I must have such a refined palette! My friend ordered the Panang beef curry and we decided to share the coconut rice between us, usually i'm not a massive fan of rice as I find it quite bland but after trying Thai coconut rice at Aumthong Thai restaurant in Brighton I have been converted.

Both meals were a good portion size and definitely left you pleasantly full. The Panang beef curry hit the correct balance of creamy and spicy, however the only let down was that the meat which there was plenty of was the consistency of doner kebab meat which brought down an otherwise lovely meal. 

My lamb curry was flawless, the lamb was full of flavour and nice and tender. Although the curry was spicier than I had apprehended it didn't take away from the overall taste of the curry, which also came with one potato and one carrot. This was somewhat random and to me didn't seem particularly Thai but it didn't by any means ruin the meal. The side serving of rice was delicious and just how I remembered creamy, sweet and a comforting consistency one which I would liken to the same satisfaction I get when eating a bowl of rice pudding. 

I would definitely recommend this restaurant to any foodie's out there as it is not just a meal out but a night inside what feels like a Thai palace. The atmosphere is lively and the decor is stunning a definite place to eat out in Manchester!