Some of the best things start by accident. Take the ‘Foodie Gang’. Just a bunch of friends who like eating good food together – who all met through Twitter.
We love trying new places – the most recent of which is Phanthong Thai. A stone’s throw away from home for myself and Mr GFB, it was my suggestion for April. Given we live in the veritable restaurant wasteland that is Stretford (barring Chennai Dosa of course), anywhere that offers ample shopping, drinking and dining is going to be a winner. And Altrincham does this.
Phanthong Thai is situated in an Tudor style building, very close to the centre of Altrincham. A beautiful gold Buddha greets you at the entrance and inside is clean and elegant, muted green and white on the walls and the scents of lemongrass and coconut and fresh food hit your nostrils. Tummies making their presence known, we were seated and perusing the menus.
The choice is fantastic – whether you’re new to Thai food or a happy fanatic, the staff will answer questions and make suggestions if you need it. Happily we were all big fans, but this made it no easier. For starters, we opted for the sharing platters – vegetarian options too – sharing chicken satay, prawn and pork toasts, Thai fishcakes and spring rolls and mushroom satay, sweetcorn cake and crispy wanton.
Mains were mixed between us. From the chicken skewers and papaya salad of one to the massaman curries, to the squid pad krapow to my own noodles, everything was perfect.
The sea bass was a thing of beauty, crisp skin, delicate flesh, spicy flavours dancing away in your mouth. I was exceptionally jealous of both the squid and the papaya salad – despite having tastes of both, I greedily wanted them all to myself – my inability to eat everything there notwithstanding.
And with Mr GFB happily eating away, sharing a ‘taste’ of his massaman curry (but not much else) and glutinous rice, I knew we were onto a winner.
What surprised us all as well, was the dessert menu. So often you eat your fill of spicy rich food, be it Thai or Malaysian or Chinese for that matter and the dessert menu is a little disappointing. An anticlimax after the main.
Not so here. Gin and tonic sorbet (it had to be done), their own rich chocolate dessert that was sadly eaten before I could get a picture, Cheshire Farm ice creams as well as the standard banana fritters and a lovely banana and coconut dessert.
What could be nicer to end the meal? Oh yes, a blooming tea. All of us replete, watching teas bloom in front of us.
All in all, a fantastic meal and a restaurant much recommended. We’ll be back very soon.