So Thai in Leek
It’s great when you share something you love and find that others love it too. Which I guess is the main aim of this Moorlands Eater blog.
But it was with a little trepidation that we introduced some friends to So Thai in Leek when we went there to celebrate my partner’s birthday.
I was pretty confident they’d enjoy the wonderful, fresh flavours but you never really know, particularly as they hadn’t been to a Thai restaurant before. Well, I needn’t have worried as it went down great and I think they’re going to become regulars too!
When we moved to the Staffordshire Moorlands just over four years ago So Thai was the first restaurant we went to. The weekend of moving here, from Leicester, was also my partner’s birthday and so after the journey plus loading, unloading and unpacking we were pretty tired but determined to go out and celebrate.
We certainly made the right choice and were soon enjoying ourselves in this really friendly local restaurant. We’ve been back countless times since, usually for dinner but occasionally for one of their great value set lunches. On the rare occasions we have takeaway food delivered at home, you can almost guarantee that it will be from So Thai.
One of the things I love about Thai food is that it’s so rich in vegetables. That was the case with a Pad Kra Praow: a stir fry of your choice meat, seafood or tofu with chilli, basil & onion. We chose the tofu and the dish also included some lovely little thinly sliced, seasonal runner beans as well as carrot, corn, onion and pak choi.
We also shared ‘Weeping Tiger’: a juicy, sirloin steak marinated in Thai herbs served with beansprouts and vegetables and which comes to the table on a sizzling plate. There was a delicious sauce on top, tasting of one of my favourite flavours: coconut.
Pad Kee Mao rice noodles, which are stir fried in a spicy sauce with egg, chilli, green beans and basil, can come with a choice of either vegetables, prawns or chicken. We chose the vegetables which were included in great and delicious abundance. I love the way all the vegetables in Thai cooking still retain their individual flavours and textures – the aromatics and sauces skilfully used to enhance them rather than overwhelm and these noodles were a great example of that.
Our final plate was Gung Pad Broccoli: a generous serving of king prawns, broccoli and carrots flavoured with oyster sauce and with lots of fried garlic on top.
As usual at So Thai, it was a faultless meal with lovely waiting staff and a kitchen that produces wonderful dishes.
As one of our friends rightly noted during the meal, eating Thai food for the first time, we’d eaten quantities of delicious food but come away feeling refreshed.