We try out Silks and Spice's Christmas Set Menu

I can honestly say that when I think of Christmas lunches, Thai food has never readily sprung to mind. Of course eating turkey on a beach in Thailand is one thing but a Thai spiced Christmas lunch?

However, it was when details of Silks & Spice’s Christmas Set Menu landed on my desk that all that changed. And I was by no means alone in my menu drooling for not only was a deliciously tempting three course meal on offer, it also included a free glass of wine! Therefore accompanied by two trusty Thai food enthusiast, I made my way to the High Road that very lunchtime to give it a go.

Silks & Spice is situated on the High Road close to Chiswick Lane. Decked out in traditional Thai and Malaysian décor, the interior is a little compact but nevertheless as welcoming as the staff.

There was minor deliberation over the order as we had our meal already planned right down to the coffees. As my two companions are both vegetarians, we went for the “Orchid” menu (£16.80 per person minimum of two people).  I love my meat and fish but was keen to give the herbivore option a fair go and I was not disappointed with the Vegetarian Platter of Satay Tofu, Vegetarian Spring Roll, Vegetarian Dim Sum, Spicy Curry Samosa and Sea Weed served with dips and sauce that we shared as a starter.

The main courses of Pak See Sahai (stir fried mangetouts, babycorn, carrot and pepper in soya sauce), Tofu Gapraw (stir fried Tofu with chillies, lime leaves ad fragrant basil leaves) and Jungle Curry (Thai aubergines, pea aubergines, bamboo shoots with curry paste) were served with stir fried mixed vegetables, stir fried rice noodles with and Thai fragrant rice.

The dishes were plentiful, perhaps overly so and we felt wasteful leaving so much. As it was we all ate far more than was strictly necessary and there were still plenty of leftovers. Each dish was good and whilst I found the Jungle Curry far too hot for my taste my companions both ate the red chillies with gusto.

We finished our feast with a selection of exotic fruits prepared with artistic precision – an excellent way to bring a sense of virtue back to the lunch table after all our gorging!

The food was accompanied by a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon (included in the price of the Christmas menu), a bottle of mineral water and rounded off with a coffee resulting in a bill of £67.43 including service.

The verdict? Good value for money and definitely worth a try for those looking for a spicy alternative to turkey and ham although you would be wise to remember that when they say that a curry is hot they mean hot!

Emma Brophy

December 1, 2006