Saturday, September 1, 2007

The Thai Kitchen, 3 Wilne Lane, Shardlow, DE72 2HA

The new Alvaston Bypass can now propel you from Derby to Shardlow in minutes, so mother, sister et moi hit the gas and 10 minutes later we're pulling up outside the old Lady in Grey hotel. Dark and derelict from the outside, the entrance reveals a 'Narnia' esk junk shop interior with old tables, carvings and various brik-a-brak squeezed into every nook and cranny.
Considering it's August, the room felt surprisingly cold (mind you, hasn't this summer been the worst you can remember!?). Then as if by magic the heating suddenly came to life. Things are gonna start warming up!

The constantly bowing waitress took our order, nothing for the mother but Tempura Squid (£4.95) for me. Lightly battered, soft fleshed hoops of yummy squid with a choice of three dipping sauces, thai-riffic! Sis had a bash at the Thai Mixed starter (£5.45), a platter of various deep fried morsels and the ubiquitous ornate radish carving (are you supposed to eat this?).
The bowing waitress removed our plates and returned with the three mains. Mother had ordered Pad Prio Wan Gai (£7.15), a modern take on Sweet & Sour Chicken, a bit too sweet for her palate she proclaimed, but it still kept her quiet for some time. I ordered Gai Pad Med Ma-Muang (£7.65). I was intrigued by the description's foot notes proclaiming that this is Andy Roddick's favourite dish (world no.2 tennis player, in case you didn't know). I'd never have guessed he lived in Alvaston!. A classic thai combination of chicken, cashew nuts & chillies was accompanied by a bowl of sticky rice. A bit too fiery for me considering it only had a 1 out of 5 heat rating. Sister ordered Pad Gra Praw Gai hor Kai (I assure you these are the genuine names!) at £8.25 it was the most expensive, and also the most disappointing. The stir fried chicken with holy basil in an omlette, came....without the omlette wrap, resulting in an expensive plate of stir fried chicken & mushrooms. "So solly, fort yoo ask foor diflent dish". Well they never charged for it, which in my opinion is the only thing a restaurant should do in these circumstances. I'm still amazed how a kitchen that isn't busy, get such basic things wrong.

The eclectic interior is fun, but I do draw the line at the amount of cobwebs. I know it adds to the C.S. Lewis experience, but I don't think stir fried chicken with sweet & sour spider would go down well with most people.
Worth a look, but don't go in your Armarni suit or Jimmy Choo's!
Food 5/10
Service 6/10
Venue 6/10 (or 2/10 if you don't like spiders or cobwebs)
Tel: 01332 793311

"Don't tread on an ant he's done nothing to you, there might come a day, when he's treading on you" (Ant Music, Adam & The Ants, 1980)

Martin, August 2007

Unfortunately, despite the fact I thought this was a fun place and the food was acceptable, some friends visited last month and told me the food was very poor, and the restaurant was cold. Probably best avoided.

Martin, February 2009