Review: King and Thai, Broseley

Our trip to King and Thai reminded me very much of a first holiday to Thailand.

Mainly because on the night of our visit, the rain was relentless, and I remember spending much of my time in the Land of Smiles grimacing in an anorak. Oh the glamour.

Secondly, as in Thailand, we got a bit lost in finding our destination – only to be rewarded at the end of it with some great food.

But before the food came the journey, and as so often in life the iPhone sat-nav only took us so far. It took us near, but not near enough.

And so we found ourselves sat in the car, in a darkened cul-de-sac, wondering why we were being told we'd 'reached our destination'.

The other half was not happy. He had man-flu and was cross I'd brought him out on this wintry night when he could have been curled up watching X Factor with some bowl food.

Rather stupidly I had, only minutes ago, smuggly commented that we would never have found this place had it not been for the sat-nav.

But worse was yet to come.

Phone coverage ceased and up popped the message: 'low battery'.

In desperation I leapt out of the car and hammered on the friendliest-looking doors, otherwise known as the ones with lights on. No reply. Probably all curled up on the sofa watching X Factor, where he'd rather be.

Thanks a lot, You up there, I cursed.

My phone must have sensed that my relationship, and sanity, was on a knife edge and quickly fired into action.

"We're not quite there yet, it's further up the main road," said the other half in a vocal audition for the Tunes ad. He waved the iPhone around triumphantly, it was the first time he'd smiled all evening.

Just a little further, I thought. A little further and the promise of a passage-clearing, heart-warming, man-flu- curing massaman curry will be fulfiled.

Thanks a lot, You up there. All is forgiven.

And so to King and Thai which couldn't have possibly looked more welcoming as it glowed from the roadside had it come wrapped in a giant duvet.

Inside was warm and enticing; the interior modern yet still cosy.

Menus arrived, we eyed them hungrily. Unlike many Thai, Chinese or Pan Asian restaurants, which sometimes have a mind-boggling number of options, the menu is comparitively short.

There's a handful of starters and desserts, and perhaps 15 or so main courses.

Multi-award-winning chef Suree Coates, sources her fish from Birmingham wholesale market and meat is sourced from local farms.

It's clear finding quality ingredients and cooking them authentically is a priority rather than masses of unnecessary choice. I know which I'd rather have.

I lingered over the specials menu, particularly attracted to the starter dish of seared scallops with a Thai butternut squash puree, and the main course of monkfish and king prawn curry.

However, despite limited number of starters we were unable to choose so instead opted for the Thai platter to share.

The last frenzied 15 minutes of our journey were quickly forgotten as we cosied down with our drinks, him a Changa beer (for medicinal purposes only) and me with my allocated-driver sparkling water.

Starters arrived so beautifully presented, atop banana leaves dotted with carved vegetables on a large wooden tray, I could have gazed at it all night. But my rumbling tummy got the better of me and we tucked in with gusto.

There were Thai vegetable spring rolls, canape-sized king prawn toast, satay chicken skewers and pork balls along with three different dipping sauces.

The chicken was lip-smackingly juicy; if ever there was an example of a quality free-range bird cooked to perfection, then was it. Its accompanying peanut dipping sauce was bowl-lickingly good. I probaby embarrassed myself with my efforts to extract every last morsel. Hey ho, worse has happened at sea.

The prawn toast was freshly cooked; the seafood tender, while the spring rolls were packed with the finest rice noodles and herbs. The pastry case shattered into crisp shards but wasn't oily or heavy. They were a delight to eat.

Impressive too were the skewered pork balls which despite their diminutive size managed to have a tantalising shell yet still be moist in the middle.

Our empty platter was whipped away and drinks replenished.

Service throughout our meal was pleasant, my only complaint was that we didn't seem to have an allocated waiter or waitress and this jarred the flow of the evening somewhat. However, this was only a minor irritation as all the staff were very personable.

Main courses arrived within a reasonable time, although it's clear that everything is cooked from scratch so don't expect an express meal, particularly when the restaurant is packed as it was when we visited.

As anticipated, the other half ordered the beef massaman curry – one of his absolute favourites, while I chose the spicy pork with green beans. We shared a portion of jasmine rice.

He seemed impressed by his richly-flavoured curry. The beef was meltingly tender and the sauce had deliciously nutty undertones.

However, he bemoaned the al dente vegetables, in particular the potatoes, saying that he prefered them when they had been cooked slightly longer in the sauce.

The spicy pork was sublime; the local sourcing of the meat evident in this quick-fry dish. In contrast to the other side of the table, I thought the French beans were cooked to crunchy perfection.

I often shy away from ordering pork as it's so often over-cooked but here it was soft and succulent, smothered in a sauce that had my lips and tongue tingling long after the final mouthful had been consumed.

The jasmine rice had been expertly cooked, delicately fragranced and ever so slightly sticky, as it should be. Ideal for soaking up all that spicy red chilli sauce.

Happy memories of days spent in Thailand, mainly in an anorak, came flooding back.

Totally satisfied we should have given dessert a miss. However, a brief look on the King and Thai website earlier that evening revealed that Suree's handmade puddings were not to be missed. Instead we compromised and chose to share.

Of the choice, which included a heavenly sounding mango cheesecake, and a chocolate and cherry brownie, he opted for the one I'd have been least likely to pick. But seeing as he had the man flu, his selection prevailed and we ordered the coconut tart with rum, raisin, banana and pineapple ice cream with two spoons.

I feared it would be a step into the tropics too far; too many big flavours for one plate, surely?

But maybe he should get to choose the pud more often because the creation which arrived was flawless.

The sweet pastry case was buttery, crumbly and a perfect host for a not-too-sweet coconut custard. It was topped with lightly glazed slices of banana and raisins swollen from being steeped in rum.

The pineapple ice cream didn't overpower in the way that I anticipated. It was, quite simply, one of the most well-executed desserts I've eaten in a long time.

If you do manage to bag a table at the King and Thai and, trust me, after Suree's recent awards haul, it's not easy, then leave room for dessert.

Our bill, including three sparkling waters and two Changa beers came to £71. It's not cheap but this is high quality Thai food with carefully-sourced ingredients, cooked with expertise by the country's best. You get what you pay for – this is certainly worth pushing the boat out for.

Which, if it hadn't have stopped raining, is what we'd have needed to head home in. Without or without a sat-nav. Wish me luck!

Emily Bridgewater