A F T E R S
The welcome is swift and friendly, and within seconds you’ll be sipping a Singha and nibbling on prawn crackers. If I’m being totally honest, I really didn’t feel like going out that evening – I was tired (no surprise there, then), it was properly cold outside, and my dog had done a sterling job on her guilt-inducing expression that says, “You’re leaving me alone?” when I was tying up my shoes – but as soon as I was in that cosy dining room, pouring my beer out and grabbing a prawn cracker, I was a pretty happy camper. You’ll, interestingly, notice some English café-style offerings on the menu here too – think breakfast fry-ups, sarnies and jacket potatoes, all served during the daytime. The two of us kicked off with a couple of bits from the ‘small dishes’ section, and something from the dim sum options. The chicken satay (£5) saw golden, marinated meat – nice and tender, and not painfully dry like you so often get – skewered and plated up with a pot of chunky peanut sauce (thick, with a pasty consistency), and token salad garnish. The barbecue spare ribs (£5) were properly meaty – there was no biting at measly shreds of pork from the bone – and coated in a sweet, savoury, fruity and zingy glaze, along with hunks of red pepper and onion. The Chinese Peking chicken dumplings (£5) came in a portion of five, with nicely thin dough which had been fried until golden and crisp. The extra sauce, served on the side for dipping, gave a smack of saltiness to each mouthful.
90
CRUMBSMAG.COM
The first main course to be settled on was the sizzling lamb (£8.50). Thin slices of lamb arrived on a small iron platter in a dark sauce that bubbled around it. Chunks of red and yellow peppers and slices of green spring onion added a bit of sweetness, zing and crunch. The massaman chicken curry (£8.50) was second. Served in a deep bowl, it involved slices of chicken and hunks of soft potato, swimming in a sauce that was creamy with coconut milk and fragrant with spice. Light and fresh, it had us repeatedly spooning extra portions onto our plates. It’s apparently a favourite among customers, and you can probably include me in that pool now. We ate it with a heap of fragrant rice (£2.50), which was pleasingly sticky – the sauce seeping down through the dense clusters of fat grains when spooned over. There are desserts here too (like sticky mango with rice, and banana fritter), but it was all we could do to manage a couple of scoops of ice cream before we dragged ourselves off our seats and out into the cold. Obviously, this place isn’t reinventing any wheels – but if it ain’t broke, and all that. What it is doing, though, is serving freshtasting, authentic-feeling Thai-fusion food, which doesn’t leave you feeling all weighed down and greasy. The service is friendly and the prices rep really decent value, too. (And yes, it does do takeaway – knew you were about to ask.) JP Destiny, 24 Kellaway Avenue, Bristol BS6 7XR; 0117 924 5450; jpdestinythaicorner.com