Owl.Bee.Eating in Thailand

Eating

Owl.Bee.Eating in Thailand

In March we’re taking you to Thailand! We visited Chaophraya, a Thai restaurant in Edinburgh, situated in the heart of Edinburgh, a short walk from the castle and George Street.

The atmosphere was quite nice, it felt glamorous and classy and the setting was contemporary with little hints of Thai culture. Unfortunately, instead of feeling relaxed because of it, I felt quite anxious, as the restaurant was extremely busy. We had to queue to get our table and then wait even more, as it wasn’t ready yet (this was our fault, because we arrived five minutes later than our reservation).

When they showed us to our table, we were delighted to discover it was in the mirror-glazed area looking towards Edinburgh Castle and George Street. It was already dark outside, but you can still see the night lights of the city from the rooftop. While it was best to stay inside, as it was freezing outside, there was a door leading to the outside terrace of the rooftop, which I am sure feels amazing to dine at during summer and enjoy the night breeze.

One of the downsides of this part of Chaophraya was that it gets pretty noisy, because of the confined space with lots of tables close to each other, and everyone had to shout in order to try and outvoice the loud and merry crowd next to the entrance. Another thing that made our stay a bit uncomfortable was how dark it was where we were seated, it was hard to even read the menu, let alone take good photos of the food!

In terms of service, all staff appeared to be knowledgeable, as we asked for more information regarding dietary requirements. Although seemingly a bit distracted, because of how full the restaurant was, they were polite and made sure we felt alright during our stay.

Budget wise, it was nothing too excessive, a typical night out in the city centre would probably cost something similar. The multitude of dishes allows for a wide range of prices, starting from £10 starters and reaching £24-£25 for a main or the specials on the menu; the rest of the dishes fall somewhere in the middle. There were many vegan options, which was great, but I was challenged to find a vegan alternative that didn’t contain any tofu or tempeh (I know, I’m a tough customer). I managed to finally make a choice and the food arrived quickly, here’s what we ordered (you can find the name of each dish underneath its photo):

My boyfriend got the Sweet & Sour Crispy Chicken with Dragon Fruit, garnished with peppers, onions, tomatoes and pineapple topped with pomegranate seeds and spring onions, and he said it was amazing. My Coconut Milk Soup had galangal, mushroom, lemongrass, chilli and lime leaves. We also shared a platter with sweetcorn cakes, vegetable spring rolls, tempura vegetables, Thai vegetable tacos and summer rolls (I included photos of each component above). To be fair, I came to the conclusion that I’m not a fan of Thai food. It was delicious, but in terms of methods of preparation, I don’t think it’s the healthiest choice. Almost everything was fried and that’s why I didn’t finish those ones. I was relying on my soup to satisfy my hunger. Alas, it was too spicy for my liking and I only found a tiny amount of mushrooms in it, although I asked for extra mushrooms.

I don’t think this is my favourite place to eat in Edinburgh but it was a nice experience to try something different and enjoy stunning views of the city at night.

In case you need me… #owlbeeeating!