Thai Edge, 7 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HL – www.thaiedge.co.uk
My sister was up from the city recently working at the REP so during her visit we popped over to Brindley Place for a spot of dinner.
Due to her show starting at 7 we had to dine pretty early so most places were predictably quiet. We decided to go for Thai and made our way to the well established Birmingham home of Thai Edge in Oozells Square.
As I say it was fairly quiet when we arrived and we were genially welcomed by a very attentive and happy young waitress dressed in the restaurant’s recognisable purple uniform. It’s been about five years since I had last eaten here but my memory of the extensive menu was not inaccurate! Indeed if you are planning a visit leave plenty of time to peruse the menu, a luxury, by virtue of the early show, we did not have!
With time not on our side, rumbling bellies and indecisive natures we were struggling to make a decision but eventually gave in and allowed the waitress, who had been hovering in a not offensive but rather more polite and helpful fashion to take our order.
We decided to share a vegetarian hot platter to start, mainly because Vicky was intrigued to discover what delights the ‘golden bags’ contained and with her being allergic to prawns (more prawn crackers for the rest of us!!) it was safer to opt for the vegetarian platter! The bags were I believe little filo sacks encasing a mixture of vegetables which were delicately fried. The platter also offered some tempura vegetables, sweetcorn cakes and mini spring rolls. All of which came with two dips, a bright red sweet chilli, and an as yet undetermined yet perfectly delicious brown dip. The starter was an ideal size split between three of us and the individual components all tasted fresh. My only complaint would be that the tempura was perhaps a touch greasier that I would have liked but by no means did it resemble a deep fried offering from Mr Egg!
For mains we opted for a traditional Thai Green Chicken Curry for Vicky with sticky rice, and two fairly similar dishes of wok fried chicken with garlic and chilli accompanied by a portion of steamed and egg fried rice.
The dishes arrived shortly after the table had been laid with the necessary hot plates to keep them warm. The curry was reported to be smooth with a nice subtle heat and plenty of chicken and vegetables, whilst the sticky rice was exactly as it should be, sticky without being claggy. The wok fried dishes were also well received, again providing generous portions of chicken which was moist and packed with fresh and mouth-watering flavour. The garlic, an ingredient I can struggle with in large quantities, was in my dish, more of a background flavour, which in my opinion is as it should be. The chilli heat was just the right intensity (the menu offers guidance on the heat of each dish with handy little images of chilli) and the sauce itself was not to heavy or glutinous!!
We were all beaten by our portions due to late lunches but had I been in the fullness of my appetite I would have gladly done the kitchen the favour of cleaning my own plates!!
Alas we didn’t manage to sample anything from the dessert menu due to time however there is a modest offering of ice cream based dishes and three traditional Thai puddings to select from if you have got the time and appetite, and with ice cream supplied by Joe Delucci’s I will be leaving plenty of room next time!!
Well priced and consistent, Thai Edge has all you need for an authentic taste of Asia.
Alternatives:
Barton Arms http://www.oakhamales.com/bartonabout.asp?m_pid=0
Suko Thai, 334 Stratford Road, Shirley Solihull
