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 The amazing Orchid lounge is located above the
famous Jaipur restaurant in the heart of Milton Keynes. I have
been a regular visitor for a year now, making it one of my
favourite Thai’s in Buckinghamshire. My first experience was on
my birthday as a special treat and I’ve been returning on a
regular basis ever since. I was excited when we booked our
authentic meal for a Thursday evening at 7:30pm.
Décor
Much time and effort has gone into this
establishment with amazingly coloured fresh orchids displayed
throughout the lounge. The paintings on the walls are hand made
and flown in from Thailand. The tables are laid with original
Thai clothes; the chairs and tables are made from solid wood. On
entering the lounge you will most likely see a smiling lady on a
harp, making this a unique place to dine in Milton Keynes.
Atmosphere
The Orchid Lounge, like the Jaipur downstairs, is
a large restaurant, and can entertain many customers at once.
Even when the restaurant is not full there is still a wonderful
atmosphere with the harp being played; creating tranquil and
peaceful ambience. The staff’s attitude adds to the themed music
in making you feel relaxed and welcome. I always feel at ease
when dining at this wonderful place.
Food
Sawasdee, “Hello” in Thai welcomes you on to the
menu. A menu that has many items to choose from including,
Exotic sizzling dishes, Curries, Seafood, Noodles and mixed
Rices on offer. The menu itself is made from high quality silk
paper and is nice to touch.
For starters I had a craving for mussels so
ordered Hoy-Ob, Steamed mussels with chillies, sweet basil and
lemongrass; served with traditional Thai chilli dressing £9.95.
My clay pot had ten large mussels bursting with flavour from the
lemon grass and the left over juice made a delicious soup. Where
is the bread when you need it?
My guest ordered the Satay Gai, Chicken skewers
in tender marinated BBQ sauce served with peanut dip £5.25. You
will find this starter in most Thai restaurants but the taste of
the sauce is always the key to a good satay. Chunky peanuts with
a tangy taste made this dish exciting when ploughing the
scrumptious chicken through the sauce.
After finishing our perfect-sized starters with
tantalising flavours we moved onto the mains. A nice gap between
courses was much needed before I tucked into the Gai Phad Med Ma
Muang, Stir-fried chicken in chillie oil with cashew nuts, mixed
peppers, onions and mushrooms flavoured with roasted chillies
£8.50. I could eat this every day! The sauce was fantastic and
the chicken had a texture unlike any other. The mushrooms and
chestnut pieces combined superbly well with the specially dried
chillies. A must try dish with an abundance of flavour. This all
arrives in a pastry parcel crown with crispy sides and a soggy
base.
Tiger Cry Steak was my guest’s choice.
Char-grilled sirloin steak on a hot volcanic rock platter with
special Thai chilli sauce £14.95. This was broought steaming
through the restaurant and would be fit for any tiger. This dish
was full of flavour and was marvellous when dipped in the Thai
sauce - a Jack Daniels style sauce which, as the title implies,
was ‘special.’ All of this was shared with Guay Tiew Phad See-Eew
Gai, Stir-fried flat noodles with chicken and vegetables in a
dark sauce £8.50 and egg fried rice £2.95
Service
The service is excellent. Every member of staff
were so polite, friendly and warm. Our waitresses Top and Ploy
were caring and laid our napkins, filled our wine glasses whilst
having a wonderful smile on their faces. They looked smart in
their pristine uniforms and the waiters too, looked dashing in
their pure white uniforms.
I love the orchid lounge and would always
recommend a visit. The menu is slightly more expensive than what
you might be used to, but you can guarantee the best and
freshest of ingredients with a service to match. |
