Chilli Banana Review

Having spent the afternoon frolicking about at a baby shower, I felt I needed to wind the day down with a good spicy meal to ward off the remnants of this awful cold.

Having been to Chilli Banana before (on my birthday), I knew that this was a place synonymous with good value, great tasting, authentic Thai food. So we sat down amongst the many customers in the bustling environment.

We were promptly given menus and informed of the specials. We opted to share two starters; the Kow Giap Gung (Thai Prawn Crackers) and Tempura Gung (tempura prawns and vegetables with dipping sauces).

The prawn crackers made a nice change from the often polystyrene-like texture of the Chinese counterpart. The hot kick of chilli was complemented by the sweet chilli dipping sauce and added more of the Thai twist to this crunchy cracker.

The tempura batter was crisp, crunchy and not greasy in the slightest! As well as King Prawns, we had aubergine, courgette, carrot and green beans. The aubergine was by far the nicest vegetable tempura. No sogginess, just pure flavour encased in a crispy shell.

For my main course I ordered the Nua Sawan (or 'Heavenly Beef'). But before ordering this dish, I did enquire as to what makes the beef so heavenly.... I was told the beef was marinated in sticky Thai sugar, making for a very tender piece of meat.... and that it was!

When our main courses arrived, the waitress served us two scoops of the fragrant rice and I piled on mounds of my syrupy meat. My partner ordered a sizzling beef dish with mounds of chillies, onions and a very strong aniseed flavour, a lovely aftertaste once the burn of the chilli had subsided. Needless to say, he had to pace himself on this one!

My meal on the other-hand was sumptuous and not overpowering in the slightest. Despite the sugar being the main flavour, the crispy Basil on top was easily recognised on my taste buds. The crunchy texture made a good contrast to the treacle-like consistency of the sauce. 

Some might say I'm a sucker for cute things and I'd probably agree, but the flower carved from a carrot was such a sweet touch to the dish. The chef obviously has talent, as well as creative flair!

My advice, book it! This place gets VERY busy, but it  produces consistently good quality food with professional, un-intrusive service.