Time for Thai

Usually when tempted to go out for a Thai meal, Crystal Palace beckons. This time, due to the cold and the grey, we couldn't be bothered to head up the hill so I suggested we stay closer to home. There are no restaurants immediately close since the Indian closed last August (although it's going to open up again this year, but under a different name - hopefully, it's the same chef). However, just 15 minutes' away, a Thai restaurant has opened and we thought we'd give it a try. For some reason, all the restaurants that have ever opened in this area in the past seven years have always been empty when I've walked past them or dined in them. They don't normally last long. I'm not sure why no one eats locally, but perhaps an empty restaurant and the proximity of the fast-food chicken shops puts people off. It puzzles me when just a few miles up the road, Crystal Palace has a whole street of busy restaurants of every variety. Perhaps everyone goes there!

It was good to see that the local Thai restaurant had a couple of diners already in place and I was immediately impressed by the welcome. The food was lovely. I'll definitely be going back, despite the name of the place - Thaicoons.