SPLENDID Kitchen was part of that first flurry of restaurant closures back in June that generated a spate of media jeremiads (lovely word) about the whole scene being doomed. This was – remarkably – pre-Brexit, that ultimate dampener dumped on the feelgood factor.
It was good to see My Thai jump into the John Dalton premises with a formula that has been a quickfire success since its launch in 2014. Affordable, authentic Bangkok street food cafe without the corporate-feeling frills of stablemates Chaophraya and Thaikhun, it looked promising.
It took me a while to pop into this casual all-day operation and then only in passing, twice, but that fits the bill really. It’s for snacking, albeit substantially. Ebullient co-founder Simon Grybas above) seems to set the relaxed vibe for this Yorkshire franchise chain he launched with Thai business partner, Bee Laltham, who was already running a Bradford restaurant.
Step through the door and you might be in some food shack in downtown Banglamphu as you take in the metal cups and melamine tableware, the fluttering pennants, portrait of the Thai royal family and the gaggle of Thai workers snatching their own mid afternoon lunch. Buddhist monks have been seen dining here too – apparently Bee is scrupulous in locating sites with good karma.
Prices are ludicrously low for food that is fresh and often as fiery as you’d expect. Grybas in an interview recommended the Kra Pow Moo Sub at £6.50, spicy minced pork with heady holy basil over rice (I passed on the fried egg for an additional £1). It had a satisfying savoury kick, but perhaps the Som Tum, papaya salad with peanut and dried shrimp (£7.50, from the spicier ‘Foodies’ Menu’) was a bird’s eye chilli too far.
Better still was a chicken Pad Thai above (£6.50), crunchy and fresh tasting like our appetisers of spring rolls and steamed dumplings. Drinks are rudimentary – stick with Singha.
Next up for My Thai is a Northern Quarter outlet.
My Thai, 11 John Dalton St, Manchester M2 6WH. 0161 833 1016.