ANNIVERSARY DINNER AT JUNJAOW THAI RESTAURANT
Yesterday was the fortieth anniversary of our meeting, so my hubby and I went out for a meal to celebrate. We went to the JunJaow Thai restaurant in Torquay and it was a memorable experience. Fantastic food and a great ambience, and we were looked after superbly well, especially by Dam who waited on our table. Like all the waitresses she wore traditional Thai dress. Ater the meal, the owner Christian came and chatted with us for some time – such an interesting and knowledgeable man who had had a varied and fascinating life.
We were very impressed with the menu. Where possible, there were options for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free choices, and for the curries you could choose mild, medium or hot. Everything was beautifully presented on unusual china and there was a good choice of drinks. I had mango juice and my hubby chose a Thai beer which I tasted, and found light and flavoursome.
Here are the photos I took during the evening.
On the reception desk was a small Thai gong. My parents used to have one almost identical, but larger, hung on a simple wooden frame made by my grandfather. My grandmother’s brothers were rubber planters in what was then Malaya and she had many oriental artefacts in her house. This gong brought back some happy memories – Dad always struck it to call us kids for meals!
Inside the entrance is a comfortable lounge area. On the walls throughout the restaurant there were Thai decorations. It was not overdone but definitely gave the right flavour to the atmosphere. There were plenty of elephants which I always love to see. When I was a child I read a children’s story about a boy in what was then Siam, and the legendary white elephant. A few years later I was thrilled to find a copy on Ebay. This story captured my imagination as a small child and I loved it when a Siamese girl came to join our school for a short while.
I loved this beautiful Thai head-dress such as is worn by the traditional dancers.
My fascination with the culture from childhood inspired me to make a collar for my wedding dress which was inspired by the costumes of the Thai dancers.
The menu was bound beautifully between wooden panels and tied with ropes – so unusual!
We began with some vegan prawn crackers. I’d never seen them in different colours like this before. They were accompanied with a piquant spicy dip.
For starters, my hubby had mushroom kebabs with satay sauce.
I chose spring rolls, accompanied by the same spicy dip.
The china on which the food was served was so unusually shaped. Here is the plate awaiting the main course. The pattern reminded me of a Zentangle design!
My hubby had a red curry with jasmine rice, and I chose a green curry with coconut rice. Even though I chose a medium heat curry, it was pretty fiery! Next time I shall choose a mild one, I think. Both curries contained deep fried tofu. I had never had tofu like this before and when I enquired, I was told it was silken tofu, which I have not yet tried. It was very light and fluffy.
For our dessert we both chose the mango and passionfruit cheescake. This has to be one of the most delicious desserts I have ever tasted!
As you can see, everything was most attractively presented. We finished the meal very well satisfied but not in the least bloated.
Even the folder with our bill was going the extra mile – traditional, so pretty, and with more elephants!
This was the back.
For what we had, we were pleasantly surprised how reasonably priced the meal was.
When we came out it was raining. I took a couple of photos through the wet windscreen of the car – obviously not good “lifelike” shots of the exterior of the restaurant, but very atmospheric in an arty sort of way! I couldn’t do much with the first one.
I spent some time editing the second one, which I am very pleased with.
What a brilliant evening we had. We shall definitely be returning to this fabulous restaurant!
