Tag Archives: Thai

Asia Gardens, Alicante

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 A guarantee of 300 days of sunshine a year makes Asia Gardens in Alicante the perfect winter sun destination. You may not return to Blighty tanned and glowing but you are sure to get a bit of Vitamin D brightening up your body.

Just a two hour plane journey away, Alicante is an unlikely but wonderful place to spend a weekend, when you have a hotel like Asia Gardens as your home. On the final few days of November I visited the hotel for a girls getaway hoping for some much needed rest and relaxation. We enjoyed sitting by the exotic pools, soaking in the luxuriously big baths in our huge bedrooms, and dipping strawberries in the chocolate fountain at breakfast. For supper we indulged at the fine Thai restaurant (Koh Samui) where I’d recommend the Pad Thai and the curries, which were spicy, thick and wonderfully flavoured.

Near to the property there are caves and mountains, vineyards and seaside wonders to discover. We treated ourselves to a decadently delicious tapas meal at Alicante’s top eatery, La Taberna del Gourmet where we gorged on the very best red wine, Iberico ham and Paella. When night fell we braved Benidorm, the local party town, and spent the evening hanging out with the locals, watching a hilarious drag show and embarrassing ourselves at karaoke.

If you’re fed up with the English winter, you could book a holiday in Asia Gardens where it feels like summer every day.

More information and book here.

JUST EAT

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A takeaway can be the perfect ending to a busy day, or a lazy one. Even the most dedicated chef has a drawer full of takeaway menus in case of emergency. If you’d like to free up such a drawer for something else, why not go digital with your takeaway ordering.

JUST EAT is an online service that allows you to order from a vast range of different restaurants in your area. It provides every type of fast food delivery from Thai restaurants to Mexican, Chinese, Indian, pizza and more.

Using JUST EAT is straightforward. Create an account on the website or download the app, which is available for Android phones on Google Play or iOS devices on the App Store. Once you’ve logged in, you can search for restaurants in your area, either by specifying the type of food you want or simply by looking for what’s nearby. Selecting a restaurant brings up a menu which lets you order online. Payment by debit or credit card is simple. You can specify a delivery time for your order or ask for it as soon as possible! For instance, you could order via the app while on the train home from work and have your meal arrive just as you get in.

Using JUST EAT for the first time is simple enough, but its features make repeat use even easier. For example, recent orders you’ve made are saved, meaning that should you want the same thing again, or something slightly different, you can start with the previous order and not have to click your way through the full menu. The site also securely stores payment information, so you don’t have to dig out your card every time you want to make an order.

Having moved into my own flat only a few months ago, I am still getting into the swing of home-cooking, takeaways are a rare luxury but… on a rainy and cold Friday afternoon on the bus home from work the idea of a takeaway cheered me up. I logged on to the JUST EAT app on my iPhone and quickly ordered from a new Thai restaurant, Kanna, located in Hammersmith. Ten minutes later I was sitting at home, with the heater on, a glass of wine in hand, and an exotic smelling Thai meal on the table. Absolute heaven.

Kanna offers authentic Thai food and a menu full of variety. We chose a selection of classics: green and red curries, chicken satay accompanied by egg-fried and coconut rice. Costing £25 in total it was the ideal amount of food for a generous meal for two. I was pleased to find the sauces not too spicy and the chicken perfectly tender.

JUST EAT offers a genius solution to eating in, with zero hassle and minimal effort. I can imagine quite easily getting addicted to this stress-free tasty online service. With so much variety, the only difficult part is deciding on what cuisine you want – having done that, lay the table and JUST EAT.

Go on, put the saucepan back in the cupboard and treat yourself, order here now.

www.just-eat.co.uk

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Rosa’s Thai, Soho

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Rosa’s is the ideal little Soho restaurant, here you can enjoy authentic Thai food while watching the world go by. We sat outside on a warm summer evening and saw eccentric characters stroll by in gold trousers, silly hats and wacky outfits – it was great fun.

We were well looked after by our smiley waitress, she kindly brought us dish after dish of extra peanut satay sauce and topped up our wine instantly when needed.

There is a focus here on fresh Thai favourites and Rosa’s classic dishes which correspond with the cookbook. We tried fresh Summer Rolls and Chicken Satay to start, and Pad Thai, Pumpkin Red Curry, Chilli Stir Fry for main course. The meal was fragrant and addictively tasty: simple familiar recipes prepared with care and affection. Stir-fried Aubergine was a favourite all round the table… with yellow bean, chilli, garlic, soya sauce and basil, it was soft and sweet. The Pad Thai was one of the best I’ve tried, not too sloppy with plenty of crushed peanuts, and the curry was so scrumptious my friend had to request a second helping of sauce.

Rosa’s is the perfect pre or post theatre Thai fix. They don’t “do” desserts but Amorino’s round the corner is ideal for a take-away ice cream.

I can’t wait to get the Rosa’s cookbook so that I can attempt to recreate all these amazing dishes at home.

More information here.

www.rosaslondon.com