Bit of Thai cuisine

 Friday lunchtime found it busy with almost all verandah tables occupied and patrons spilling over into the garden.  Newly opened in what was the Shalagashe premises, it offers strangely both Thai and English cuisine, so there are two menus. 
The place is friendly and casual but could do with some more attention to detail on the outside.  The approach is a bit awkward with the parking out back and so you enter through the ‘back door’, past the outside toilets directly into the verandah dining area and are not necessarily welcomed straight away. We felt a bit lost on arrival and didn’t readily find anyone to greet us. Most of the tables on the covered verandah had reserved signs on them and sure enough they filled up by 1:30pm.
We sat outside where there are a couple of small tables in a rather dusty garden in need of some loving attention and perhaps more waterwise plants. Parking is a challenge when the restaurant is full and needs more attention from the attendant. A patron leaving in a pick up almost reversed into our table!
Thai curries tend to be more soup-like compared to their thicker Indian cousins flavoured with coconut milk and distinctive curry pastes – green, yellow or red – with combinations of meats, herbs, vegetables and fruits. Chang Thai offers a selection of curries ranging between US$8 and US$15 – green, red, yellow, mussaman and panang – with a choice of chicken, beef, vegetables or prawns.
I chose green chicken curry (US$10) accompanied by a small portion of steamed rice, a generous amount for US$1. Served in a deep soup bowl it is a rich and spicy combination of chicken, sweet coconut milk and vegetables. Too much veg I thought, including green pepper, green beans, cauliflower, butternut and courgettes.  Curries come in mild, medium or hot and the medium was spicy enough for both of us.
Specials include angry duck and duck basil (US$15)  and giant king prawns US$20. No basil apparently – a bit of a blow for a Thai restaurant, so the duck basil and the basil stir fry were off. My companion went for the angry duck, crisply cooked in a hot red sauce – fierce and fiery – and he ate it with steamed noodles (also US$1). 
We shared a starter of three batter-coated crispy sesame prawns (US$6) with sweet chillie dipping sauce on the side and ordered a spicy green papaya salad to accompany our mains.
The food was very tasty and portions quite large but somewhat lacking in finesse except for the very pretty dishes serving the angry duck      and salad. I was hoping for the wonderful decorative carved vegetables I have seen in Thai cook books          – intricate carrot roses, spring onion curls, chillie flowers, melon lotuses rather than an ordinary       slice of tomato as garnish. Guessed it wasn’t the season for sticky mango rice so we skipped dessert. Outside tables were not laid on arrival –     perhaps because of the wind –        and we had to request napkins       from the only waiter. He did a fine job but was overstretched with a full house.
The English menu features standard lunch dishes – T-bones, Shalagashe chicken (same restaurant with new cooks?) and tilapia as well as pies, beef burgers and steak rolls and a couple of regulars were doing takeaways. Chang Thai is open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. (Phone 485609. )
– g.jeke@yahoo.com