Thailand Cafe, Bolton

Last year John Torode hailed Bolton's Thailand Cafe as 'the best Thai food I have had outside of Thailand.' That's right; it's in Bolton town centre. I've intended going ever since, but never quite got round to it. Cue my friend Dave hailing it as a tour de force, and suggesting we go on a lunchtime jaunt.

So the other week I had this particularly 'interesting' morning planned, so decided to meet up with homies Dave and Phil for a lunchtime trip to Thailand Cafe. I was never a massive fan of Thai food until we went to Buddha Lounge in Whitefield, and now I'm sort of hooked.

It doesn't look much. In fact, it looks like the kind of town centre cafe you would expect in Bolton. However, we walked in to a warm welcome and a wonderful smell, so we were more than happy. All three of us are big fans of 'bits', so we ordered a nice little variety of picky things which we could share.

Chicken satay with peanut sauce: That peanut sauce... sweet, sticky and a bit sickly. It was out of this world. I could make myself quite ill with that stuff. The perfect accompaniment to the chicken.

Steamed dumplings - pork and prawn dumplings with dark soy sauce: I've just been thrown into a state of confusion. I adored these. I just checked out the menu - prawns!? I hate prawns, the evil little things. Turns out I like them in steamed dumplings. Who knew?

Massamun - chicken with potatoes, onions and peanuts: A creamy dish which is perfect for those with a sweet tooth like me. Turns out that Thai food is all about the mixture of sweet and savoury. I'm a bit annoyed with myself for only discovering this now at the age of 33. This was my favourite of the three curries we tried. I can almost see you all shaking your heads at me...

Yellow curry - chicken with coconut, potatoes and onion, topped with shallots: It's not giving a lot away with the name there, is it? Again, a lovely savoury dish sweetened by the addition of coconut milk. Although the sauce is quite runny, it was soaked up by the pile of rice we had on the side.

Jungle curry - beef with ginger, fresh peppercorns, red chilli and vegetables: This was the boys' favourite. That warming peppery sauce was just delightful. It's worth mentioning that all the curries are available in beef, prawns, chicken or pork too.

Sticky rice: I loved these little pots! I'm a very simple soul at heart. Sticky rice was the perfect option to mop up all that beautiful curry sauce.

I cannot wait to go back to Thailand Cafe. Turns out that Torode chap knows what he's on about.