Restaurant with new take on Thai

THE Giggling Squid in Henley opened in December and is already the talk of the town.

Last Friday, I was invited for a meal by the restaurant chain owners, Andy and Pranee Laurillard.

I arrived with my friend at 8.30pm and the house was packed. The restaurant smelt amazing and diners were busy chatting, sipping wine and tucking into their generous plates with gusto.

I quickly scanned the tables to see what others were eating and was pleased to see that every plate was beautifully presented and colourful.

After perusing the menu and nibbling on Thai prawn crackers we chose the finger food platter to share, priced at £12.50. This was a perfect combination of Thai textures and flavours, consisting of sesame prawn toast, spring rolls, pork dumplings and vegetable parcels.

The prawn toast was not the heavy and greasy triangular offering you’d expect, but two delicate fingers with a light and buttery topping; delicious dipped in sweet chilli sauce.

The pork dumplings were well-seasoned and smoky in a light soy and rice vinegar dipping sauce with chilli and spring onions. The sauce was a perfect balance of hot, sweet, sour and salty. The vegetable parcels were crispy and golden, filled with potato, pea, carrot and baby corn. Their spring rolls were the best I’ve tasted — light and crispy with a moreish sweet onion flavour.

For our main course, I stuck with a favourite of mine, chicken Paneang curry: a snip at £8.45. My friend chose the house signature dish, the Giggling Squid — baby squids stuffed with minced chicken served with a chilli-loaded sweet sauce, a reasonable £10.50.

We chose egg fried rice and vegetable pad Thai to accompany our meals. Despite the full house, the service team were working together and we were waiting no longer than expected for our main dishes to arrive.

My chicken Paneang was a vibrant red curry dish made with coconut milk, ground peanuts, slices of red and yellow peppers, succulent chicken pieces and shredded aromatic lime leaf. The flavour was rich and aromatic.

My friend’s dish was a generous plate of lightly-battered stuffed squid in a hot and sweet sticky sauce, served on a cabbage leaf and crispy vermicelli.

The squid and chicken together, enveloped in a golden crispy batter was a great combination and one I would definitely recommend. Our vegetable pad Thai was a feast for the eyes, delicate and sweet noodles embellished with stir-fried vegetables, crushed roasted peanuts and an egg ‘web’ on top for decoration.

After finishing our plates we couldn’t eat another bite. I was tempted to try the sticky rice banana parcel from the dessert menu but I decided to try it next time I visit, perhaps after a lighter lunch of Thai tapas which is available on the daytime menu.

I now understand why everyone is talking about the Giggling Squid. The food was fresh and vibrant and the service was faultless. The Giggling Squid website boasts “startling flavours, amazing colours and original textures within an elegant setting” and they certainly deliver their promise.

The manager said that it’s advisable to book a table from Wednesday to Saturday for evening sittings so call the Giggling Squid on (01491) 411044 or visit www.gigglingsquid.com