Orkide is a great Thai restaurant in lively Sodermalm! As you enter, they have the bar area and then the dining area is on either side.

The restaurant is spacious with purple decor. The seating is comfortable with sofa style seats along the back wall. The other chairs are purple and are cushioned. There is also covered outdoor seating.

The Pad Thai Pak was presented beautifully with a small orchid flower as a final touch to the plate! It was a huge portion but I liked it as they had not skimped on the vegetables or the noodles. There was a good range of chunky vegetables which included courgettes, mushrooms, carrots, baby corn, beansprouts, bamboo shoots and spring onions.

There were little bowls on the plate. These were filled with crushed peanuts and dried chillies. This was one of the best Pad Thai’s that I have ever had!

The Gaeng Ped Pak was another big portion and it was served with rice. We thought that this red curry would be quite spicy and we were quite pleased that it wasn’t. Just like the Pad Thai, this dish had lots of chunky vegetables and a great flavour too.

The food at Orkide was brought out fairly fast and the service was good. Even though we were one of the last diners in the restaurant, we were not hurried in any way to finish our meal and to leave the restaurant.

Orkide delivers outstanding, flavoursome, tasty, filling food! One thing to note is that Orkide does not serve bottled mineral water!

Orkide, Medborgarplatsen 3, Sodermalm, 11872, Stockholm

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Thai cuisine is one that I am very fond of and I can never resist a good Thai meal! Unfortunately, Esarn Kheaw was a huge disappointment. Apart from the friendly staff, we really did not enjoy our meal and time at Esarn Kheaw.

For the starters, we had the tempura; deep fried mixed vegetables and prawns. The batter was thick and didn’t have much flavour. It was a big portion but not at all tasty and very greasy. The vegetarian spring rolls were tiny and looked like they were overcooked. I’m not sure what they were filled with but it tasted really salty.

We asked the waiter if the chicken wrapped in pandan leaves was made from frozen or fresh chicken. He told us that fresh chicken was used. Another member of staff served us the chicken. When we asked her the same question, she told us that the chicken that they used was definitely frozen. It was bad that we had been misinformed.

Pad Thai was ordered for the main dish. My expectations of a great tasting dish, full of flavour were not met. The rice noodles were rubbery and tasted very stale. It was like the dish had been cooked a while ago and then reheated. This main meal was not at all enjoyable.

For the drinks, the orange and lemonade tasted very watery and wasn’t fizzy. When we ordered the second drink, it only came after we asked the staff several times through our meal.

Esarn Kheaw seemed like a nice restaurant when we entered. It had a huge mirrored wall which made the restaurant look quite big. Also, it felt like it was a family run restaurant. It is a real shame that Esarn Kheaw did not produce good quality food.

Esarn Kheaw, 314 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush, London, W12 7LJ

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Busaba Eathai is one of those restaurants where it is like communal dining and you share your table with strangers. There are big wooden tables and long bench like seating. It has a warm decor and atmosphere created with the contrast of the wooden furniture and the orange lighting. The restaurant was decorated with tea lights and Buddha statues.

The starter dishes were better than the main ones. The Thai calamari with ginger and peppercorn was one of the best dishes. Big chunks of calamari cooked to perfection and not coated in batter!

The pandan chicken wrapped in the pandan leaf was another wonderful dish. The chicken was so soft and tender; it was very moreish. The chicken meat looked like it was chicken thigh!

For the mains, the aromatic butternut pumpkin curry was chosen and to accompany it, some brown rice. The big bowl of curry was quite spicy. I would have preferred it to have been less spicy and also if it had other vegetables in it, instead of just pumpkin. The brown rice came in little wooden pots.

The Thai roti was ok; it was like Indian paratha bread. It was good to dip it in the curry sauce but on its own, it was fairly plain.

The service at Busaba Eathai was good and the food was brought out fairly fast. Our waiter was nice and gave service with a smile. We appreciated that he gave his honest opinion when we asked which dishes were tastier.

Busaba Eathai had lots of dishes on the menu such as noodles, rice dishes and grilled food. It also had lots of drinks including teas, juices and soft drinks.

Busaba Eathai, 22 Store Street, London, WC1E 7DF

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