Thai food and cocktails

I’ve had more than my fair share of outings into Manchester this week, as it was both my birthday and my last week at my job. I took the opportunity to try some places I’ve never been before, and thought I’d share my experiences…

Me and my sister enjoyed Thai food and Prosecco at Chaophraya, a lovely Thai restaurant on Chapel Walks, off Cross Street. I’ve wanted to try this place for a while, as I’ve read good things about it, and it didn’t disappoint. The decor is gorgeous, and there is the option of dining at low tables on cushioned low-level seating. We went for the sensible option and sat at a regular table! We ordered the Papaya salad for starter, with papaya, carrot, tomato, lime, chillis, peanuts and deep-fried sticky rice balls, which was really tasty and delicious, and a healthy-sized portion, but really very spicy, so be warned!! For main we both had Thai Green Chicken Curry (not very adventurous!) with organic brown jasmine rice. Again, this was gorgeous, and I thought the rice was really something special, but we should have taken the waitress’s advice, as one portion of rice would have been enough for two of us. I’d definately recommend this restaurant, as it was all really lovely, even the bathrooms (I took a cheeky pic of this too!)

We then moved on to The Liars Club, a Tiki-themed bar with amazing sharing cocktails. I actually prefer to think of it as a Pirate bar, becuase of the massive selection of rums and the barrel tables. Worth a visit if you’re in the area, and especially if you like rum!

For my leaving do we went to the Northern Quarter, and ate cheap and cheerfully at the Black Dog Ballroom. I can recommend the fish finger buttie – it was delicious with home-made fish fingers on thick cut bread, and I had it with salad, which was also great! Not bad for £6!

We went to various places around the NQ, but one worth mentioning for its very interesting selection of cocktails is Socio Rehab. They have an amazing choice, including some very strange options (Peanut Butter and Jelly Flip anyone??), but I stuck to gin-based ones, and tried a Definative Collins and a Clever Club (with pink peppercorn!). And how cute is this Rainbow Road!!