Eating out: Sang Thai, Dorking

I had always thought that Thai food was not a patch on good Chinese cuisine. But that was until the other day when my gastronomical adventures took me to the centre of Dorking and Sang Thai restaurant.

Until then my sole experiences with Thai food had been meals in Thai outlets attached to pubs or a sampling of Thai cuisine in one of those fusion type places.

Let me say straight out: Sang Thai offers some of the finest Thai food to be had outside of a quality Bangkok restaurant. How it had escaped my radar thus far I do not know.

And, what's more, not only is the food exquisite, and the prices pretty reasonable, but the interior decor is a joy to behold, the customer service superb and the general ambiance tailor-made for a great time out.

We visited last Thursday night, finding an empty parking space right outside the front entrance. As we were soon to discover, its unpretentious and unassuming facade masked the luxurious dining experience we were about to sample.

We were warmly welcomed by manager Sam who ushered us to a table deep inside the restaurant. There were a few other tables occupied (by the time we left two hours later it had filled up considerably).

Once inside, the soft, traditional Thai music, neutral tones and intricate wood carvings on the walls combined to create an air of calm and tranquillity, as well as convey a feeling of spaciousness. A family-run restaurant, it opened six years ago this month.

Dining at Sang Thai is a treat for all the senses, and the staff are willing to please. It offers a takeaway service, at discounted prices, as well as providing catering arrangements of both Thai and European cuisine for private functions. Sam said it is fully geared to catering for large groups or for special celebrations.

We had barely sat down before a waiter appeared with a bowl of prawn crackers – accompanied by a couple of mouth-watering homemade sauce dips. The wine list indicated a wide range of whites, reds and rose from all the traditional wine-producing nations. If you wanted to go the whole hog and sample the ultimate Thai experience, what with authentic Thai crockery and goblets engraved with Thai elephants, you could order Thai Singha lager, at £2.90 for a 330ml bottle, and even complete the notion of a holiday by the beach in Pattaya or Phuket and order a Thai cocktail or mocktail (non-alcoholic drink)!

The well laid out menu was self-explanatory, with detailed descriptions of most items. Sam turned up and suggested we order a Sang Thai Platter as our starter. Designed for two, it cost £12.50 and consisted of pieces of chicken sateh (marinated strips of chicken), gai sarong (minced chicken spliced with garlic and coriander wrapped in filo pastry with plum sauce), fish cakes, dim sum (steamed dumplings of minced chicken with soya sauce and toasted garlic), prawn tempura and mushroom toast (minced mushrooms lightly spiced on toast, again served with plum sauce).

Our starters combo arrived sizzling on a large platter, beautifully presented and attractively garnished with flowers and leaves and birds fashioned from carrots and courgettes, and kept hot by a central plate-warmer. The tasty flavours of the dishes did not disappoint: It was all as good as it looked.

For our mains we ordered something called gung makham (tiger prawns stir fried with tamarind sauce), which came in at £9.10, and a portion of Sang Thai special rice (£6.80) for two. We also requested a portion of sateh, but this time with prawn (£5.10), and spare ribs (£4.90), marinated pork stir fried in garlic and honey sauce.

To go with all this we asked for a bowl of mixed vegetables (£3.90).

Sang Thai also offers a range of set menus (minimum two persons). As a guide for diners, all food items are marked mild, medium, hot or vegetarian.

With a wide selection of typical Thai desserts on offer, we opted for a straightforward fresh fruit salad with vanilla ice cream (£3.80 each). It made a refreshing change to actually get fresh fruit and not the processed stuff out of a tin.

It would be difficult to fault Sang Thai on any level – with its authentic and traditional Thai cuisine, it is the real deal in every sense.

Alf De Araujo

At a glance...

Reviewer's rating: Four stars

Cost for two: £49.90 (including desserts but not drinks)

Service charge: 10 per cent added to bill

Wine: Varied choice

Vegetarian: A very large selection

Parking: Just outside (at night), car parks nearby

Disabled access: Yes

Service: Friendly, courteous and professional

Value for money: Yes