PREVIOUS Taste Tests have received dispatches from the battlefield which is Chester, where the Thai restaurant invasion is well under way.

But most of Wirral has escaped a similar phenomenon – indeed, any restaurant invasion – until now.

There’s a new Thai in central Birkenhead and a buffet. Thai curries feature on virtually every pub food menu and, in Heswall, there’s a couple of takeaways.

In fact, one is so business-alert that, when we were queuing frozen outside the local game butcher two days before Christmas, the proprietor offered free hot drinks. Shrewd move. I remember his shop.

And I’d remember Khrua, too, round the corner at Heswall Hills. This was my second visit and it still felt fresh and inviting.

The first time I went with a friend, they’d only been open a matter of days and the service felt unsure, yet it was packed on a winter’s Sunday evening.

This time, we rang late on a Saturday afternoon and they squeezed us in at 9pm.

When we arrived, we were shown directly to a table. They offered us drinks after a suitable time to examine the wine list: full marks for not leaping on us and getting us to drink the first thing that came into our minds.

We did look at the wine list but – unusually for us – decided against. The outside temperature was oppressive and I often find wine does not always complement spicy foods.

In the end, we drank sparkling water (750ml for £2.25) and fruit juice (£1.75).

The Khrua menu is an eye-opener, probably because you can read it. Most Thai restaurants – indeed, Chinese, Indonesian and many others – decide there must be every possible combination of fish, meat and vegetable with every conceivable spice and herb available.

Menus, therefore, are like wading through the small ads section of a broadsheet newspaper – hardly good for business, as it’s time to go home before you’re halfway through.

As well as a la carte, there is a flat rate of £15.95 for two courses which is £12.95 between 6pm and 7.

We went for the selection of starters on offer, which is available for a minimum of two people and attracts a £3 surcharge per person – but it does mean you get to sample most of the starter menu.

There was gad satay – marinated chicken on a skewer – as well as kean tod, crispy minced shrimps and pork wrapped in wanton skins.

There was a goodly portion of koung hom pla – king prawns in filo pastry – and popia tod, delightfully light spring rolls. The plate was finished off with tod mum pla – red curry fishcakes.

All these were served with a selection of three sauces: a slightly spicy satay, one sweet chilli and another rather more acidic chilli sauce with finely diced vegetables.

“Good choice,” said Mark, “though I’d have been happy with just the chicken. The coconut sauce in which it is marinated is quite spectacular. I’d even ask for bread to wipe the plate clean!”

The filo pastry encasing the king prawns was delightfully light and was not the cloying, batter-like soggily disappointing mess which often coats these shellfish – concealing their delicate taste.

The minced shrimps were particularly memorable, although the fishcakes were a little disappointing.

There are many recognisable main course offerings on the menu, along with one or two different – I’d be tempted to say odd, eccentric even – dishes.

How about kaeng poet pedt yang – a red duck curry with pineapple and grapes in spicy coconut sauce? Or hoi may poo pad nam prik phao – stir-fried mussels with chilli paste, milk, onion, chilli and sweet basil leaves?

If anything, we were a little conventional, Mark asking for keang khiao waan – a Thai green curry cooked in coconut milk, chillies, basil and lime.

He chose chicken, although meat and fish was also available.

I asked for chu chi pla: fresh salmon slices in a rich red curry sauce, served with fresh chilli and kaffir lime leaves. Again, these were both served quickly and the presentation was excellent – both imaginative and delightful.

The amount of meat in Mark’s dish and fish in mine was generous but if there was a criticism of both meals, it was in the amount of salt each contained.

Many of the Oriental recipes we follow at home call for fish sauce, plus soy sauce and then a teaspoon of salt – practically my intake for a year and, if we included them all, would render a dish surely inedible. “That apart, this is a light, deceptively rich sauce with a sneaky spiciness which catches up moments later,” said Mark of his meal.

My fish was not overpowered by the sauce – indeed, enhanced by it.

The accompanying rice was also not the sticky goo which often accompanies similar meals, but delicately steamed.

For dessert, we were both intrigued by the notion of deep-fried ice cream and of gruey cheu – Thai-style banana cooked in a caramel sauce, topped with Malibu and coconut milk.

In the end, I chose Thai fruit salad in a ginger and Cointreau syrup (£4), a generous combination of Kiwi fruit, pineapple, lychees and strawberries while Mark asked for ice cream (three scoops, £4.50), locally sourced from Great Budworth, in Cheshire.

“I did ask for coconut, ginger and honeycomb,” he said, “and the first taste is vanilla. But it is excellent.” If that was the only mistake, we’ll be back for more.

Khrua Thai Orchid, 103-5 Brimstage Road, Heswall Hills, Wirral

Tel: 0151-342 0111. Freephone: 0800 970 2470.

Open daily: 6pm-11. Last orders 9.30pm.

The bill: £54.65 for two courses at £15.95, plus surcharge for mixed starter £3 each and surcharge for salmon with desserts £4.50 and £4 and soft drinks.

Parking: Easy, on street.

Disabled access: Good. All on flat.

Value for money: Good.

Service: Prompt, friendly and efficient.