Jade Wright samples the most glamorous addition to Liverpool One’s dining options

IT WAS with my mind and tastebuds open that I made my way over to Chaophraya and a wonderfully warm welcome. Our waitress greeted us at the door, and showed us to a table on the top floor.

The decor in Chaophraya is stunning – a tank of goldfish preside over the entrance, and huge chandeliers hang from the ceiling.

But it’s the menu at Chaophraya that’s the real star. As a vegetarian, I was spoilt for choice. Thailand remains one of the most devoutly Buddhist countries in the world, so most Thai dishes are, at the least, vegetarian friendly.

Drooling over the menu, I couldn’t choose a starter. So I went for everything. Well, a taste of everything, with the Chaophraya mixed vegetarian appetisers (£5 each, with a minimum of two people) – a selection of the house special starters.

Admittedly, I had to convince my meat-eating date to join me in the veggie option, but after one look at it, he was glad he had. The platter arrived laden with goodies. I started with the satay hed, a bamboo skewered kebab of marinated mushroom, Spanish onion, cherry tomato and peppers.

They were wonderfully moist, but didn’t taste of much until I dipped them into the accompanying sweet chilli and satay sauces. It was a case of texture over taste, but the texture was so good, I didn’t really mind.

Then I tackled the tempura, or pak thod to give it its proper name, big red pepper and onion rings in a light batter. These were heaven in a mouthful – crisp, fluffy and just melted in the mouth.

The poh piah jae were golden spring rolls, stuffed with vermicelli, sweet mushrooms, and pieces of carrot. Again, the texture was superb, but they lacked flavour without the sauces. But the stars of the show were the delicious tod mun khao pode – deep fried sweetcorn cakes blended in red curry. I could have eaten 10, but thankfully they saved me from myself by serving just two.

As a quirky little touch, the tod mun khao pode were served in a bowl made of deep fried filo pastry – perfect for scooping up the last of the sauces before our main courses arrived. Taking the waiter’s recommendation, I ordered the gaeng daeng (£7).

It was described as a Thai red curry with tofu, cooked in coconut milk with an aromatic selection of Thai herbs and fresh aubergine, bamboo shoots and Thai sweet basil. My date was braver, and opted for the gaeng pa (£8). Now I’d heard of this one – it’s about as hot as they get. A Thai jungle curry, it’s flavoured with indigenous herbs, with bamboo shoots, green beans, holy basil, green pepper, baby corn and lesser galangal. It’s made with a choice of pork, chicken, beef or prawns, and they say its hotness burns off calories on its own. We weren’t so sure, but he gamely volunteered and described it as fantastic. The beef was soft and succulent, the blend of herbs and spices heavenly. We’d ordered boiled Thai jasmine rice (£2.10) and Thai favourite sticky rice (£2.60) to share. It complemented the meal perfectly.

My red curry was heaven itself. Delicately but beautifully flavoured, the vegetables swam in a delicious red soup.

So delicious, that I’m still dreaming of it three days later.

CHAOPHRAYA, Liverpool One, 5/6, Kenyon's Steps. Tel: 0151 707 6323

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