Page 50 - Phonebox Magazine May 2016

In with the new out (in MK) with the old
NEW MELIS – Amphawan Thai Restaurant
Thai is a food group that has mostly passed me by. Memories (more than one) of searingly hot food, served in double quick time in freezing cold restaurants, have moved it down my priority list. But, one of my favourite eating experiences in recent years was a Thai Steamboat restaurant in Malaysia. Plus the other half is knocking out an exceptional Vietnamese (similar, right?) lamb broth dish. So with Amphawan opening its doors this month in the Potato Store, Olney, I was rather excited.
Not knowing my way around the menu, and being scared of anything too hot, I started with items rated no chillies. First, the chicken in coriander, garlic, pepper and sweet chilli sauce. On the next visit the chicken with ginger, spring onion and mushroom. More recently, I bravely ventured up a notch to the one chilli rated Thai Yellow Curry. All three dishes had bags of avour and were really fresh. The yellow curry, my favourite so far, had a tasty, slightly sweet, rich thick coconut milk sauce. I tried the other half’s Jungle Curry – two chilli rated – and I think I’ve found my level. Delicious. A thin broth like sauce with a really deep avour – fragrant and warming, not too hot, but spicy enough. I’ll be back for this one.
I’ve read the Trip Advisor reviews so far – they are not great. But, I’ve also had my big ears apping when out and about and heard most people say it’s the nicest Thai food they have had in a long while. For me the service was spot on and I’m thoroughly enjoying my new Thai exploration. If I was you – go visit and make up your own mind!
OLD MELIS – Exchange House, Milton Keynes
Missing Melis? Never fear, the lovely Yelda has simply moved a short taxi drive away to Milton Keynes. You’ll nd her just up from the Hub in Exchange House and it’s lovely. Beautifully and warmly decorated, it’s a bigger, better, brighter version of the Olney Melis. We visited just a few days after opening on a Saturday night and the place was full and buzzing.
The menu is very familiar with all the old favourites, most notably the lamb chops and the whole seabass. Hooray for that. But there are new things to try and hooray for that too! Each table is brought complimentary pillow bread – a huge balloon of traditional Turkish bread and very moreish. They now have a pizza – or Pide as the Turks call it – menu. Oval, not round and served without tomato sauce, it makes a nice extension to the menu. I chose a Lamb Beyti. This was really good and may even wean me off my lamb chops (previous regular menu choice). It’s like a Turkish burger. Minced, really well-seasoned lamb made into a patty, wrapped in traditional thin Lavash bread. A layer of cheese inside, tomato sauce on the outside, and a dollop of yoghurt made it a very lovely thing. I’ll be back for more.
FOOTNOTE
Talking of TripAdvisor, there is a recent review left on a local restaurant’s page that is worthy of comment. The reviewer worries they might come across as a spoilt townie and basically says that compared to even the worst pubs in London where they used to live, the food in and around Olney is inferior.
Now I’m lucky to get around a bit. My tendency to holiday in the UK means I eat out a lot. In London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and many a small market town or back of beyond village. In these places, I’ve eaten some of the best food of my life and the worst (yes even in London). I’m not sure exactly what was being compared in the review. True, in terms of style, Olney is feeling a little tired of late. There are some smarter, trendier, prettier looking places to eat further a eld. But comparing apples to apples? I’d be hard pushed to nd a pork goulash better than the one I ate recently in the Swan, or a better beef roast dinner than the Bell and Bear’s last week – in any pub in the UK. Just saying. #Ilovemytown.
50 Phonebox Magazine | May 2016
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