SIAM SMILES : THAI CUISINE (UK)

There's a Thai supermarket underground in China Town, hidden admist the other supermarkets on the street.  It's normally a supermarket but they have also a small restaurant inside. The space inside is very limiting, restricting to only a couple of tables.

This place isn't as famous as the other thai counterparts in Manchester. It's definitely considered a hidden gem. Only spotted by a those who read newspaper food columns or deferred there by a friend.

We ordered a few meals including a dish that is similar to hainan chicken rice. The rice is herb infused and with steamed chicken. It was a little hard on the top but either wise it was delicious to eat. The chicken was soft and not overcooked or undercooked.

We also have ordered papaya salad, which have crunchy peanuts adding to the texture. The young papaya was sliced into thin pieces along with carrots, cabbage, and tossed with a light salad sauce. I tasted connotations of chilli as well as fish sauce and lime juice. But that's as many as I guess.

There was egg noodles with crispy skin duck broth. The broth I think was the highlight of the evening. It was sweet from the duck and I nearly fainted from eating the duck meat slices with the egg noodles. The noodles were sublime, it was tangy not too soft and have the right texture to chew on. It was cooked to al dente.

There was also pork knuckles that were braised for hours, marinated with a good sauce. It was sweet and soft to eat with the herb infused rice. The soup that came along with the dishes was a good palate cleanser. I assumed it was chicken broth.

There was also crispy pork belly with rice. I hadn't crispy pork belly in a very long time, and it was so good to finally enjoy one. It came along with the rice and like the description it was crispy and crunches between your teeth.

Overall the meal was enjoyable, with a good drink of ice milk tea on a hot weather that was surprising in Manchester.

 Address: 48A George St, City Centre, Manchester M1 4HF

Opening times:Sunday       9:30am–7:30pm
                        Monday       9:30am–7:30pm
                        Tuesday      9:30am–7:30pm
                        Wednesday 9:30am–7:30pm
                        Thursday     9:30am–7:30pm
                        Friday          9:30am–9:30pm
                        Saturday      9:30am–9:30pm

This is Sharon signing off this week's food blog. Stay tune every week for more.