EATING OUT W

E’D heard great things about Just Thai but living at the other side of Huddersfield the big question had to be: will it be worth the journey to ‘the other side’?

It’s the best part of 40 minutes from our Colne Valley abode but going via Farnley Tyas, Kirkburton and then left at the Sovereign crossroads, it just makes you so glad to live around here. Our countryside is truly spectacular.

We went through Denby Dale itself with no sign of the restaurant and kept going and going. In the end I said to wife Ruth: “Just around the next corner and if it’s not there we’ll turn round as we must have missed it.”

It turned out it was just around the next corner. Perhaps that’s why they call it Just Thai.

A former pub that’s been a restaurant before, it’s had a truly smart makeover, adding a modern and minimalist feel to a traditional detached stone building. And it works.

They seem to like their lilac and purple in terms of the lights and the waitresses’ uniforms. Well, we had lilac bridesmaids dresses when we got married back in BC – that’s before children rather than more than 2,000 years ago – so that struck a chord.

It’s as smart inside as out – clearly there has been a major investment in getting it jut right. We went last Friday night and it was packed. That’s always a good sign.

We’d hardly sat down before some slightly spiced prawn crackers arrived. Another good sign.

It’s quite an extensive menu and offers some set meals that look pretty tempting but for the sake of giving the menu a good going over we went a la carte.

Starters were Hoi Nueng (£6.50), steamed Thai style mussels with kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass and basil served with Thai spicy seafood sauce.

Now this is a dish. The presentation was spectacular with the mussels lined up like boats round a central mooring point and had the taste to match with a sauce that’s simply irresistible. If you picked the dish up and slurped it noone could possibly blame you. I held back though. That’s just not the done thing in Denby Dale apparently.

Ruth went for Mee Grob Goong (£4.75) – don’t you just love the names for Thai food? – that was fried crispy noodles with sweet and sour sauce, shrimps and spring onion. The description doesn’t really do justice to this rare taste sensation. The noodles simply melted; you must try it. For mains it was Pad Thai (£7.95) thin rice noodles stir fried with red onions, bean sprouts, tofu, egg and spring onions in a tamarind sauce served with chopped peanuts and lime. Now this description belies the The description doesn’t really do justice to this rare taste sensation. The noodles simply melted away as you bit into them – you really have to try it. work of art behind it.

This was no ordinary egg – it had been shaped as a lattice to cover the entire dish and the sauce was another one keen to dance all over your taste buds with all the vigour of Riverdance in full flow. But they kept on coming. The second mains was Gang Paneng (£9.25), Thai thick red curry sauce with coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and fresh chilli.

We we opted for chicken with this one. Sliced, tender chicken and the sauce wasn’t too thick at all with plenty of green beans.

Much underrated is your humble green bean.

The third mains was Pad Pik Pao (£9.25), a stir fry in chilli oil paste with garlic, fresh peppers, onions and spring onions.

We chose prawns but you could have had chicken, pork or beef. Huge prawns, a vibrant dish, a sauce that was pungent and peppery with chunks of green pepper and onion. Probably the top dish of an excellent night.

Toilets were the cleanest I’ve probably ever seen at a restaurant – absolutely spotless.

Service was great too.