Words by Ashavari Baral

As a deep lover of pan Asian cuisine, I have a high standard of what constitutes as good Asian food. Noodles, stir fry and thick soups are in my daily go to(s) when I go back home in India. So I was sort of skeptical about trying the ÔÇÿÔÇÖBangkok Caf├®ÔÇÖÔÇÖ in Canton, but hereÔÇÖs why IÔÇÖm glad I didÔǪ

The Bangkok Caf├®, located on Cowbridge Road, seems like just a small simple caf├® from the outside but once you walk in, the ambience is fantastic. The color scheme for the eatery is bright and warm and compliment their equally great customer service. The cutlery and plates are of a fun bright neon colors and extremely eye-catching.

For starters, my friend and I got Gung Tord, which is king prawns coated in a light crispy batter with a sweet plum and chilli sauce; we also got the Larb Bed which was made of duck with chilli and Thai herbs in lettuce wraps.

Bangkok Caf├® gets a 10/10 for presentation: the minced duck was so aesthetically appealing coming in small lettuce wraps as well and the prawns were beautifully laid out on a bright pink plate. Extremely insta worthy! While I was a bit disappointed with portion sizes (7 pounds for 3 prawns), the food made up for it. The prawns were crisp and crunchy, and the sauce balanced out the crunchiness by being light and sweet. The sauce was so good that I started eating it out with a spoon on itÔÇÖs own, while waiting for my main course! My friend complimented the duck for being cooked to perfection with the seasoning being his high point. For our main course, I decided to try the Pad Thai. Before I ordered this plate I reminded myself that I have been to Thailand and had proper authentic street pad thai that was beyond amazing – so would anything be able to beat that? However, since the appetizers turned out so well, I decided to give it a shot. My friend ordered the Bangkok Caf├® Special Noodles:glass noodles with prawns, squid, pak choy, baby corn, spring onions and a hint of curry.

The size of my Pad Thai was huge and came with chilli flakes and crushed peanuts. The Pad Thai was great because there was a generous amount of prawns and veggies. I drizzled the peanuts all over my noodles and it tasted fab! The noodles were fantastic, and it was clear that there was a lot of prawns and herbs as in one bite you could taste a mix of them in your mouth. The times I have previously tried Pad Thai it was less sweet than what I had at Bangkok Cafe, but I didnÔÇÖt really complaining. The Bangkok Caf├® special noodles were incredible, my friend said they tasted authentic and there was plenty of veggies in the mix that balanced out the taste of all the various seafood. I appreciated the sauce and powders on the side for those who want a bit less of a strong flavor.

Overall, Bangkok Caf├® surpassed expectations of being an average British-Thai restaurant we see in a lot of places in Cardiff. The food served us well and we ate and ate to our hearts content. I recommend checking it out if you love hearty Asian food. The options are vast ÔÇô having grills and an entire Vegan menu as well.