An Evening at Mango Tree, Belgravia

Thinking about what to title this post, I considered “Dinner at Mango Tree, Belgravia” but I think the word evening captures the time spent in this restaurant perfectly. Three hours to be exact; 7pm till 10pm. With it feeling like only 60 minutes.

Booked in for dinner on a Saturday night, was in hindsight, a really good decision. It basically worked out as carb loading (…I know, I know) but it certainly made sure I slept well (thanks alcohol) and was well fuelled for my Sunday long ride out in Essex.

Now y’all know I love food. So when on the rare occasion, I eat out (I’m not talking about Pret or Leon), I like to enjoy the experience and enjoy my food. The word balance seems to be overused these days especially as it really is a personal thing, what balance means to each of us. But for me, I like to enjoy my food without worrying about macros or calories or how I can “work it off”.

If you’ve not already been to Mango Tree, it’s a Thai Restaurant close to Victoria which I was informed do “amazing cocktails” …and I can confirm this. Say hello to my “Thai Mojito” that kept me occupied while I perused the a la carte menu…

And Marks & Spencers said it so well in their most recent advert…

“Sometimes you just need a knife and fork to travel…”

…onto starters. Between the two of us, we ordered 3 different starters. A mixture of recommendations from the waitress and of what we fancied. Poonim Yum Mamuang (soft shell crab),  Mango Tree Chicken Satay and Por Pia Pak (vegetable spring rolls).

The food came quickly and as you can see from the pictures was immaculately presented. It felt like a  lot of thought had gone into the dishes especially with the dips accompanying them which really brought out the flavours perfectly.

For my main, I had the Pad Ka Pow (stir-fried chicken with fresh chilli, garlic, snake beans and holy basil leaves) with a side of Pad Mee (stir-fried egg noodles with soya sauce, garnished with spring onions).

My main was spicy, but I had been warned and I am a huge fan of spicy food anyway. Alicia, who I dined with, had the Pad Thai Goong Yai (thai rice noodles stir-fried with king prawns, chinese chives, crushed peanuts, bean curd and bean sprouts in a special homemade sauce, topped with our signature egg net) which you can see on the left side of my main course image above. I’m not one to eat prawns when I eat out, but I’ve genuinely never seen an actual king prawn like this before and the dish certainly did not skimp on the extra prawns stir fried into the noodles.

I ate pretty much all of my main, but I did make sure there was plenty of room left for dessert. We decided to share a few items from the menu and opted for Kow Niew Mamuang (honey mango with sticky rice and coconut milk), Chocolate Sphere With Salted Caramel (chocolate sphere with vanilla-pandan ice cream core served with warm salted caramel sauce) and Ponlamai Ruam Mit (seasonal exotic fruit platter served with mango sauce and chilli-lemongrass sorbet).

The chocolate sphere was chosen based on having seen it being served on another table and deciding I needed it especially for a little Instagram action.

When the sauce is poured over the sphere it disintegrates to reveal the ice cream core and all melts into a gooey chocolatey mess! …you needed to have seen my Instagram stories to check this out in all its glory…

…all washed down with a small glass of plum dessert wine…

I’ve not been to Thailand yet, but it is firmly on my wishlist. Until I make it, my evening at Mango Tree will hold a special place in my memories… The entire evening was perfect from start to finish; although if I did have to be picky, I’d say the restaurant was in London but the toilets were in Bangkok! …the service and staff were attentive, and that’s a lot coming from me, who is hard to please!

To find out more about Mango Tree, check out their menu or to book a table, visit their website here.

What’s your favourite type of cuisine?! Have you been to Mango Tree before?!

Elle