Adventures at Thaikhun, Oxford

We often get invitations to visit and review cafes and restaurants, but the majority of these events happen in London. I always politely decline the invitations as travelling to London and back home would involve a whole day. There are too many factors to take into consideration - like travel costs, organising a childminder for our older son who wouldn't be interested in eating out etc etc.
A few days ago I received an email, asking if we'd like to visit Thaikhun in Oxford and sample their newly launched menu for children.
Wednesday the 19th was the day when Thai street food restaurant Thaikhun has hosted its official kids menu launch party.

Eddie is a social animal who loves meeting new people, and he was very excited to go to Oxford with me. We caught a bus to Oxford, hoping to be in time for the start of the event. The bus was crawling sooo slowly, and it was unbearably hot inside. By the time we arrived at Thaikhun we were flustered, red and sweating, not the most elegant sight.

Friendly staff accompanied us to our reserved table. Eddie was most excited to find lots of balloons floating above the chairs. Kids and balloons. Such simple things keep them entertained for ages. Eddie played with the balloons and was thrilled to find out we could take them home.
This was our first visit to Thaikhun, and I was curious to see the interior. It is a treasure trove of objects and artefacts which gives an authentic feel to the dining experience.

The ceiling is decorated with all kinds of exotic lanterns and bells.

Eddie was happy to chat to two young lads sitting at the table next to ours. They all seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. Eddie even told me enthusiastically "This is the best restaurant ever".

The team at Thaikhun has been working with a team of children who did the taste testing of the new menu.

As you can see from the menu, you could choose one option from each column: jasmine rice or plain noodles, grilled chicken or pork or mixed vegetables and no nuts satay sauce or sweet BBQ sauce or slightly spicy green curry.
Each kids' meal comes with carrot and cucumber sticks to start. We also had a big bowl of crackers and a small dipping bowl of sweet chilli sauce, which was mildly spicy.

And the most adventurous bit - free creepy crawlies are served with every meal! Not for faint-hearted the sight of these dried Buffalo worms. I thought they looked revolting unappetising. These crunchy critters are freeze-dried and are packed with protein.

Oh my, worms for lunch?!

I could have never imagined that my very fussy eater will be brave enough to sample the creepy crawlies. But having seen the other lads eating them, he decided he was sport enough to give it a go. My brave son has tried the first worm very cautiously, then grinned and said he liked it. Soon enough, he was happily munching on a few more.

Eddie loves rice, so he decided to try rice with vegetables and sweet BBQ sauce. He enjoyed the sauce, ate all the carrots but wasn't keen on broccoli.

My suggestion for the vegetable option for kids is to expand the choice of vegetables. Serving just carrots and broccoli seems like an incomplete meal. How about adding some green beans, courgettes, sweet peppers and other veg? It would be more colourful and appetising. It did look like a side dish rather than a main course.

The sweet BBQ sauce was flavourful and got top marks from Eddie. He also liked the jasmine rice.

I was also offered to choose a starter and a main for myself.
For the starter I fancied a dish of dumplings or Ka Nom Jeeb. The menu says "an age old Chinese import, dumplings have become a real street food favourite with us in Thailand". I opted for steamed vegetables dumplings, but you can also choose pork and prawn-filled dumplings. It was a lovely light starter.

I have also ordered a Geang Kiew Wan or Thai green curry, cooked with chicken, courgettes. green beans and fresh Thai basil. It was served with a fragrant sticky jasmine rice. The curry was delicious though a tad on the hot side (there were generous slices of fresh red chilli in the sauce). This classic dish was aromatic and full of flavours.

When we were leaving, Eddie got a Thaikhun goodie bag with a portion of creepy crawlies. He is very tempted to take them to his birthday party on Sunday and treat his guests.
What do you think, should we put some worms in the party bags?!

Disclosure: Eddie and I were invited to have a free meal at Thaikhun to sample a new menu for children. All opinions are ours.