Blue Moon is a little bit of Thai extravagance tucked away opposite Flames with friendly staff, a warm atmosphere and good food. The restaurant is very clean-cut; modern without looking like Ikea has gotten hold of it. Thai food seems to be a real crowd-pleaser, especially when the Asian style of food is integrated with Western ideals (covered in batter and deep fried, usually). Blue Moon offers this style of food, although there are plenty of authentic dishes on the menu too.
I chose the classic duck spring roll as a starter. At first I thought the duck was a little under seasoned, despite being a flavoursome meat. However, I concluded that the meat was supposed to be the hero of the dish, accompanied by a vibrant hoi sin dipping sauce. The vegetable spring rolls were most definitely not lacking on the seasoning and were consequently packed with flavour, plus a little extra texture thanks to the vermicelli.
I opted for what is described on the menu as a ‘favourite Traditional Thai dish’, Pad Krapow. The beef was very tasty, shallow fried in an oriental sauce with onions and peppers, although a little heavy on the chilli. I’m a fan of spicy food, and Thai definitely does spicy right, but I believe that even if a dish is spicy the other flavours still have to shine through. If you’re a fan of chilli I’d point you in the direction of this dish.
I also tried two of the curries, a classic Red Prawn Curry and Massaman Chicken. Both were delicious; creamy and packed full of well-balanced flavour. I would thoroughly recommend either if you’re new to Thai cuisine as they’re incredibly moreish. The rice we had no complaints about apart from perhaps the size of the dish for the price. If you’re not planning to overeat then one between two would be sufficient, unless you like mountainous portions (think Joey from Friends).
Even after this mass of food we tried desserts, which allowed me the enjoyment of tasting the Banana Fritter and Mango Sorbet. Both were delicious, the doughnut-texture of the deep fried banana combining smoothly with the vanilla ice cream, and the mango sorbet was punchy and sweet.
I concluded that due to the less-than-student-friendly prices, the cool, calm and collected atmosphere and the absolute choice of dishes that encourage sharing, Blue Moon would be a lovely place for a date or a celebratory dinner. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s just been paid, is looking to impress a special someone or fancies spoiling themselves.
