As I am in London, I thought I would take the opportunity to meet up with my cousin, Finola, for a Thai Lunch. She is half Thai and half Irish, just like me. My mum and Finola’s dad are siblings. A lot of people either think we’re sisters or confuse us for each other! The picture below is of us together when Annabelle was 3-months-old. Do you think we look alike?

We went to Silom Village in Ealing Broadway, West London. I chose my favourite Thai meal, Yen Ta Fo which is a pink coloured broth-like soup with tofu, seafood and rice noodles. The soup is made from soy beans and these days it is pink through artificial colouring and sugar is added for sweetness. I’m not quite sure if it’s true but my family say it used to be pink because it was made with pig’s blood which sweetened the soy beans. In Thailand many places will still serve it with pieces of dried pig’s blood (so gross right?!?) but I’ve never seen that here in the UK. The rice noodles are quite thick, approx 5mm or larger, but I like Sen Mee which is fine strands of rice noodles, the Asian equivalent of Angel Hair Pasta. Typically, Yen Ta Fo is served with fish balls (a bit like a fish meatball), deep fried wonton pastry, a vegetable called Pak Boung (erm widely known as, Morning Glory!) prawn and squid. As I only like Calamari, I ask for it without squid.

I also had Thai Ice Tea which looks like this before you add milk:

Here it is with milk:

Finola had stir-fried beef with garlic and sticky rice.

What’s your favourite Thai meal? Let me know below or tweet me @beth_denny.