Thai pronunciation not up to scratch? Simply order by numbers, says EMMA DUNN

The Check Inn 79 Woodland View, Swindon, SN4 9AA Tel: 01793 331428

‘FEEEEHHHD faaaaaaaaahd king,’ I said to myself over and over in my head.

I was rehearsing how to tell the waiter at the Check Inn I wanted the stir-fried slice of roast duck with fresh ginger, mushrooms and spring onion (£9.45), labelled on the menu as Phed Phad Khing.

But as the waiter approached, I was seriously doubting my Thai pronunciation skills.

“Maybe it’s pronounced ped pad king”, I thought, but the waiter was too close for me to even ask my boyfriend what he thought. Oh well, if all else failed, I could always point.

Scott ordered first, our starter of chicken satay sticks which we had decided to share. But when he asked the waiter for a “satay gai”, the waiter replied “No 5” with a smile.

Suddenly it dawned on me. There were numbers down the side of the menu. Before I knew it I had ordered a No 49 without hesitation, and my worry about how to order my dinner had gone.

Scott chose a No 55, otherwise known as a gaeng daeng gai, a red curry with chicken, coconut milk, sweet basil, bamboo shoots and Thai aubergines (£7.95). And with that, our dinner was ordered.

It was a Thursday evening, and apart from us there was just a table of six in the corner and a table of two behind us at the pub in Wroughton. It meant we could clearly hear what the other people were saying and they could hear us too.

We were hungry though, and with our stomachs rumbling decided it might mean our food would arrive quicker.

We were right. Before long, our chicken satay sticks had arrived and they were accompanied by a thick peanut sauce.

My mouth is watering just remembering them. The chicken was good quality and the sauce was the perfect consistency for dunking. It tasted divine – certainly the perfect match. Full marks for No 5.

Next to arrive were our mains (Nos 49 and 62), accompanied by side portions of sticky rice (£2.50) and egg fried rice (£2.35) – FYI, Nos 80 and 77.

Mine was a colourful array of vegetables and duck with plenty of sauce to soak into the rice.

There was a huge mound of food, almost enough for both of us. But to my surprise I ate the lot.

The ginger went beautifully with the perfectly cooked duck and, combined with the vegetables, it felt like a healthy choice. Mind you, throw in the generous portion of egg fried rice and it probably wasn’t so healthy after all.

But without a doubt, it was delicious.

Scott was raving about his Thai red curry with sticky rice too. It packed a punch at the same time as having a delicate coconut taste.

Full marks all round for the mains too.

We were too full for pudding, but there was a choice of homemade desserts available.

If the restaurant had been a bit busier it would have added to the atmosphere, but the food and service were both faultless.

The website advises people to book for Friday and Saturday nights so perhaps we’ll try that next time. I certainly won’t be panicking about my Thai pronunciation on our next visit.