Spice up your life and get yourself to Zaap, the best Thai street food restaurant in Nottingham and without a doubt my favourite place for when I need a spicy fix. Even if you don’t like spice, the menu is so vast that this restaurant has something for everyone. The authenticity of the food just has me returning again and again.
As soon as you walk into Zaap, you feel the culture of the place, surrounded by bright street signs and witnessing food being cooked fresh in the open makes you feel like you’re actually on a street in Thailand. You can even sit in a tuk tuk if you get lucky enough, as they don’t take bookings except for large groups so it’s first come first served here, but with so many tables there’s never a problem getting a seat.
For a starter, if you’ve never had Thai food before or even if you have, I recommend the Bangkok Platter. It allows you to try 5 traditional street food nibbles to share for two (there’s a veggie and meat option which is also great). It’s a fun and tasty appetiser and a great chance to try lots of different foods.
A word of warning though, spoken from experience; if you order a dish like the Sea Bass and it comes with a little pot of sauce, try some before you pour it all over your dish – it may be the spiciest thing you’ve ever tasted. The menu does give a spice rating next to each dish and it should be heeded.
My favourite dish is a creamy satay non-spicy curry, the Gang Massaman with prawns (you can choose the meat/tofu) and it’s divine. Alternatively, on a cold day the Guay Tiew Phed Toon, a duck rice noodle broth is a perfect throat warmer with a generous portion of duck. The menu names sound a bit confusing at first if you’ve got no knowledge of Thai food so be sure to read the descriptions under each dish carefully and you won’t go wrong!
The prices are reasonable as well for the student budget and they have some great daily offers like their curry Monday where you can get a curry and a drink for £10 and on Tuesday substitute curry for Pad Thai!
So if you want to immerse yourself in Thai culture, Zapp is the perfect place to go.
Miriam Thompson
All images courtesy of Zaap Nottingham via Facebook.
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