Review of Phansa Thai Restaurant in Downham Market: Delicious food packed with flavour enjoyed at new restaurant

Straight after a holiday abroad, do you ever get the urge to either try to recreate the best food you had there, or find somewhere that offers it?

Well, that's exactly what I did after two weeks in Thailand. Barely any time had passed at all and I was keen to transport my senses back to those familiar tastes.

Having seen that what was Dang's Thai in Downham – from which I had enjoyed a lovely takeaway before – had closed and recently reopened under new owners as Phansa Thai Restaurant, I thought it would be a good opportunity to give it a go.

I booked a table for four on a Thursday evening and first impressions at the newly decorated Bridge Street premises were positive, with Buddha and elephant ornaments adorning the windowsill and beautiful artwork on the walls.

We settled in at our table after being greeted by the friendly staff and agreed that the restaurant was probably about as busy as you would want on a Thursday evening.

It wasn't long until we placed our drinks orders, which were two Diet Cokes (£2 each), a Coke (£2) and a Tiger beer (£3.50).

As for the food, three of us were enticed by a starter. While I chose the sweet corn cake (£6.25), Mum went for the duck rolls and my partner Shane ordered the Thai fish cake (both £6.95).

While we had initially thought these starters were on the pricier side of things, we soon realised this was because of how much there was – without even mentioning that we were given free prawn crackers!

All three dishes were presented beautifully with vegetable adornments (and I have no idea how they were created). As for the taste, the sweet corn cake was so much nicer than I was expecting and was far from bland. It was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and full of delicious flavours that paired very well with a sweet chilli sauce.

I am told the Thai fish cake had the texture of a Frankfurter sausage but was a fusion of seafood flavours, while the duck roll featured fresh vegetables, crispy pastry and a delicious hoisin sauce.

Moving on to the main course, I felt spoiled for choice but decided on a green curry with tofu and vegetables (£9.95), with a steamed jasmine rice (£3.95). My dad – who is not usually big on spicy food – was brave and had a beef massaman curry (£12.95), with egg fried rice (£4.25).

Meanwhile, Mum had the chicken Pad Thai and Shane ordered the chicken pad see-ew (both £10.95).

My curry was sweet and creamy with delicious flavours and a bit of a kick, featuring loads of fresh vegetables that were cooked to perfection.

Dad enjoyed his curry so much that he scraped the plate and Mum said her Pad Thai had beautifully succulent chicken pieces on top of rice noodles.

Shane said his pad see-ew was a "really tasty dish" that he had never had before but really enjoyed.

We all agreed that we had been served very good portion sizes, and the three of us who had enjoyed starters asked to take our leftovers home with us.

Somehow we found some room for dessert, with Dad choosing the banana split and Mum and I sharing the warm sticky rice (both £4.95).

Once again, these were well-presented. The sticky rice was really tasty, with creamy coconut flavours packed in a rice parcel which was complemented well by a fruity sauce and ice cream.

Dad said his banana split was "lovely" and a special treat as he hadn't had one for years.

After our outing to Downham's new Thai restaurant, we agreed that we had a great evening and would be very happy to return in the future.

Ratings out of five:

Food: Everything was delicious, full of flavour and fresh. It all felt very authentic too.*****

Drink: Would have liked to see a wider range of non-alcoholic drinks but a good choice nonetheless. ****

Staff: Friendly and helpful staff, with very good service. *****

Decor: The restaurant featured a variety of lovely ornaments and artwork. ****

Price: The dishes which felt pricier were of generous portion sizes, so the whole meal coming to £92.55, or £23.14 per person was quite reasonable. ****