You all know I’m a massive fan of Offbeet New Forest (I know, still haven’t been to Wickham) after my last review so, this week, when they invited me back for another complimentary meal in return for a review, I couldn’t say yes quick enough.
Even though the main menu at Offbeet New Forest is always changing and adapting as they innovate their way through new plant based ideas and dishes, they also hold themed nights every now and then when they put on a special menu for a few nights a month.
This month, it’s Thai night. I’d seen some of the pictures of the food from their instagram and I was really intrigued. Thai food can be easily made vegan as they use a lot of vegetables and tofu in their cooking, as well as a lot of coconut milk. But trying vegan thai in a place that does everything else so well was guaranteed to have an even bigger impact.
We started our meal with a bowl of warm sesame almonds while we perused the menu. The almonds were so warm they were chewy in the middle, but with a lovely sugary sesame coating. Perfect to get your taste buds warmed up! As there was a group of us we co-ordinated our orders so that we could try as many dishes as possible. Also, the Thai night menu is similar to a tapas style meal – it works well to share 2 mains with some rice between two people.
The dishes are really reasonably priced; £7.95 each (except pad thai which is a little more, but is an enormous portion).
To start, we shared the summer rolls and satay skewers. Of the two, I honestly couldn’t pick a favourite – if I went again I would have to find someone to split my order with so I could have both! The summer rolls were exactly as they should be; light, fresh and fragrant. The satay skewers were made of seitan chick’n with a roasted peanut sauce, instead of peanut butter based, which added loads to the flavour.
For our mains we shared hunglei curry and aubergine yellow curry. The hunglei curryhas a sweet and sour element; tamarind, pineapple, roasted peanuts, tomatoes and garlic. The sauce was zingy and sweet and juicy all at the same time. The aubergine curry sauce was so creamy and smooth and the aubergine itself was cooked for ages so it just fell apart in a creamy, delicious mess – dreamy.
We also decided to try the lotus stems, and I have to admit I had no idea what these were when I ordered them, but loved the sound of the flavours. I immediately recognised them when they came out and I loved the texture of the stems; they were stir fried with garlic and soybeans and had a beautiful rich garlic taste.
Some of my fellow diners also tried the pad thai, which I didn’t try as they’ve even managed to mimic the scrambled egg element (tofu) and I really dislike eggs. I was glad I didn’t try it as my friend said it tasted really eggy, which is a really good thing (just not for me).
As it that wasn’t enough, we finished off our evening with a pot of tea and a slice of cake. They make all their cakes in house and of course, like everything else, they are 100% vegan. And the standard of baking in the Offbeet New Forest kitchen is top notch. When I bake at home I can tell the difference between vegan and non vegan baking; but not here! We all went for the salted caramel lotus biscoff cake because it just looked so good. The icing was creamy and light and the balance of flavours was perfect. I definitely did not have room for that cake, but it was so worth the little fat (happy) belly I went home with.
Offbeet New Forest are having two more Thai nights this month (Saturdays) and I really recommend you give them a go. This is not just good Thai food, or alright vegan food – it is the absolute best of both worlds and food that I would happily convince my meat eating friends and family to try and I know they would love it.
You can book a table by going to their website. I also recommend you follow their socials to keep up to date with what they’re up to – I heard a whisper last night of something they have in the pipeline for the next theme and I can already tell it’s going to be worth the wait.