We had the dim sum basket to start which was lovely.  But it became disappointing.  Plain rice, well there’s nothing to say about that, it is what it is.   The seabass dish steamed with ginger was lovely.  Kung po king prawns I thought were bland and the prawns did not have a nice texture.  And then the so called stir fried vegetables turned out to be virtually all cabbage with a bit of brocolli and were soggy and tasteless yet we asked for them in garlic and ginger.  We were not asked mid meal if our meal was OK, but we called them to change the vegetables and they did, so that was good.  But, they came back just as soggy but at least had garlic and ginger on them.  I couldn’t eat them though and I love my vegetables. I cannot eat soggy vegetables.  I expected bok choi or something more chinese and crunchy.  The waitress/possible manageress? came over and asked us if they were OK second time and I said they were soggy and not stir fried as they had obviously been par steamed or par boiled before going into the wok.  She disagreed and said they were stir fried and that they may be different to other restaurants.  Yes they certainly are and they were horrible but I didn’t appreciate the rudeness or curtness in her attitude.  And they definitely were NOT stir fried, and wouldnt be soggy in the two minutes they took to redo them.

So, I cannot say all the food was bad because half of it was OK, but not worth the prices they charge overall.  There are far better Chinese/asian restaurants in the Southend area (as you will see from my over 100 restaurant reviews in Essex on this site) and I regret trying this one as the rudeness of service did not stop there but I will not go into it.

There are so many good restaurants in the area, of all types, so will stick to those.

Date of visit: 2^nd February 2012

Ambience out of 5: 3

Service out of 5: 0

Food out of 5: 2

Value for money out of 5: 1

http://platinumhouse.co.uk/NuAysia.aspx

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chiang mai thai restaurant southend on sea essex great food

We really love this restaurant and it is our firm favourite in Southend on sea. If we want more of a night out, then we go to Leigh on sea or Hamlet court road, but this little place is a gem, and such good value.

Although it has some thai ornaments and a thai feel to it, the plastic tablecloths let it down, but what can one expect when one gets the freshest food at a great price? Having lived in Thailand for 7 months, it is one of my favourite foods. We have tried lots of things here and I can say that it is pretty authentic. We have tried the green and red curries, stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce, Pad Thai, Tom Yum and Tom Kha gai soups, jasmine rice, fishcakes, dumplings and much more. The only things I wouldn’t have again were the fishcakes and dumplings, but all the rest was great.

We have dined a la carte and utilised their ‘evening buffet’ which is not actually a buffet at all – you actually sit there and order anything you like from the menu and just keep going until you are full, so this gives a great opportunity to try lots of things out. At £14.99 (at time we went) each, it is a bargain, and the food it just as good.

Sometimes I do wonder about encouraging people to go to my small, favourite places, such as this one and ‘Wings’ Chinese also in Southend on sea, as I don’t really want them getting so busy I cant get a table! However, I have to recommend this place for good food at good value and they deserve it as they are just so friendly, polite and efficient. A really nice experience every time we go…

Date of visit: Various throughout 2010 and 2011

My marks out of 10: (10 being the highest)

Food – 8

Service – 9

Atmosphere – 7

Value for money – 10

135 Southchurch Rd

Southend-on-Sea SS1 2NW

Telephone: 01702 312 304

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Rak Chang main meal

This new contemporary Thai restaurant opened early 2010, so we tried it out. It has stiff competition with the longstanding Manolys restaurant up the road (which has had a refurbishment this year), but it has brought a fresh approach and it has worked.

The interior is smart, yet cosy and the chairs are really comfortable. It has a laid back feel, with plenty of space between the tables, and friendly, efficient staff. The extensive menu made it hard to choose our dishes, as there were some dishes that are not seen in other restaurants, which is great news. I spent 7 months in Thailand when I was younger, and have been waiting for a restaurant to serve some of the more unusual things like the Northern Jungle curry and the minced pork salad, which I will be back to try!

To start, we shared a beef salad and asked for it a little less hot than usual (as this is a very hot dish) and it came out just right – plenty of red chillis if you choose to eat them, but medium hot throughout. We always ask for “no MSG” as we do not get on with Monosodium…

…Glutamate, and yet everything still had plenty of flavour and really fresh ingredients. The beef was good quality and the portion very generous.

We had seabass in chilli and lime, which is one of my favourite dishes. The fish and juices were delicious, but I did find that the steamed seabass was overcooked, which does spoil such a delicate fish. To go with the fish, we tried their king prawns in sweet and sour and, again, the sauce was fresh tasting and had just the right amount of sweet and sour without being too thick and sticky like some. The large juicy prawns were cooked perfectly.

We also had stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce – again very fresh and a lovely mix of crunchy vegetables.

With plenty of Singha beers, the bill came to £56 with service, which we thought was very reasonable. We will, without doubt, be back!

Restaurant name

Rak Chang Thai Restaurant

Date of visit

16th March 2010 and ongoing into 2011 – it remains the same!

Restaurant telephone

01702 711180

Restaurant address

93, The Broadway, Leigh-On-Sea, Essex SS9 1PG

Service Charge included?

Yes

Average price per person for 3 course meal, excluding drinks

moderate (£20-£30)

How many dined?

2

Value for money rating?

8/10

Atmosphere Quality rating?

8/10

Service Quality rating?

8/10

Food Quality rating

7/10

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I have not tried it, but they do a buffet at certain times, which offers a basic selection of dishes at a very good price. We saw a family have the buffet and they seemed to enjoy it, so this is great if you either want to try a few things or are on a budget.

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Soya leigh salmon main course

This boasts oriental fusion food in contemporary surroundings, and it does deliver just that. We have only been the once so far, but really enjoyed it and will be back. They also say that they use fresh ingredients and use less MSG (Monosodium Glutamates), which is good, although we always ask for no MSG when we have Chinese or Thai food.

The service was great – friendly and efficient – but then we were the only people in there at that time, as it hadn’t been open that long and it was mid week.

We had salmon Teriyaki, and it was gorgeous – fresh and a huge portion of quality fish.  The scallops were cooked with ginger and spring onion and were a hearty portion and delicious and the vegetables and noodles were fresh and good quality.

We will definitely return!

Restaurant name

Soya Restaurant

Date of visit

July 2009

Website address

www.soyarestaurant.co.uk

Restaurant telephone

01702 411766

Restaurant address

1613, London Rd, Leigh-On-Sea, Essex SS9 2SQ

Average price per person for 3 course meal, excluding drinks

moderate (£20-£30)

How many dined?

2

Value for money rating?

8/10

Atmosphere Quality rating?

8/10

Service Quality rating?

8/10

Food Quality rating

8/10

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I quite like the tables with the see through glass, so that you can see the decorations inlaid within, and it is fairly comfortable. They serve the usual Thai dishes, which are pretty good. I just feel that there are better restaurants in the local area.

(I will add the photos from our meal soon…)

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I quite like the tables with the see through glass, so that you can see the decorations inlaid within, and it is fairly comfortable. They serve the usual Thai dishes, which are pretty good. I just feel that there are better restaurants in the local area.

(I will add the photos from our meal soon…)

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Tudor Thai interior

I have been to the Tudor Thai only once, and I was quite pleased with the food and service.

The staff are friendly and the interior is fairly small, with wooden tables and chairs, but comfortable enough. We had a Thai salad and Thai chicken curry, and found it authentic.

I have not been back since, but I have no hesitation in suggesting this restaurant as somewhere to eat good Thai food with a nice service, it is just that I have my own favourites in the area which I feel are a little better, and I prefer somewhere a little more cosy.

See the restaurant details below these photos – (open the photos by clicking on them and use your browser back button to come back to this page….

Restaurant name

Tudor Thai Restaurant

Date of visit

April 2009

Restaurant telephone

01702 389500

Restaurant address

1773, London Rd, Leigh-On-Sea, Essex SS9 2ST

Service Charge included?

No

Average price per person for 3 course meal, excluding drinks

moderate (£20-£30)

How many dined?

2

Value for money rating?

7/10

Atmosphere Quality rating?

6/10

Service Quality rating?

7/10

Food Quality rating

6/10

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Food – 6

service-5

atmosphere-5

value for money-5

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