Ramadan Kareem all! Hope your fasts are all going well. This year, we’re so spoilt with choices for eating out for iftar! So many restaurants are running attractive iftar menus, and even though I much prefer breaking fast at home, I’m definitely keen to check out one or two. When Mango Tree invited us to check out their Ramadan Special Menu for iftar, we’re very excited about it especially when it’s a cuisine close to home for me!
Mango Tree is a Thai restaurant situated in Victoria. For the Ramadan Special Menu, they are offering a three-course meal in sharing banquet style. The menu is priced at £38 per person (menu attached at the bottom of this post) and is for a minimum of 4 people. Simply quote “Ramadan” when you book.
Here is what we had:
Dates & Fruit Juice
To start with, we’re given some dates and fruit juice of your choice (apple / mango / orange / passionfruit). If you don’t fancy juices like me, you can opt for a soft drink instead.
Starters
The starters came in a sharing platter style. Here’s what the platter got:
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Nicely grilled chicken skewers with a subtle char-grilled flavour. The chicken was tender and quite juicy. Though I felt like the chicken itself could use a punchier marinade just to give more of an edge to it.
Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Sweet Chilli Sauce
The spring rolls were fried to a really nice crunchy texture. It tasted delectably light and goes really well with the sweet chilli sauce. You just can’t go wrong with some good spring rolls!
Minced Prawn Cakes with Plum Sauce
These prawn cakes carried a light crisp on the outside, and on the inside was an al dente minced prawn mix. To be frank, I thought the prawn flavour was a tad bit underwhelming in this one. Prawn cakes are one of my most favourite Thai starters so I felt these weren’t as up to par. Nonetheless, I did enjoy dipping it with the plum sauce, which was sweet and tangy.
Lamb Massaman Curry with New Potatoes & Cashew Nuts
This massaman curry was mildly spicy, with spices subtly teasing your palate. The lamb was cooked to a really tender texture where it falls apart easily and almost melts in your mouth. I really enjoyed the potatoes, which was cooked really soft without being overly mushy. It’s also lovely how the roasted cashew nuts added texture to the overall dish, as well as the fresh tomatoes for a refreshing tangy touch. The dish, as a whole, was simply pleasant to pair with some steamed white rice (included on menu).
Stir-fried Noodles with Chicken, Squid, Egg, Soya Sauce and Spring Onions
The stir-fried noodles use traditional Chinese egg noodles, which carries a ‘soapy alkaline’ taste. It’s just very subtle though and it’s something I grow up with so I don’t mind it at all – but might come as surprise to some people. The reason behind that ‘alkaline’ taste is due to the traditional use of alkaline water to keep the noodles springy and its yellow colour. That being said, the noodles in this dish was incredibly springy and al dente.
Flavour-wise, I really liked how it was savoury yet light on the palate. Often times, Asian noodle stir-frys tend to come with a very intense flavour-ed sauce, which could be overpowering at times. That’s why I liked this dish as you can still taste out every component involved.
Grilled Boneless Corn-fed Chicken
Then we each got a piece of grilled chicken as well. The chicken was marinated in coconut milk and Thai herbs, and fried to a golden colour. I really enjoyed the light crisp of the chicken. It was tender in texture and generally succulent. It also comes with a side of sweet chilli sauce to pair with. Similar to the chicken satay, I thought the seasoning could go heavier and be punchier just for that extra edge.
Stir-fried King Prawns with Vegetables, Garlic, and Oyster Sauce
Out of all the main courses served, I felt that this one was relatively underwhelming and mediocre. Main reason being, the prawns itself didn’t taste quite fresh. It has a light crispy coating on the outside, but unfortunately, it lacked the burst of fresh prawn flavours. Nevertheless, I enjoyed that Thai basil touch to the oyster sauce in the stir-fry.
Desserts: Coconut Sorbet
Last but not least, we finished off the meal with coconut sorbet. I thought this was literally the most perfect finishing touch to this meal. The coconut sorbet was exceptionally refreshing. Very often, coconut could easily turn too rich and heavy to taste. This one was delightfully light and delicate.
In summary…
…this Ramadan Special Menu from Mango Tree was overall a delight and perfect for iftar. The menu offers excellent dish choices for iftar. They’re all easy to the stomach after a long day of fasting. I also liked how their portions were all just right without stuffing you too much. I left with an incredibly content and satisfying belly! If you’re looking somewhere nice for iftar this ramadan, Mango Tree is one worth checking out!
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Tel: 020 7823 1888 | Website: https://www.mangotree.org.uk
Mango Tree Ramadan Special Menu
