This is week 21 of James and I eating at every food stall at Norwich Market, and this is when I visited here in 2023 when this expedition last happened. I went for one of my favourite dishes of black pepper chicken last time and this was one of the highest rated visits of the year, particularly with the enthusiastic and engaging service, so I was optimistic about today’s visit.
The second of the menu boards and there’s been a £1 price increase on food across the board from when we visited two years ago, which seems moderate and in keeping with the other stalls at the market. If I’m being honest, I caused some confusion here as I was loitering when trying to take a photo of the menu boards for this post and then I planned to choose what I wanted to order, but I suspect the team member thought that I was confused. I mean, I’m always confused, but it did cause the ordering process to be a little erratic in terms of my order being taken before James. But, the welcome was authentic and I liked that they were trying to ensure every customer was happy and not entirely confused. They have an unusual system here that they don’t charge until the food is served, so they have to trust the customer not to walk off in the interim, but despite initial impressions it really did seem organised. The stall also accepts cash and cards, although the cheaply priced £1 drinks I mentioned last time are now £1.50.
The team member had mentioned that there would be a ten minute wait and it was actually sixteen, but I think that’s sufficiently in the realms of a reasonable estimate and so I’ll take that. The stall was actually also genuinely busy, it wasn’t as though they were faffing about without reason and it’s positive of course that any stall is busy.
I’ll admit, I had high hopes for this one as it’s my go-to dish at Thai restaurants, usually a fragrant, fiery little number that packs a punch and leaves me feeling like I’ve made a wise and adventurous culinary life choice. Unfortunately, this version didn’t quite deliver on that promise. The sauce, while enthusiastic in quantity, seemed to have taken a vow of silence when it came to flavour and although it was described as the spiciest item on the menu, that felt like more of a motivational slogan than something that was actually delivered. But, having noted that, tastes vary and there were certainly some redeeming features. The chicken was tender and respectably moist, the rice was well-cooked, and the crispy onions did a lot of the heavy lifting as they brought texture, crunch and some extra flavour. The lettuce felt like it was in the wrong dish and I would have liked at least some more green to the colour of the curry and I don’t mean more lettuce. It wasn’t horrendous by any means, it’s just it didn’t reach my expectations of when I had eaten here before although maybe I just missed the MSG which they don’t use here.
James went for the crispy chilli chicken with noodles, which he was relatively positive about, although he did regret not going for a smaller portion as he thought that the flavours weren’t enough to excite and delight him. We both felt found the ordering process very slightly more stressful (we’re used to Lucy’s chips if I’m being honest) than was entirely ideal and he had to rush back after lunch because he stops so many times talking to people he knows that we now have to add in twenty minutes in each direction to get to the market. There wasn’t anywhere to stand at the stall and as there were seagulls floating about nearby, we found a quiet part of the market which felt safe.
All told, the stall was busy when we arrived which suggests it’s a popular affair and I felt that they dealt with that queue in a professional and personable manner. The main chef of the arrangement is very engaging, warm and conversational, so he positively added to the whole visit. It was all OK, but I didn’t feel like we got the quality that I had experienced before, but I’m happy to go again on our next run of market stall visits and try something different. Or just that delicious black pepper chicken that I had last time and then perhaps I might get a free spring roll like before.