TUCKED away in a Newport pub is a Thai restaurant which isn’t short on flavour or portions.

Thai Siam is based inside the Pen and Wig on Stow Hill, and is in its infancy as a restaurant, having only opened four weeks ago.

Run as a separate business to the pub, anyone wanting to try a taste of the Far East can whet their whistle before or after if they so wish.

With a dining area specifically for patrons of Thai Siam, myself and a friend took our seat for an early evening meal on a Wednesday night.

As a relative novice to Thai food, I was keen to try a few different dishes so, after some woeful attempts at correct pronunciation, we opted for the por pea gai (chicken spring rolls), tord mun pla (Thai spicy fish cake) and pla meug tord (squid).

The standout starter was the fish cake, with a pancake-like texture and the taste of lemongrass combined to compliment the fish.

For mains, I had pad Thai, a stir fry consisting of lovely, sticky noodles combined with beef and ground peanuts for a nice crunch.

My friend went for the chicken gaeng mussamun, a curry which had a nice background of heat matched with a creamy coconut sauce.

These generous dishes left us too stuffed for pudding, so we bid our hosts a farewell.

Don’t let the setting fool you, Thai Siam has got plenty of genuine Thai dishes to tuck keep aficionados happy.

Meal for two was £26.60.