The welcome addition of Thai cuisine to the British repertoire of adopted culinary styles over the last few decades has resulted in a choice that lies well between other Asian cooking, with a degree of subtlety and flavour all its own.

One of the pioneers of this culinary sea-change was Vichai Kharmakharm, a man with a thriving restaurant business in his own country of Thailand, who opened his first English Thai restaurant in 1986 at Banbury. The subsequent expansion of this family group is now a well-known story, and includes a Thai hotel, The Globe in Warwick.

Thai cuisine, surely one of the most colourful of all, and all that goes with it is renowned for its breadth of experience, the courtesy and charm of those who serve it and its ability to adapt to its new home without losing its essential integrity. At Thai Orchid in Henley, where a splendid buffet lunch is served every Sunday, the restaurant open seven days a week and amidst a wood-lined and bright décor it is possible to enjoy some of the best of its kind in England.