"You Choose" — Sabai Sabai

Venue: Sabai Sabai, 7 Waterloo Street, B2 5PG; website  
Choice: Red curry (£15.95) Chooser: Waiter

That Charles Dickens has got a lot to answer for. Okay, okay, he's got some pretty solid creds when it comes to wordsmithing but popularising the turkey in A Christmas Carol? Unforgivable. For a super flex menu with a turkey count of zero, our unofficial official antidote to the next month of claggy set menus is Sabai Sabai. You'll already have your go-to sort of list — chicken satay (£7.95), pad Thai (£13.95) and green curry (£14.95) is probably ours. And full of crunch and fragrance and freshness, these dishes do exactly what the skies full of rain have you wonting for. But we've also done some branching of late and found the sticky 'n' licky tamarind chicken wings on the Christmas menu. Ohhh baby. Such a hit are these nibbles they're rumoured to be getting promoted to the main menu come 2020. But it's the red curry that's our wintry win right now. Like most of the curries at the Waterloo Street spot, you can try it with chicken, beef, duck, tofu or prawns. It's all about the plump, juicy crustaceans for us but whatever your main mood, the Thai sweet basil and coconut combo will heat you up and prepare you for the many meals over which you'll have no choice through to Jan. Order with coconut rice (£3.95) for maximum joy. Menu