Thai restaurant chain Giggling Squid launched a new menu across all its 52 restaurants, including the one in Kingston, on Monday (3 August).

The new menu offers 16 brand-new dishes, served on a new photo-led menu, alongside a public commitment that portions will always stay generous.

Being a lover of Thai food and having visited Thailand earlier this year, I was keen to try Giggling Squid's new menu on the day it launched.

So, my partner and I booked a table for 8pm on Monday and were welcomed in by the restaurant's friendly staff.

The new menu was already ready on our table and I immediately found the accompanying dish photos super helpful, as, sometimes, a mere description isn't enough.

Plus, the menu also had a barcode to scan for those with allergies to input their allergies and it will tell you which dishes you can have.

This was very handy for my partner who has a serious peanut allergy.

Despite wanting to try various dishes from the new starters section, we opted for the Khao Mok Moo, which Giggling Squid founder Pranee Laurillard said is the dish she hopes most diners will try, and its fish alternative the Khao Mok Pla.

Our starters came in a swift manner and they were true to the chain's philosophy of following the Thai principle of Nam Jai: generosity from the heart, the unprompted kindness in how every guest is welcomed and looked after - they could have been a main!

We absolutely loved the Khao Mok Moo, a Thai take on biryani: a folded lotus leaf parcel of fragrant wok-fried rice and chilli pork, and would say it was our favourite dish.

The meat was super tender and its texture was amazing - it was definitely an interesting take on biryani.

The Khao Mok Pla, which swaps the pork for curried fish, was equally delicious and bursting with flavour.

However, both dishes were rather spicy and not for the faint hearted, so if you're not into spice, I'd suggest opting for something else.

And for mains, guided by the delicious-looking photos, we opted for the Prawn and Soft Shell Crab and the Whole Sea Bass Green Curry with some sticky rice which was served in a cute little woven basket.

In fact, the presentation of all our dishes were amazing and all looked very similar to their accompanied images on the menu.

We loved the flavour of the Green Curry sauce and thought it was the best we've ever tried, however we found the fish a bit bony - though we should have realised this from the menu image, which shows a whole seabass with its head still on.

The Prawns and soft shell crab in their light batter coating were absolutely delicious and not too heavy (which was excellent considering how much food we ordered), but the sauce again was a little on the spicy side despite the dish description saying it was in coconut milk.

While I would recommend that Giggling Squid, like other restaurants, uses emojis to indicate the spice levels of its dishes on the menu, the added kick, I believe is more authentic to traditional Thai food than the various meals I tried in Phuket which are likely more catered to tourist's pallets than those from Thailand.

I did, however, particularly enjoy the sticky rice, which melted in my mouth with every bite, and as with the starters, the portion sizes were extremely generous.

Despite starting to feel super full, we had just enough room for dessert, so opted for the Thai Apple Pie Spring Rolls (new to the menu) and the Mother in Law's Chocolate Moose, which is inspired by a Cornish recipe created by Laurillard's mother-in-law.

The spring rolls gave a sublime texture blend with their gooey interiors and crunchy exteriors and were absolutely delicious, matched perfectly with a scoop of ice cream and some cream.

Meanwhile, the chocolate mousse was possibly the chocolatey-ist mousse we have ever tried - perfect for chocolate-lovers like myself with its incredibly rich flavour and smooth txture.

All in all, Giggling Squid's new menu is a perfect addition to the chain and the added images will be extremely helpful for those who need more than just a description.