It was only a couple of weeks ago that we were sitting on the coral sand shores of the Indian Ocean eating wonderful food. Perhaps it was an urge to relive those times of midsummer; or maybe a hope that the mid-winter hanging over could be banished even temporarily by those exotic tastes, that made the idea of a Thai meal so appealing. The Thai House is at the end of Dalkey's main street on Railway Road, the bar is downstairs and the dining-room is upstairs. One of the first things that I noticed on entering is an array of fine wines behind the counter; things like Figeac, Mouton Rothschild and Latour. I guessed none of these were the traditional accompaniment to Thai food, but it augured well for the wine list.

A coffee table carried copies of the Bangkok Post and another newspaper in Thai. Browsing through the Bangkok Post of January 18th, there was an article about Dublin's Doheny and Nesbitt's pub, which had a curious circularity of import and export to it. My guests for the evening were local residents Chris and Diane de Burgh, and since both were hungry we went straight to our table to examine the menu and wine list.

I'll admit it here and now, I know nothing about Thai food, which probably puts me on a par with just about everyone else in this country. Chris knows a bit about it having been to Thailand to perform on half a dozen occasions, plus he's been to the Thai House before with Diane, consequently they know their way around the menu. But here's the thing; it's all been planned on the basis that it's new to nearly all of us. The menu comes in two parts; set price meals for two, four, five or six people which range from £20 to £24 per person, which offer a balanced sampling of the menu and an a la carte for those who know what they want.

While we were looking through the menu we met Tony Ecock, the owner. It's his Thai wife, Boonma Nilrat, who is the master cook, so Tony was able to give us careful and exact descriptions of the dishes on the menu. Throwing to the wind any attempt at keeping the accumulation of subcutaneous fat to a minimum, we ordered dishes from nearly every part of the menu. To start we chose the 'special starter pack' which is bit of everything for two people and padded that out with deep fried marinated pork, spring rolls and deep fried prawns.

There is another side to Tony Ecock; he is also half of Ecock Wines, which explained the rather fine clarets downstairs. He suggested that in his experience the Italian Pinot Grigio was perhaps the best wine for accompanying Thai food. Pinot Grigio is a varietal that comes the Friuli, an area in the hinterland of Venice stretching up towards the Dolomites. I have tasted some supremely nasty Pinots in my life, but I agreed anyway. I needn't have worried, the wine from Collavini was superb - long in finish and fruity, with a clean, distinct taste. The dining-room is not large, a dozen or so tables set with linen; the walls are hung with Thai tapestries and prints while a large gilt Buddha surveys the room from a plinth. But what really caught my eye was the cutlery made to look like bamboo. There is also unobtrusive music which in no way hindered our conversation.

The starters arrived in interestingly-shaped Thai crockery and were accompanied by little dishes of sauces, like peanut and hot chilli. If, like me, you ordered the prawn dish don't expect to see any prawns; they're chopped and pressed into a prawnburger which is then deep fried. All the starters - like our Pinot Grigio - were distinctively flavoured which is something that I like. Chilli is used with discretion, while the various spices are used in a way that allows you savour each one.

For main courses we chose a spicy chicken curry, a spicy beef chilli, a spicy sea-food salad and noodles with spring onions, peanuts and bean sprouts. Two kinds of rice came with this, plain boiled and egg-fried, which is on the menu under the name Kaaw Paht. Oddly, I find myself unable to remember the tastes of the main courses. Either the company and conversation had distracted me, or perhaps we hadn't chosen something memorable. I do remember that I liked what I ate, and that the Pinot Grigio got decidedly better with the second bottle.

For desserts we once again had a selection. They arrived on a large platter from which we helped ourselves and of them all, my favourite was the fried banana balls with a honey dip. By the time we were on the coffee we were the last people in the restaurant. In truth this is something that happens frequently when I'm with Chris: somehow bars, restaurants and hotels close around us. It's become almost a matter of pride now to stay up until we're the last. Anyway, because we had finished and there was no one else around, Tony Ecock invited us into the kitchen to meet his wife and her part-Chinese helper. It also happened to be Chinese New Year, so the kitchen was decorated with masks and offerings of food left out for the gods. We had missed the traditional banging of all the ovens and pots, as well as the sprinkling of brandy over most things for luck. 'Five star, too,' muttered Tony. We did see the amazing range, with a watercooled top and deep recesses lined with huge gas-jets for really blasting the heat into the woks.

Still fired up in party mode we went back to the bar where we tasted a delicious spirit, drunk in Thailand as an after dinner digestive, which was called Mekhong. It was improved by a splash of Coke and as a digestive it worked just fine. What is great about this way of eating is the huge variety of tastes that you can work through during a meal. It's a labour intensive cuisine with lots of prep, but it's satisfying for the diner. Considering the amount of effort involved in a meal like this, £23 a head for the food didn't seem exorbitant. Mind you, there was wine to add on to that at £15.50 a bottle, but I'm going to delicately refrain from mentioning how many there were. It's a secret between me and my liver.