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Callum received a Mystery Guides voucher for Christmas and he decided he wanted to use it around Oxford. With Fathers Day approaching, it was a great excuse to book a table at Chang Mai for lunch.
We drove to the Redbrudge Park & Ride to the South of Oxford and caught the bus into town. A bargain for £2.50 for two people (Callum was another £2 on top). Once in town, we headed to The Chequers Pub for the start of trail. It was right by the alley leading to Chang Mai and opposite the entrance to the Covered Market.
The Mystery Guide took us around the key sites in the town centre, but we were bored by half time. All the clues were looking at Statues or looking a Shields … then referring back to the front cover to get another clue to cross off the list. We nearly stopped half way through but plodded through more statues and shields!
There was another group just in front of us completing the same trail – really annoying as one women kept telling us where the clues were. The clues weren’t exactly taxing … the statues took a little deciphering as to what they exactly were as some were incredibly weathered.
However, the guide does take you around some absolute highlights of the city so if you’ve never been here before, you are in for a treat.
Whilst it became a chore to complete in the end, we were really glad we had the chance to do a Mystery Guide as they are heavily advertised and we had wondered if we were missing out on something better. We’ve done over 30 Treasure Trails (main competitor to Mystery Guides) and we will stick with these going forward.
We managed to complete the trail (along with a pit stop in our favourite Oxford Pub – The Turf Tavern) just before 1pm which was perfect timing for our lunch booking.
We discovered Chang Mai last August when we headed into Oxford and Jon wanted to try a different Thai for his birthday treat. It’s tucked down a little alley opposite the Covered Market. It’s in a building that dates back to the 1700s and the two main rooms they use are upstairs. Neither very big, each with around six tables.
A mixed starter platter to start with and a portion of scallops on the side. A bowl of Tom Yum Prawn Soup was shared – hot and spicy and delicious. For mains, Jon had the Beef Pad Kapaow and Callum the pork equivalent. I had sea bass in sweet and sour sauce. Rice and Pad Thai were the accompaniments. All really nice and hope Jon enjoyed his Father’s Day Treat.
We headed home after the meal. The cheese stall in the Covered Market was closed on Sundays. We managed to buy one of the last loaves in the bakery, Paul in case we wanted cheese & biscuits later this evening.
