As the smell of bonfires and the crackle of leaves underfoot usher in darker nights, we were drawn to the alluring neon of Thai Hom Mali truck, parked by the Horseshoe pub in Northwood, where we were met with a friendly welcome at the serving hatch.

We chose from the surprisingly comprehensive list of soups, noodles, curries and stir-fries, and added sundry starters and a portion of jasmine rice, before waiting in the warmth of the car for the meal to be cooked.

Even once home, the cartons had retained their heat; food steaming gently as we removed the lids.

We started with Thai prawn crackers, much more flavoursome than their Chinese counterparts.

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Crunchy and tangy, they were a great start to the feast.

Deep-fried sesame prawn toast can be pretty greasy, but Thai Hom Mali's interpretation was less so, and the warm seeded triangles were decent examples of this classic Asian starter.

(Image: Matt and Cat) Our Thai fish cakes were a delight.

Small in size, perhaps, but big in hot and spicy flavour, with a distinct salmony taste and a suggestion of lemon, they were above par.

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We chose the most expensive of the pad Thai dishes - the king prawn version.

Our stir-fried rice noodles were tossed with egg, crisp bean sprouts, carrot and spring onion, and garnished with peanut dust.

(Image: Matt and Cat) We discovered plenty of succulent prawns nestling under the delicious flat smoky noodles.

As well as being flavoured with the homemade Pad Thai sauce, the meaty prawns tasted pleasingly like they had been marinated in garlic.

It was a generous portion, with plenty of variety in texture and flavour.

The rich and creamy chicken Penang curry was not too spicy, simply nice and flavourful, and included whole sweet cherry tomatoes and peppers.

(Image: Matt and Cat) The coconut milk, flavoured with aromatic Thai herbs and Pa Nang curry paste, was hearty and warming.

Although the mild curry was quite runny, the jasmine rice was great for soaking up the tasty sauce.

Overall, our Thai Hom Mali takeaway was great.

With quick service and a decent choice of authentic Thai cuisine, we found it warming in both heat and flavour.

There was enough variety on the menu to satisfy most diners, and also to make it worthwhile making a second visit - which we will surely do.

(Image: Matt and Cat) (Image: Matt and Cat)