Then I moved to Belgium.

Although I have found a few favourite destinations when I’m in the mood for something “ethnic” (stay tuned and you will surely read about them), finding something with a bit of kick has remained a challenge. I’m generally a weakling in the spice department, but I do enjoy it when my food packs a pleasant punch.

My best experience was a visit to an Indian restaurant in Brussels. The waiter actually asked if we would like our food spicy or mild – the first time such a question was raised in my Belgian experience. “I heard you were speaking English,” he explained. “We don’t bother asking Belgians.”

So you can imagine my surprise when friends took me to Papaya Song in Ghent. The menu offers a good choice between meat, fish and vegetarian dishes. However, there are no tiny peppers to indicate a spicy dish, you just need to know your stuff. I went for red curry, a no-brainer at my usual Brussels Thai stop, but this dish was just at the border of my spice capacity. A friend ordered the green curry, which was likewise nearly out of her range. It was a delicious shock for my deprived taste buds.

Our starters were mild – spring rolls and fish cakes – each with its own sweet dipping sauce. We sat outside since the weather obliged, and the terrace was comfortable and quaint, but a bit noisy from the street traffic on the busy Krijgslaan. The interior, though, is lovely, with dark wood tables, red walls and artistic (not tacky) Thai-inspired touches.

The service was unfortunately quite amateur, and, although our starters arrived quickly, we waited an hour for our main course. In their defence, I can say that the waitresses were very friendly and helpful – a quality sorely lacking in the majority of Belgian eateries.