YAYYY DEFINITELY A FAN!!
Visiting my fiancé's family in the area and they wanted me to order Thai food. They heard good recommendations for this place so we gave it a go!
For those who don't follow me, my parents grew up in Thailand and I grew up both eating and cooking Thai food. I have many years and experiences visiting Thailand throughout my life, so I have some references.
We ordered the following:
- Drunken Noodles (pad kee mao): I perfect blend of savory, spicy, salty, and a little tang infused in extra wide noodles that were perfectly chewy even after a little wait for take out. Flavors were on point and was not super sweet -- sometimes it will be sweetened to appease western cuisine/taste more so. 5/5.
- Pad Ga Prao - very common Thai street food -- stir fried ground chicken with a similar sauce to the drunken noodles (ga prao sauce). Flavors were on point and we added a fried egg on top which is how it's usually served on the streets of Bangkok. 5/5
- Curry Crispy Noodles -- I can't read Thai (terrible son, I know) and thought it was a dish similar to Khao Soi, which is a northern Thai curry noodle dish. It was not, but it was quite delicious! It's more of a red curry served with crispy noodles, which helps give it a different, crunchy texture. If it had a mixture of rice noodles along with the crispy noodles, I'd be more of a happy camper! Overall, 4.5/5!
- Tamarind Chicken - for those who do not do what tamarind is. It's a very common pod-like fruit that has a tangy and mildly sweet filling that encase the seeds in the pod. It's a very common, delicious flavor. The slice chicken was lightly breaded and vegetables steamed/boiled to soften. For take out, they will separate the sauce and the fried chicken and veg so it won't become soggy. Thanks! Flavors were good and my very slight critique would be to add a touch of seasoning to the chicken/batter. I get it though, usually the sauce covers the chicken and is infused with the deep fried goodness. But a pinch of salt sprinkled after its fried can amplify the tangy, sweet sauce. 4/5.
- Spicy Beef Salad - Thai Salads are a mixture of tangy/sour, spicy, salty, sweet, and sometimes a slight bitterness. If not bitter, umami from the fish sauce. Yumm! Literally though, the salads are usually in a "Yumm" sauce which means pounding all the ingredients up in a mortar and pestle to get the flavor profiles and combination of flavors out of ingredients and then marinating/coating what we ingredients. This dish was super well done and delicious! 4.5/5!
So why not a 5/5? It's a solid place and everything was delicious! Though, personally it should be the standard of Thai restaurants and taste in the area. Usually a 5/5 rating for me has that small WOW factor that over the top impresses me. Those dishes above are your standard Thai dishes and flavor, kind of like the "if you get these right, you're solid!" -- they did a tremendous job! Maybe I need to be directed to that dish(es) that encompasses that WOW for me. I will be back to find out! :)))
Sadly, no pictures were taken because we were too hungry to eat and devoured everything before the thought cross my mind. We'll be back! read more