As mentioned many times before, I am not exactly the most cultured when it comes to foreign cuisine. If you were to take a look at my categories up above, it is painfully obvious that my variety of ethnic samplings is quite lean to say the least. Over the years, I have tried to branch out, but testing out new places can be quite the daunting task, as I rarely venture away from familiar territory. However, on the afternoon of May 23, 2007, I was feeling a bit adventurous.
Ladies and gentlemen, please congratulate me as I have now patronized my whopping THIRD Thai restaurant! Aren't you so proud of me? I was just cruising around the Dublin area, checking up on the status of the greatly anticipated Ulferts Center, which has been a long time coming. It seems like they are taking their merry old time for each individual shop to open up, so it's a bit frustrating each time I pass, trying to figure out which businesses are in operation. The mall itself is an LA style open air, compact two story building surrounding by a dense sprawl of housing and offices, with much more construction yet to come. With the boom in Asian population in the local residences and businesses, it is easy to see why investors decided to build out here.
Such eagerly awaited establishments as Koi Garden and Quickly have yet to grace us with their presence, so my choices that afternoon were quite limited. Basically, I had to pick between the following: two Japanese joints with no kanji or kana to be found anywhere (House of Sake, Osaka Ramen), a Singaporean/Chinese place (Singapore Old Town), and a Thai restaurant called Thai Basil Express. Since I'm not a fan of dumbed down Japanese cuisine, it was a toss up between Singaporean and Thai. Back to the vehicle it was to find a coin.
Heads - Singapore
Tails - Thai
Cling! Clang! Tails! Thai Basil Express it was!
As with the majority of the other shops and restaurants in the Ulferts Center (Angel Reborn, Koi Garden, Ulferts Furniture, etc.), Thai Basil Express is a spinoff of a larger, original location. It's almost like this mall is presented as a "sneak preview" of the main attraction on the other side of town. However, this business plan does have its merits, as it provides instant recognition and credibility.
After a kind greeting by the owners of the shop, being completely ignorant of what Thai food is all about, I just ordered one of the most stereotypical, common dishes of all - pad see ew. I'm sure Thai restauranteurs are just as sick of people asking for this as Chinese are for patrons requesting chow mein and potstickers, but perhaps when I become even more culturally aware, I will attempt to broaden my palate. Come to think of it, pad see ew is almost like chow fun with different spices, so I don't even know if that counts as trying something new in the first place.
To be perfectly honest with you, all three of the Thai places I have been to (Lanna (http://www.yelp.com/biz/6y26VcGgSuiJrcXk6YKXyw) and Thai Spice (http://www.yelp.com/biz/A6Zj5WUtcnaXkW6wzY-sBA) being the others) have tasted EXACTLY the same, which is to say they are all very good! Maybe I've been lucky, and just happened to randomly come across some of the finer Thai restaurants around town. Or perhaps there is no such thing as bad Thai in the greater Bay Area.
The set up here at Thai Basil Express is somewhat unique. It does seem like a formal restaurant, but instead of sitting down first, you order up at the counter like at a fast food joint. The drinks are also self serve. However, the dishes are brought over by the server on regular plates, with stainless steel silverware. Out of courtesy, I always tip, but I'm not even sure if it is mandatory or not. The lady manager is very polite and helpful, often going around to ask the patrons if everything is okay. Yeah, I know this is often used as a ploy to fish for tips, but I'm a sucker. It gets me every time.
One aspect I really enjoy is the corner lot location, which provides ample lighting, and plenty of people watching opportunities (that is, when the center finally reaches full capacity). Perhaps, the third time is a charm, and Thai Basil Express will be the spot that helps jumpstart my exploration of more exotic, foreign cuisine. If nothing else, at least I have found a worthy place to dine in what will inevitably become my future hangout spot. read more