My Hub saw a review in the paper for this new Thai/Chinese restaurant in LaGrange. According to the owners, a husband and wife team, most Thai/Chinese cuisine is adjusted to fit American taste. They, however, do not adjust their recipes to fit American taste. And in order to support that, it was written that the husband, being from China, cooks just the Chinese fare, while the wife, being from Thailand, cooks just the Thai fare, thus maintaining the integrity and authenticity of the cuisine. That statement was enough for us...we decided check it out.
We got there shortly before they closed, but we could tell immediately that this was a true 'family-run' restaurant. The minute we walked in, we noted that 'the family' was seated at the table closest to the kitchen. They were having dinner, and that was cool...we had no problem with that. But, there were a couple of other tables still there, and we found it surprising when the grandson was allowed run up and down the aisle of the small restaurant (seats approximately 25) screaming. So, this isn't really the place to go for a quiet, intimate, romantic dinner. BUT, it's a place to have a decent meal.
We started with a few appetizers, ordering typical items that can be found in other Thai/Chinese restaurants. I was curious to know what the difference between 'adjusted to American taste' and 'authentic' was to the owners. We stuck primarily to the Thai dishes, although I had one Chinese dish. It was Yet-ca main, which is primarily a noodle soup. My dad used to take me to this place right off of Clark and Grace in Chicago where they served the best Yet-ca main. Needless to say, it is still the best Yet-ca main. The soup I had was nothing like what I expected. I found it difficult to believe that this was considered authentic because the Yet-ca main in Chinatown was made like the place in Chicago, so I didn't know what to believe. But, the soup was decent.
From the Thai side, we ordered the spring rolls, homemade fried dumplings (key word - homemade), and the chicken satay. The only thing that impressed me a little was the dumplings. They were unusual, not round, but flat rectangles. And they weren't made with pork, or at least I don't think so. I think it was ground chicken. I'm still not sure...didn't cover my bases and ask (for shame!!). But the flavor was a bit bland and it was necessary to add the soy sauce. Having to add soy to your dish is always a bad sign. The spring rolls were fresh, but they needed to be rolled tighter. They kept falling apart when you picked them up. And the chicken satay was just bland. You could smell the curry seasoning on the chicken, but you could taste the blandness of the chicken, so it probably wasn't marinated. My Hub ordered the Tom ka kai soup, and he ordered it Thai spicy. We had to send it back twice before it was even close to spicy, and even then, it wasn't what we were used to. But once again, it was good soup, good flavor. For dinner, I had the tofu basil, the Hub had the green pork curry, and we ordered the combination Thai fried rice. My dish was decent. The basil didn't overpower the tofu, and there was enough to take home. The fried rice was okay, too, but they only put one shrimp in the dish. A little disappointing for a combination fried rice. But at least the rice was cooked the way we expected. The Hub's green curry dish was a disappointment, though. It is supposed to be spicy (I think), and of course, we asked for it to be Thai spicy for that extra kick. We had to return it to the kitchen twice again, before my Hub was ok with it. It would have been all right except our waiter (also an auntie) kept telling us the next time we come in, we should order it extra, extra spicy. I just didn't understand why we had to wait until next time when we had originally ordered it Thai spicy. I was a bit confused because most of my Thai friends have an extremely high tolerance to spice, and this wasn't even making my nose drip. On top of that, they used a ground pork. Why? I'm not really sure, but I'll take a stab that it was to minimize the amount of meat put into the dish. I know that sounds bad, but I've NEVER had green curry with ground meat...EVER.
Since they're pretty new, they didn't have any dessert. But they did serve a Thai iced coffee that was delicious and a Thai iced tea, equally delicious. All in all, it wasn't a bad meal, it wasn't a great meal. The cost was comparable to other Thai restaurants in the area, but it was still disappointing because I still don't know the difference between 'adjusted to American taste' and 'authentic'. For those of you who have gone to Thai restaurants and have chosen items that were spicy, asked for it to be mild, but it was still too spicy for you, go to Yau's place. Their food is definitely NOT too spicy.
Two other items of interest...it's BYOB and they take credit. read more