Adventures in Thai Food

Thai- Cancun, Mexico

2011-03-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was able to spend an entire week with my parents and a few friends in gorgeous Cancun. While there, we of course enjoyed Thai food. The restaurant we went to was called...Thai. Definitely not getting any points for creativity!!

The ambiance was amazing, literally amazing. It was like a sophisticated Swiss Family Robinson-type structure with beautiful lighting....it felt like a paradise, which was especially impressive since it was connected to a large outdoor mall.

Unfortunately, the food was totally fine (fine is NOT a good thing coming from me) and was extremely expensive. I've never paid $30 for a dish before and the food was definitely just okay.

Would I go back? Yes, I'd go back to sunny Cancun! To Thai? Maybe to sip on a mojito while enjoying the atmosphere.

Decor: absolutely amazing
Price: expensive (over $30 per person, before drinks)
Spice level: so-so

For more information:

http://www.thai.com.mx/

Thai Spoon- Downtown Chicago

2010-11-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Chicago as one of Target’s representatives at the NSHMBA Conference (National Society of Hispanic MBAs) and had a little time to kill before our team member training and needed some lunch. I decided to go for a walk around the hotel to find something to eat and to my delight, there was a Thai restaurant two blocks away!

I decided to go with a standard- Pad Thai with Chicken. Thai Spoon did a great job and the meal was delicious. I also enjoyed that there were size options- small and large- for most dishes. I was there at about 2pm and there were tons of diners and others coming in to order takeout- looks like the place did well.

Thanks, Chicago!

Decor: fine
Price: average ($10-$15)
Spice level: order higher than normal

For more information:

Thai Spoon & Sushi

632 South Wabash Avenue

Chicago, IL 60605

http://www.thaispoonsushi.com/

Mt. Fuji

2010-08-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

As I walked past Mt. Fuji on my way home to eat a healthy meal with tons of veggies, I thought to myself...I wonder how this sushi restaurant does with Pad Thai....? A few minutes later I was inside ordering take-out (whoops!). Although the wait for the take-out was a little long (20 minutes), it was totally worth it.

I ordered Pad Thai with chicken, their only Thai dish on the mostly sushi menu, and was so impressed with the presentation, flavor and SPICE. The dish was prepared to perfection and would give Roat Osha a run for their money. I'm not sure why a sushi restaurant has Pad Thai on the menu, but if you can do it right, then why not?

I'd highly recommend trying their Pad Thai...hopefully their sushi is just as good?!

Decor: good ambiance

Price: average ($10-$15)

Spice level: perfection

For more information:

Mt. Fuji
2819 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.mtfujimn.com

True Thai #2

2010-07-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I had the opportunity to return to True Thai. I was definitely looking forward to this since it is so critically acclaimed, yet has never impressed me to the same extent. Yet again, I think that do a decent job, but they definitely don't scream best ever to me.

My dining companion and I started with Fried Tofu, which was delicious, but pretty standard. For dinner, my dining companion ordered Laab with Beef (Your choice of minced ingredients blended with healthy portions of lime juice, roasted rice powder, coriander, and shallots. Served with sticky rice), which he adored.

I ordered Southern Thai Bean-Thread Rice Vermicelli Salad (Deliciously seasoned with authentic Thai spices, mixed with pork and shrimp,blended with sweet and spicy dressing with lime) because I didn't recall seeing anything like it anywhere else. I ordered it as a 5 (out of 5), which the waitress recorded as "TH" (Thai Hot) and it in fact had an amazing spice level. The blend of flavors, pork and shrimp was a real win.

Like I said the first time I reviewed True Thai, their service definitely has room for improvement. It's just...so slow!

Rating- :) :) :) 3 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Sawatdee Express

2010-07-23T08:58:00.001-07:00

After my most recent experience eating Thai food in the downtown skyway, I was a bit scared to try Sawatdee Express. My dining companion and I both ordered Pad Thai with chicken (they have quite a limited menu) and although it wasn't the best Pad Thai I've ever had, it was decent! I also had a spring roll, which was delicious and made me think of Sawatdee on Washington (definitely the best in their group) and my dining companion enjoyed cream cheese wontons.

The meals were quite expensive- over $10- for what we received, but I'll definitely be back to try their curry.

Decor: it's a closet in the skyway...

Price: average, but expensive for the skyway ($10-$15)

Spice level: definitely no spices added during cooking, but they provided them to add!

For more information:

Sawatdee Express
733 Marqutte Ave #211
Minneapolis, MN 55401

(in the Baker Building)

www.sawatdee.com

Royal Orchid- Downtown Minneapolis

2010-06-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

Eek! Gag! Ugh! Blah!

That's about all I have to say about the "food" I was served at Royal Orchid in Downtown Minneapolis. If you ever find yourself wandering around the skyway looking for lunch, STAY AWAY! I would not have known I was eating "Pad Thai" and "Yellow Curry" had the signs not said so....this place is truly horrible.

I'm not even going to give you the address- you don't want it!!

Spice Thai

2010-06-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I had a truly unique opportunity to enjoy Thai food with a newbie!! This dining companion had only tried Pad Thai once at Roat Osha (best Pad Thai ever!) and otherwise was a total Thai virgin! Obviously, the pressure was on for Spice Thai in Savage....and for me to pick some delicious dishes.

We started with Kung Pom Tong (Crispy Shrimps wrapped in golden fried egg noodles served with Thai spiced sweet & sour), which was tasty, but not very memorable. It felt like a good warm up for my dining companion though...

For dinner, we ordered Gaeng Ka Ree with chicken (Yellow curry with coconut milk and potatoes) and Basil Noodle with scallops (Thai rice noodle stir-fried with basil, onion and chilies in our own special sauce. One tasty noodle dish). We ordered both dishes medium (2 out of 5- don't worry, we got a spice tray too!!) and they both had really rich and delicious flavor. The curry was on the thicker side, which is how I prefer it and the potatoes were cooked to perfection. Although Basil Noodle is not something I regularly order, I was particularly impressed with the flavor combination of this sometimes so-so dish.

Although Spice Thai is a touch out of my way (not sure I have many other reasons to be in Savage...), I will definitely be back. YUM!

PS My dining companion dropped his business card in the fish bowl to win a giftcard and 3 days later, they emailed him that he in fact won $25 to Spice Thai!

Decor: just right

Price: average ($10-$15)

Spice level: jury is still out....we ordered medium!

For more information:

Spice Thai
3989 County Road 42
Savage, MN 55378

www.spicemn.com

Chiang Mai Thai #2

2010-05-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was thrilled to go to Chiang Mai Thai where I knew I'd get a great meal. On this particular visit, I truly struggled with the menu. I love all Thai food and it felt like it had been ages since I'd had curry...and pad thai...and soup....and laab essan...in the end, I decided to get a Sriracha Stir Fry with chicken. Sriracha sauce ALWAYS hits the spot and Chiang Mai Thai did a fabulous job!

My dining companions ordered pad thai, fire noodles and pad see eiw....all delicious. Thank you, Chiang Mai Thai for consistently delivering a delicious meal.

Now I just need to try their bicycle delivery service!!

Rating- :) :) :) :) 4 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Chino Latino

2010-05-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

After quite a hiatus from my spicy food addiction, I enjoyed some tantalizing Thai dishes at Chino Latino. Our group ordered two Thai items- Black Laab and Coconut Shrimp Curry. We also dined on some other delicious food, but obviously the Thai food was the highlight of the meal for me (and for a few of my other dining companions too!)

We ordered Black Laab (Thai lettuce wraps with spicy ground beef, mint, cilantro, sprouts and nuoc cham dipping sauce), as a small plate to share and it was absolutely delicious. We struggled a little bit assembling our lettuce wraps (so many things to combine!), but the end result was a great mix of flavors. The cilantro truly complimented the nuoc cham dipping sauce. We were hooked!

For one of our larger dishes, we chose Coconut Shrimp Curry (with pineapple and red bell peppers in a sweet Thai coconut red curry sauce over jasmine rice), which my visiting dining companions order every time they go to Chino Latino. Although it wasn't spicy enough for my liking (when we share dishes- I forgo my usual spice level!), the flavor was right on. For a restaurant that has so many different types of cuisine, they truly nail Thai food. The only thing I'd do differently is keep the rice separate from the curry instead of all mixed together....the rice just takes up space in my stomach and I just want the curry!

This was a delicious first official Thai experience at Chino Latino and I'm hungry for more!

Decor: awesome

Price: above average ($13-$18)

Spice level: good

For more information:

Chino Latino
2916 Hennepin Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.chinolatino.com

Thanh Do #2

2010-04-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

Thanh Do, mmm good! After a second experience at Thanh Do filled with Spring Rolls, Cranberry Curry and Vietnamese Curry Coconut, I am totally sold on Thanh Do!

The Cranberry Curry (Chicken white meat, fresh mushrooms, onions, scallions, Thai curry, coconut milk and cranberries) literally blew my mind it was so delicious. The flavor combination of sweet and spicy....it's making me salivate to think about it. It was thick and rich and really coated the vegetables and chicken to a T.

My dining companion enjoted Vietnamese Curry Coconut (Chicken white meat marinated with vietnamese spices, curry, coconut milk, onions and topped with crushed peanuts and served over a bed of lettuce and bean sprouts), which she also devoured like there was no tomorrow.

I can't wait to return....I'm craving it!!

Rating- :) :) :) :) :) 5 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Tum Rup Thai #2

2010-03-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Recently I returned to Tum Rup Thai, which can always make my food spicy enough (love that), but I have to say that I think the food is just a touch blah. There is nothing wrong with it and I can't really describe why it's blah (weak, I know), but my dining companion and I agreed that it's just really forgettable.

The place is quite cute with great happy hour specials....so they have that going for them!

Rating- :) :) :) 3 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Mango Thai #2

2010-03-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

And that's how its done! I had a second amazing meal at Mango Thai.

After taking my sister to quite a few less-than-great restaurants (so sorry!) I was excited to take her somewhere that I enjoyed a lot. We ordered Laab Essan with Chicken to start and it was absolutely delicious. The waitress offered up the spice scale as medium-hot, hot-hot and Thai-hot. We went with hot-hot to start, which was definitely the right choice.

My sister ordered Pad Kee Mow cooked hot-hot and she absolutely loved it. They do such a good job with this meal! I ordered the Green Curry with chicken (her usual treat) and decided to go with Thai-hot. It was amazing and about as hot as I can tolerate...any hotter and my lips might have fallen off.

Overall, Mango Thai is a GREAT choice for lunch and dinner. Additionally, it is super cute with leather chairs, cozy corners, and hip decor. I would highly recommend it!!

Rating- :) :) :) 5 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Rice Paper

2010-02-28T16:06:00.001-08:00

I had been anxious to try Rice Paper in the super cute Linden Hills area of South Minneapolis. The decor was great and the walls were covered with a picture mural of a forest (see below), but the service and food were disappointing.

First of all, they were out of SEVERAL items! We tried to order an appetizer, out! I tried to order an entree, out! I was like...c'mon, you can't be running out of everything?! I ended up settling on the Curry Plate with Ruby/Jade Salad (wide rice noodles in a rich, deep peanut-curry sauce. Served with a red and green cabbage salad with coriander tossed in peanut-curry dressing) because the waitress said it was the spiciest thing on the menu. She described it as crazy-hot. Well, listen here, little lady, you obviously have either a) never tasted the food here or b) never had a spicy meal! It was barely spicy and this "rich, deep peanut-curry sauce" was pretty much flavor-less. Boring with a capital B!!

My dining companion enjoyed the Rice Paper Rice Plate, which he said was just fine. The decor was so cute that I had such high hopes...

As we finished our meal at the Asian Fusion restaurant, I asked the hostess/water girl if they had any fortune cookies and she snottily replied that "fortune cookies are for Chinese restaurants and this was Asian Fusion." I was so annoyed with her attitude (BTW pretty much every Asian restaurant has some type of fortune cookie!!!) that I almost said "yeah and usually when you order spicy food at an Asian Fusion restaurant...it's actually spicy!"

Decor: sooo cute

Price: above average ($13-$18)

Spice level: Boring

For more information:

Rice Paper
2726 W 43rd St
Minneapolis, MN 55410

www.ricepaperrestaurant.com

Roat Osha #2

2010-02-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

After months of ignoring the siren's call, I was able to have my second experience at Roat Osha. I have to say, the feedback is pretty similar. I had the Green Papaya Salad and flavor-wise they do an awesome job, but spice is another story. Why can't they make their food spicy enough?

Has anyone else struggled here? Let me know...

Rating- :) :) :) 3 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Thai Krathong- Duluth weekend

2010-02-28T16:00:00.001-08:00

On a recent visit to Duluth, I was able to dine at Duluth's best (and only!) Thai restaurant, Thai Krathong. We had several curries and a Pad Thai and it was fantastic- I would highly recommend you try it if you're ever in Duluth. It's in the Canal Park area, which is super fun!

Funny fact: they have two spice scales; 1-5 is Minnesota, 6-10 is Thailand

Big Bowl Fresh Chinese and Thai

2010-02-13T06:42:00.001-08:00

And it's official....Round 2 has begun! (Unfortunately Round 2 starts before I'm able to finish Round 1...). I returned to Big Bowl, but this time to their Edina location and yet again had a fantastic meal.

We started with Spring Rolls, which were pretty standard in my book, but there is nothing wrong with standard. I then moved on to Panang Curry with Chicken, which is hands down the best Panang in town! It may surprise you since Big Bowl is after all a chain, but it's true! In fact, I dare you to find better Panang...seriously!!

I'd tell you about what my dining companions ate, but unfortunately they enjoyed the Fresh Chinese part of "Fresh Chinese and Thai," so I don't care about their food!

Na's Thai Cafe

2010-02-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I was joined by a delightful dining companion on an excursion to Chanhassen, MN! I know Chanhassen isn't that far, but for some reason I felt like it was REALLY out there....well after driving there...I realized it wasn't!

Na's Thai Cafe is a cute little place that you'd miss unless you were looking for it. We started by ordering Yum Woon Sen (silver-thread noodles with onions, shrimp, chopped pork, tomatoes, peanut, cilantro & freen onions), which I don't think I've seen anywhere before. They were delicious and had great flavor!

She ordered Massamun Curry, which proved to be delicious and had full-size peanuts, which was a fun surprise! I ordered a Silver Thread Noodle salad which game in a gallon-sized bowl filled with lettuce, noodles, chicken, onions, peanuts and tons of delicious sauce. It was definitely different form what I usually feast on- curry or at least spicy food, but it was great!

This tiny little hole-in-the-wall was cute and I'll be excited to return.

Decor: fine

Price: average ($10-15)

Spice level: so-so

For more information:

Na's Thai Cafe
566 W 78TH St
Chanhassen, MN 55317

Pei Wei Asian Diner

2010-02-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

I decided to truck it through the snow to Pei Wei Asian Diner in St. Louis Park. I hadn't had Thai food in what seemed like years and was eager for some curry!

Pei Wei was almost exactly like Noodles & Company, but the Asian version! I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of this chain until seeing it on Urbanspoon. The atmosphere was fun and quite busy for being a snowy night. The waitstaff was helpful, but I realized that there was a drive-through (!) and wished I had seen that before going through the trouble of parking, etc.

I ordered the Thai Coconut Curry with vegetables and tofu (we use green curry with coconut milk to give this dish a nice, velvety texture and a smooth curry kick. Fresh ginger, Thai basil, red bell peppers, onions and long beans combine to give this dish wonderful flavor). I was impressed that they offered brown rice (healthy me ordered it!) and tons of vegetables. The tofu was tasty, but different then any other tofu I'd ever seen. It had dark edges and was long and flat, similar to lasagna-type noodles.

I asked for my dish to be prepared extra spicy and while it had some kick, I was definitely disappointed with the lack of burning lips!

This would be a cute place to meet a friend or bring a date and is definitely reasonable with most dishes under $8.

Decor: trendy

Price: cheap (under $10)

Spice level: blah

For more information:

Pei Wei Asian Diner
5330 Cedar Lake Road
St. Louis Park, MN 55416

www.peiwei.com

Chiang Mai Thai

2010-01-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I went with a nice sized group to Chiang Mai Thai. Although I've been there several times before, this was my native voyage as a blogess. We started with appetizers that were both pretty good- Fresh Springrolls (Rice paper rolls stuffed with noodles, lettuce, cilantro and bean sprouts with curried beef) and Happy Shrimp (Six coconut and tempura battered shrimp, deep fried to a golden brown) and of course, a couple of bottles of wine.

I knew before we arrived that I would order Pad See Yew (Rice noodles or egg noodles stir fried with egg, broccoli, napa cabbage, soy sauce, garlic and spices). A few years back, I ordered this dish to split with a friend and we ordered a 3 out of 4 for spice. It was so insanely hot that we couldn't eat it and they had to remake it (we felt HORRIBLE!). Now that I've been exposed to a lot more heat, I love spicy so I ordered this dish as a 4. The waitress seemed uncertain, but I had to do it!! I am so glad I did since it was absolutely delicious. The flavor was right on and so was the spice- I was quite impressed.

The rest of the table pretty much stuck to curry- Panang, Massamun and Sweet Green Curry, all of which tasted like heaven to me. I was genuinely impressed with the night, but because of the chic atmosphere, it just doesn't feel that traditional to me.

Decor: really nice- great for a date!

Price: average ($10-$15)

Spice level: right on!

For more information:

Chiang Mai Thai

3001 Hennepin Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.chiangmaithai.com

Reuan Thai Restaurant

2010-01-21T19:57:00.000-08:00

I met several dining companions in Osseo to try Reuan Thai Restaurant, which was recommended by a coworker. All of the servers working there were young women that didn't quite look old enough...but we did enjoy their wall of pictures showing menu items (even though they didn't quite match the food we received).

To start, we ordered Spring Rolls, which were fine, but nothing special. One dining companion ordered Reuan Thai Fried Rice (house fried rice with chicken, BBQ pork, shrimp, onion and snow pea pods), which definitely didn't look like the picture and was boring as heck. She had also asked to add mushrooms...but that didn't happen! This dish was pretty much just fried rice.

Another friend ordered Chicken Curry (chicken simmered in coconut milk, red curry paste, bell peppers, peas and carrots) since there was no green curry on the menu and she had been craving it. This had great overall flavor but the chicken was so weird (sort of slimy and cubed) that she had to stay away from it.

Pad Pak- Reuan Thai's Special (stir-fried vegetables including fresh mushrooms, celery, broccoli, onion, pea pods, napa, green beans, bell peppers and carrots with your choice of meat) was the final choice of my dining companions. This had tons of delicious vegetables, but we agreed that the sauce could use more flavor and spice.

I ordered Tom Yum with chicken (a delicious lemon flavor soup with straw mushrooms, celery, galanga, kaffir leaves, lemongrass, cilantro, green onion and Thai chili), which had a great flavor! I was impressed with the broth flavor, but the chicken was weird and a bit tough (although different from the other weird chicken) so I mostly stayed away from that.

Overall, the meal was okay, but a little so-so for everything....

Decor: fine

Price: cheap (mostly under $10)
Spice level: not spicy enough

For more information:

Reuan Thai Restaurant
311 Central Avenue
Osseo, MN 55369

Hong Thai- Rogers

2010-01-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

I was enthused on the trek out to Rogers, but even more excited when we couldn't figure out where it was and after calling a husky man answered the phone and called me "hon" as he provided directions.

Before we ordered, our server (the husky man) asked us if we were familiar with Thai food (we were quite a distance from the big cities!) and offered to help us. He asked us how we found out about the restaurant and when I said Urbanspoon, he hadn't heard of it (!). I told him that I'd been to the other location in Albertville and in fact updated all of their info online. With that, he gave me a side hug!

To start, we ordered Fried Tofu with special sauce (my dining companion was quite drawn to the special sauce concept). The tofu was good, but nothing too thrilling and the sauce was quite tame.

For dinner, my dining companion ordered Hot and Spicy Lemongrass with beef (your choice of meat sauteed with lemongrass and onion, bamboo shoot in spicy sauce), which the waiter informed us was a good choice because bamboo was high in iron and low in calories. We loved him! It was quite a good dish flavor-wise, although not very spicy and a touch too salty.

I ordered Spicy Fried Rice with Basil with chicken (fried rice with spicy garlic sauce, basil, onion, bell pepper and scallions). I ordered a 4/5, but would definitely suggest getting a 5 for spice! It was by far the most flavorful fried rice dish I have EVER had. I was truly impressed- so delicious!!

Overall, this was quite a memorable dinner, partially because we talked about the funniest/weirdest stuff, partially because of the mountain-man waiter (loved it) and lastly because the food was surprisingly delish!

YUM!

Decor: fine

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: pretty good, order on the higher side

For more information:

21301 County Road 81
Rogers, MN 55374

www.hongthairestaurant.com

Mongkok

2010-01-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

To end Monday on a high note, I headed out to Mongkok in Shoreview. Restaurants with Thai, Chinese AND Japanese (including sushi) now scare me a little. Would there really be Thai food??

Yes! To start we had some eggs rolls, which were fine, nothing that blew me away. My dining companion ordered Pad Thai with chicken- medium spicy. It was surprisingly delicious and had a bit of a sweet flavor to it. It wasn't my all-time favorite, but she loved it!

On my drive there, I had already decided that I would order Yellow Curry if they had it since I hadn't had it in ages...okay a month maybe? The yellow curry with tofu was quite good and had a nice spice to it, but I couldn't quite come to terms with the potatoes. They weren't normal Thai potatoes that are cut into roughly 1-2 inch cubes, but instead they were like french fries, but not fried! They were cooked well and tasted delicious, but it just felt bizarre to eat fries with my curry....I also would like more than 3 bites of tofu next time!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Mongkok and will be back!

Decor: fine

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: not super spicy, but good

For more information:

Mongkok
3594 Owasso Street
Shoreview, MN 55126

Asian Hon

2010-01-16T18:04:00.000-08:00

So sick of bad Thai food...

I have had a lot of bad luck lately trying new places and it's getting to me. Tonight my dining companion and I drove to Shakopee to go to Asian Hon. Online and when I called, they said they have both Chinese and Thai food. The huge sign above their building says Chinese and Thai, but apparently all they had for Thai food was Pad Thai! I felt badly right away since this dining companion had already been to two other bad places with me...maybe she is a bad luck charm?!

After the worst cream cheese wontons I've ever had, my dining companion chose to order Chinese food and I sadly ordered the Pad Thai with tofu since it was basically my only option. This was by far the worst Pad Thai I've ever had. Yes, it had peanuts, rice noodles, and egg, but it tasted nothing like any other Pad Thai I've ever had. Use a gallon of salt or what?! We both ordered spicy entrees, but neither was spicy AT ALL. I ate the tofu off of it and left the rest. How disappointing!! I definitely won't be back!!

Decor: Chinese

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: salt does not equal spice!

For more information:

Asian Hon
1135 1st Avenue East
Shakopee, MN 55379

asianhonshakopee.com

Sawatdee on Washington Ave

2010-01-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

Fourth times the charm...

On Tuesday, one of my favorite dining companions and I went to our first meditation class, hosted by the owner of Sawatdee, Supenn Harrison. We enjoyed, but struggled, as we tried to learn the basics of meditation from two Thai monks. It was quite an engaging experience.

After our class, we decided to have a late dinner. I'll admit, even though the restaurant was beautiful and we loved the ambiance (minus the freezing temperature), I was a bit nervous for dinner. This was my fourth Sawatdee experience of the five in the area (there is a sixth in St. Cloud) and the first three had been bad to okay, but nothing outstanding.

My dining companion ordered her favorite, Pad Thai with chicken and for the first time since I've known her joined the clean plate club! I think she probably still favors Roat Osha's Pad Thai (gosh I feel like I mention theirs a lot...), but it was really well done.

I ordered Supenn's Thai Style Pasta with chicken- spice level 4 (Rice noodles & mixed steamed vegetables are topped with zesty green curry sauce- cannot be prepared mild. For the adventuresome diner only). When I saw the description online, I wanted to try the dish since I think I'm fairly adventuresome! I was genuinely impressed with this dish. I'm not sure if it would surpass Bangkok Thai Deli's green curry, but it was pretty amazing. The vegetables were done perfectly and the dish was very very hot!

I was very pleased with this experience and our overall night at Sawatdee.

Decor: awesome

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: great- they can make it spicy!

For more information:

Sawatdee on Washington
607 Washington Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55415

www.sawatdee.com

Sawatdee- Bloomington

2010-01-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

Blah...

For my third Sawatdee experience, I took my dining companion to Sawatdee in Bloomginton. After a disappointing experience at the downtown "bar and cafe" and a pretty good experience at the location in St. Paul, I was eager to see what Sawatdee in Bloomington had in store for us!

Unfortunately, it was pretty darn boring. We started with a Papaya Salad, which was okay, but boring and NOT spicy (even though we ordered a 4/5). My dining companion ordered her favorite, Green Curry with Pork (pork simmered in coconut milk, green curry paste with bamboo shoots and green peppers), which was extremely disappointing. It almost reminded me of Bubble Me's all salt, no flavor curry. She had been really craving Thai and this was not what she had in mind!

I ordered Pad Thai with Pork (stir-fried rice noodles with egg, crisp bean sprouts, onions and delicious spice. Topped with ground peanuts), which was okay, but again SUPER boring. It was not spicy (another 4/5) and just lacked overall flavor. It made me sad as I thought of the Pad Thai at Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine and Roat Osha...

Overall, this experience was really disappointing....the service was even only so-so (and it was 4:45pm so the restaurant had just us...oh and no music!)

Decor: fine

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: maybe they thought we wanted more salt?

For more information:

Amazing Thailand

8501 Lyndale Ave S
Bloomington, MN 55420

www.sawatdee.com

Amazing Thailand

2010-01-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

Pleasantly surprised!

Before I started my journey to conquer all Thai in the Twin Cities metro, I tried Amazing Thailand and was quite disappointed. Thus, I've been a bit slow in getting there...even though I live down the street!

My dining companion and I decided to start with Thai Crispy Noodle (a famous northern Thai dish, crispy rice noodles with fried tofu, shrimp and roast pork sauteed in a tangy sauce). We were totally blown away with how delicious this appetizer was. The combination of meat, noodle, and a sauce similar to sweet and sour garnished with carrots and more was a great treat before our lunch. I'd definitely order this again.

For lunch, my dining companion ordered Tom Yum soup with tofu (hot and sour soup served with mushrooms and cream). I found myself quite jealous as I stared at her hot pot...the soup was extremely flavorful and the tofu was cooked perfectly. It definitely warmed her up in the middle of a frigid day.

It had been quite a while since I'd had a rice dish, so I decided to ordered Sriracha Fried Rice with chicken ( rice fried with egg, onion, sweet peas, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and sriracha sauce). I forgot how much I loved sriracha sauce...it has such good flavor. I was definitely impressed with the spice (level 4 of 5 was quite good) and the overall flavorful of a sometimes-boring dish!

Decor: loved it

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: about right

For more information:

Amazing Thailand

3024 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.amazingthailandrestaurant.com

Sawatdee- St. Paul

2010-01-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

Last night, I met a dining companion at Sawatdee in downtown St. Paul. I was a little unsure of how this would go since I'd been to a different location (different owner) and had a very so-so experience. Luckily, this was much better!

The first thing I noticed about the restaurant was that they desperately needed a second entry door. Every time someone came in or out, the icy air filled the restaurant...it was quite uncomfortable!

To start, my dining companion ordered a Papaya Salad- spice level 3 that he really liked. For his main dish, he ordered Roast Duck Curry- spice level 3 (Sliced roast duck simmered in coconut milk, red curry with sweet peas, tomatoes & chili). He liked it a lot, but it definitely wasn't as spicy as the waitress seemed to think it would be. He also found a few bones in the shredded duck, which was a pretty big turn off!

At the waitress' suggestion, I ordered the Pineapple Red Curry with tofu- spice level 4 (with coconut milk, pineapple chunks, tomatoes and peapods). I absolutely loved this dish! The veggies were really good and it had a fair amount of spice (I'd get a 5 next time though).

For dessert, we decided to try Durian and Sticky Rice since I'd never seen that as an option before. My chef dining companion assured me that durian was a fruit. After some research, I discovered that it's smell is so strong (some love it, some hate it), that the fruit is banned on mass transit in Singapore- weird! I definitely didn't like the taste of durian because it was not sweet at all. Additionally, the sticky rice wasn't sweet either so the whole dessert was pretty gross. This is the first time I've disliked a Thai dessert. I wish I could have at least eaten the sticky rice with coconut milk...oh well!

Overall, I was impressed with this experience compared to the other Sawatdee restaurant I tried, but with bones in the duck and a terrible dessert, the experience was just okay.

Decor: a really cool space, but freezing

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: about right

For more information:

Sawatdee St. Paul

486 Robert StreetN
St. Paul, MN 55101

www.sawatdee.com

Ban Thai

2009-12-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

My mouth is still tingling...mmm

I was excited to try Ban Thai in White Bear Lake. I've seen very mixed reviews on the restaurant; positive from Lazy Lightning and negative from Twin Cities Restaurant Blog. I also tried to go there once already, to find it closed due to a death in the family.

Based on their cute website, the restaurant was what I expected- a small, family owned business. I was eager to see if the owner (who is Thai) would be our server, but instead we got her husband! His knowledge of the menu and different dishes was impressive.

When I arrived, my dining companion had already ordered Fried Wontons with cream cheese (Deep-fried wonton stuffed with cream cheese, pork or shrimp. Served with Ban Thai's own homemade sweet and sour sauce) and Veggie Egg Rolls (For the veggie lover. Stuffed with fresh cabbage, mushrooms, carrots,eggs, onions and mungbean thread noodles. Lightly deep-fried). Both of these dishes were fine, but nothing super memorable. I don't think Ban Thai's sweet and sour sauce tasted any different than normal sweet and sour. We were off to a slow start, but not for long!

My dining companion decided to order Gang Panang Curry with chicken (A thicker variety of red curry with ground peanut and sweet basil) since we've been to Big Bowl together several times and I regularly order Panang Curry. I was absolutely blown away. This was definitely the best Panang Curry I've ever tasted...I had several bites of hers and could have easily eaten the whole thing...what a surprise!

I've had Thai food the last two days, so I was yearning for something a little different. I decided to try Laab Moo (A favorite in Northern Thailand. Coarsely ground pork marinated in a spicy combination of Thai peppers, limejuice, onion, fresh mint, green onion, cilantro and roasted rice powder. Served on a bed of lettuce and cucumbers. Served with an order of sticky rice to complete the experience) based on the interesting description and the server's suggestion. I ordered a spice level 3 (out of 4) and he seemed nervous for me. This was one of the best meals I've had since I started this blog- absolutely perfect! He was right about the spice level- I might not have been able to eat the meal if it was a 4! The 3 had me with a bit of a runny nose, burning mouth and tingly lips- LOVE IT!!

Overall, the experience at Ban Thai was thrilling and memorable...I can't wait to visit the cute couple who own this place again soon!

Decor: fine

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: HOT!!!

For more information:

Ban Thai

2186 3rd Street

White Bear Lake, MN 55110

www.banthaionline.com

Answers to FAQs

2009-12-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about my quest to try all that the Twin Cities has to offer for Thai Cuisine.

Here are some answers:

I've gone to over 30 places, which is about half of the list (I think)
Urbanspoon definitely has the most accurate information on Thai restaurants, but I'm still making changes and updates regularly. For a while I submitted updates all over town, but now I'm only updating information for Urbanspoon. I love their website!!
I'm going to try and go every place on my list 2-3 times. With three experiences, I can try a curry, a noodle or rice and something else. Anywhere that was horrible will only get me to come back one more time.
I don't foresee doing a follow-up blog when I'm done with this research; I can't eat any other cuisine this often.
I read other bloggers' posts on Thai food- it's quite fun!
If I could blog as a profession, I probably wouldn't. I love my day job :)
My goal is to go two places a week whenever possible
I try and get dessert and/or appetizers to try more items at a restaurant
I love feedback from my friends.
I have a dream that Andrew Zimmerman will want to grab a bite with me sometime!
I'm trying to come up with a rating scale...something similar to Coldstone's "like it, love it, gotta have it"

If you have any other questions....let me know!!

1st of Thai Restaurant

2009-12-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today, I had the opportunity to grab some take-out over the lunch hour. I arrived at 1st of Thai Restaurant in Plymouth to a sizable crowd for a Monday lunch. I arrived really hungry (why do I always do that?!) so I ordered an egg roll as an appetizer for the car ride back. Although the egg roll had good flavor, the insides were not connected to the wrapper, so they kept sliding out...it weirded me out a little!

After looking over their menu, I was feeling indecisive, so I ordered Pad Thai with chicken (Rice stick noodle, stir fried with eggs, bean sprouts, green onions, garlic and topped with roasted grounded peanuts). The packaging and appearance of the food was pretty standard, but oh my gosh was it delicious!! I was really impressed with the sauce and the chicken was perfect- it feels like I've had more weird chicken than ever lately!

I am excited to try this place again...hopefully for a sit down meal!

Decor: nice, nothing out of the ordinary

Price: normal ($10-15)
Spice level: good! She seemed very suspicious when I ordered a 4 out of 5!

For more information:

1st of Thai

10100 6th Avenue North

Plymouth, MN 55441
(For GPS, use Minneapolis)

Taste of Thailand- St. Paul

2009-12-27T19:53:00.001-08:00

Va-va voom!!

After a so-so experience at Taste of Thailand- Downtown Minneapolis, I warned my dining companion that I wasn't sure how this would be (she is one of my regulars, so I wasn't worried about her feelings!). This Taste of Thailand was WAY different from the one in downtown Minneapolis. We had an awesome dinner! We started with Special Spring Rolls (The best spring roll in the Twin Cities made even better with lettuce, bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro, shrimp, pork, rice noodles and three different types of fresh mint wrapped in rice paper and served with a delicious sauce- and always fresh!) I was definitely skeptical about these being the best spring rolls (I've seen that tag line once or twice...) but I have to say these were the best I've had to date. You could definitely taste the mint and we loved the rolls and the delicious peanut sauce.

For dinner, my dining companion strayed from her regular Pad Thai and ordered Pra Ram Long Song with chicken (Another Twin Cities favorite, this traditional Thai dish feautres a mild peanut curry sauce over steamed spinach). I was so proud of her for trying something new, especially since she was unsure of the spinach. She loved the dish and I also thought it was excellent. The peanut sauce was perfection!!

I ordered Vegetarian Red Curry (Tofu and red curry in coconut milk with broccoli, carrots, green beans, napa cabbage, potatoes, pea pods and jumbo onions) because I was really feeling like some vegetables after all of the delicious (but unhealthy) holiday food. This dish was absolutely perfect. I have a rule that I only take leftovers when it is just about the best thing I've ever tasted...and I took leftovers! The flavor was rich, but not overpowering and the vegetables were delicious!!! (the carrots and green beans could have used one more minute cooking!)

For dessert, we had to try Buttercup Squash with Custard. I love Thai custard and had ever seen butternut squash on any menu so obviously I was intrigued. Even though my dining companion and I were full, we enjoyed the dessert a lot. What is it about Thai custard that makes me weak in the knees?!

Overall, I am so excited to have tried another Taste of Thailand!!! So far St. Paul is shaping up to have the best Thai food...

Decor: strip mall-ish

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: absolutely perfect

More information:

Taste of Thailand
1671 Selby Ave
St Paul, MN 55104

Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine

2009-12-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

HOT!!

Tonight, I ventured out to Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine in Brooklyn Park for some take-out. I was absolutely starving by the time I got there, so I ordered Egg Rolls (Shredded carrots, onions, and glass noodles wrapped and lightly fried. Choose from - vegetarian or pork) for the car ride home. They were absolutely delicious and made my aching stomach feel better immediately. They must have been really hot when they packaged them today, since they basically melted through the styrofoam...hopefully I didn't eat any of it?!

When I got home, I pulled out my Yellow Curry with chicken (Coconut milk, yellow curry paste, potatoes , basil, and green onions). I was interested to see if it was actually spicy since I'd asked for EXTRA spicy. Um...yeah! I could barely eat the deliciousness. I'm sweating and my nose is running...so it was AWESOME! It also helped me eat a little less since I could barely breathe...ha!

The little restaurant was cute and had ample seating. I will definitely dine in next time I go, which will be soon since they have such great spicy-ness!

Decor: cutesy

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: I'm still on fire

More information:

Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine
8600 Edinburgh Center Drive
Brooklyn Park, MN 55443
(GPS says it is in Minneapolis)

http://lemongrassthaicuisine.net/

Ginger Hop

2009-12-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Yawn…

I was excited to try Ginger Hop, which recently opened in Northeast Minneapolis, after hearing rave reviews from one of my favorite dining companions. Although the overall presentation of food was good, the meal was quite boring.

To start, we ordered Shrimp Spring Rolls (fresh spring rolls with shrimp, mint and basil, served with peanut dipping sauce), which were by far the most boring spring rolls I’ve ever had in my life (check the blog- I eat spring rolls often!). I thought they would be saved by peanut dipping sauce, but alas the sauce was basically oil with pieces of peanut and had no flavor. We also ordered Walleye Satay (beer battered and deep fried, served with wasabi tartar sauce), which was awesome. This was the true winner of our meal! The wasabi tartar sauce….sooo good!

One of my dining companions ordered Basil Stir Fry with chicken (Broccoli, red pepper, shitake mushrooms, onion, garlic and Thai basil in a flavorful oyster sauce with your choice of chicken or tofu). Although the presentation was good, the dish was pretty bland. I guess that’s all I have to say about that…

Two of us ordered Sweet Green Curry with chicken (Green curry and coconut milk with red pepper, eggplant, peas and your choice of chicken or tofu). We chose to order this because it was highly recommended by the waitress. I was a little skeptical from the start because I couldn’t choose a spice level…I have NEVER been somewhere that said the dish comes one spice level…that REALLY annoyed me! I asked for a spice tray and she seemed to think we wouldn’t need it, but we both did! Although we both ate most of the dish, the chicken was SUPER weird and we both barely touched it. YUCK! Overall, the curry was nice and creamy, but was definitely lacking in flavor. Luckily, we were starving and willing to eat just about anything (but the chicken!!!)

All in all, I was pretty disappointed AND bored. I’ll go back, but I’m skeptical of this whole “East meets Northeast” thing.

Decor: chic

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: BOO!

More information:

Ginger Hop
201 E Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55414

www.gingerhop.com

Eastside Thai

2009-12-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

What a treat! I drove through the snow and traffic to try Eastside Thai in St. Paul. With no website and no posted reviews...I wasn't sure what to expect. This 10-table restaurant put me at ease immediately- it's clear that it's family run and local. The menu is small with under 30 items and no desserts.

I decided to have some comfort food- Pad Thai with tofu (we bring the taste of this famous noodle dish from the street vendors in Thailand just for you). It was absolutely delicious! From what I read, it was prepared quite traditionally (next time I'm in Bangkok, I really need to pay closer attention!). Unlike my dining companion's noodles on Saturday, these noodles were prepared to perfection and had a ton of flavor without being very greasy. The fried tofu wasn't the best I've ever tasted, but overall the meal really impressed me.

I am excited to return...hopefully to dine-in next time!

Decor: comforting

Prices: cheap! under $10
Spice level: nail on head

More information:

Eastside Thai
879 Payne Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55101

Bahn Thai Cuisine

2009-12-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

Dinner should never take that long...

With some of my favorite dining companions in town, we decided to venture out to Bahn Thai Cuisine in Plymouth. Although Plymouth is a nice area, this restaurant was tucked away in a mostly-abandoned mall...the place had some nice decor, but the tables and chair made us think of a rec center, so the night was immediately off to sort of a weird start. After waiting for about 35 minutes without having a waiter stop over, I approached the host stand and asked for some service. One of the two waiters came over and said "I can take your order quickly" like we were inconveniencing him. We ordered a few appetizers (we were starving!) and entrees. The appetizers took 40 minutes...we ordered fried meat balls, chicken satay and spring rolls. All items were pretty darn mediocre.

While waiting for the appetizers, many people came to the restaurant and due to the lack of service, they gave up and left. We saw 3 or 4 tables abandon their hopes of dinner...it almost became funny!

The main dishes had mixed reviews. One dining companion ordered Pad Thai with Chicken (rice noodles, eggs, bean sprouts, green onion topped with crushed peanuts). Although it was tasty, the noodles were pretty gummy and seemed overcooked.

Another friend ordered Gaeng Khiao Waan Gai- Chicken Green Curry ( chicken, coconut milk, green curry paste, zucchini, peas and basil leaves). The chicken was extremely weird and thus she barely ate her meal. I tried the curry and it wasn't horrible, but it was a little high on salt and low on flavor. She ended up munching on some of the Pad Thai.

For a break from curry, one dining companion chose Pad Pak with chicken (broccoli, celery, onions, pea pods, carrots, fresh mushrooms and bell peppers). This had great overall flavor, but definitely could have been a bit spicier. This dish had chicken that looked and tasted delicious...not totally sure why some chicken was good and the other wasn't?

I ordered Pad Ped Puck Curry with chicken (coconut milk, red curry, napa, broccoli, carrots and bell peppers). This had absolutely amazing flavor and was probably worth the insane wait! The one issue was that I found a piece of chicken in my tofu dish! Had this been back in my vegetarian days, I would have been quite steamed!!

At the end of the night, we questioned one of the servers about the wait and he shared that they were down a cook and at least one server. Although that did add some perspective, why on earth didn't they tell us that earlier? OR stop over and say, "hey we are short staffed, but we will be back as soon as we can." Not that complicated.

I'll be back...but I'm not super thrilled about the idea of potentially suffering through bad service again...

Decor: mix and match

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: right on

More information:

Bahn Thai Cuisine
4108 Lancaster Lane North
Plymouth, MN 55441

www.bahnthaitripod.com

Magic Thai Cafe

2009-12-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

What a riot! My dining companion and I enjoyed Magic Thai Cafe in Eagan, which included fun music and a quirky server....oh and great food!

My dining companion ordered Pa Nang with chicken- medium spice (strips of red and green bell peppers, onions, coconut milk, red curry, kaffir lead, topped with ground peanuts). It wasn't super spicy, but overall had good flavor. It definitely wasn't the best panang curry I've had, but it was okay! (In case you're thinking I can't spell "panang," you're wrong....I'm pretty sure there is no correct way of spelling it...."Pa Nang" is how this restaurant listed it!!)

I ordered Spicy Noodle with chicken- hot (stir fried rice noodles with onions, green onions, tomatoes, and basil). I didn't order "very hot," just "hot" because our server assured us that the spice scale was a Thai spice scale and not a Minnesota spice scale. He seemed very suspicious of us...it seemed like he was thinking "who are these chicks that have probably never had spicy food?" The dish was absolutely scrumptious and I was glad I ordered it "hot" because it made my lips tingle and my nose a touch sniffly (AWESOME!) I loved the flavor and didn't want the dish to end.

Our server quickly brought us our bill, but oh no, we wanted a sweet treat. We ordered Purple Rice with Custard and he immediately tried to get us to order Sweet Rice with Mango instead. Um, hello?! If I wanted Sweet Rice with Mango, wouldn't I have ordered it?! When he brought us the Purple Rice with Custard, he seemed very curious to see if we would like it. Well, we loved it!! My dining companion did some quick research and discovered purple rice is native to Eastern Thailand....hopefully I'll see it at some other restaurants in the future!

Decor: cutesy

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: they can make it hot!

More information:

Magic Thai Cafe
1258 Lone Oak Road
Eagan, MN 55121

www.magicthaicafe.com

Boba Thai Lounge

2009-11-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

After a journey to Brooklyn Center's Brookdale Mall I arrived at Boba Thai Lounge, which looked more like a bar and grill, but was still delicious.

My dining companion and I decided to share a salad to start- Yummy Noodle Eggroll salad (Vermicelli noodles on a bed of chopped lettuce, carrots, cucumber and cilantro with eggrolls, topped with crushed peanuts). While this sounded super bizarre, the picture on the menu looked awfully appetizing and this was definitely the favorite. Although it wasn't spicy, it had great flavor with the cilantro, peanut and sweet and sour sauce. I could have had this as a main course.

For a main course, my dining companion ordered Masamun Curry (chicken stewed in a masamun curry with coconut cream, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and peanuts). She thought it was okay, but compared to other curries she has had (red, yellow and green), she did not enjoy it as much. As a lover of masamun curry, I tried it and have to say it was quite good and definitely tasted as it should.

When we first arrived, we asked the waitress for suggestions and her favorites. She told us her favorite was Spicy Lemongrass Beef (thin tender slices of beef cooked medium well, then tossed with lime, lemongrass, Thai chilies, roasted rice powder, kaffir lime leaves, bean sprouts, yellow onions and tomatoes, topped with chopped green onion and cilantro), but that we wouldn't like it because it is spicy and sour. Well after that remark, I obviously chose to order it. She couldn't have been more wrong- it had great flavor and hit the mark on my personal spice scale! She claimed it was tingly (we assumed she meant spice?) but it definitely didn't burn my lips (a sensation I do enjoy).

Overall, it was a good dining experience and I look forward to returning....hopefully they will have pop next time (they were out!) and maybe I can go when the mall is open!

Decor: forgettable- like a bar and grill

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: good

More information:

Boba Thai Lounge

1268 Brookdale Shopping Center
Brookyln Center, MN 55430

www.boba-cafe.com

Thai Curry House

2009-11-21T23:18:00.000-08:00

When I arrive at a new restaurant in a strip mall, I always think...this could be really good or really bad! Well, congrats Thai Curry House, you were really good! I met my dining companions for lunch in Burnsville (a touch past where I usually wander) and was immediately taken in by the decor- there were several different styled dining areas within the one restaurant, including a few tables where you could sit on the floor.

One of my dining companions ordered Yellow Curry with chicken- no spice, which arrived looking quite reddish. She loved it and my other dining companion and I both thought it had great flavor, despite the fact that there was absolutely no spice involved (she claimed to see small, red specks of spice...I beg to differ).

My other dining companion ordered Drunken Noodles with chicken- spice level 4. Why they don't have this dish at more restaurants is beyond me? It is so delicious. This was the real winner today. Even though it wasn't very spicy, it had a really rich and savory flavor. I was jealous!

I ordered Green Curry with pork- spice level 5 (that's for you, sis!), which was quite good, but definitely not spicy enough. (I have to admit that even though it was quite tasty....it wasn't jaw-dropping like the Green Curry at Bangkok Thai Deli). The pork was cooked well and tasted delicious. I also enjoyed that the bamboo shoots were sliced into fine pieces instead of larger chunks- it was quite conducive to having a bit of bamboo with every bite!

For dessert, we decided to get Mangoes and Sticky Rice (it's become a favorite of mine!) and a Fried Banana. They were both good, but we would have liked a higher sticky rice to mango ratio and the fried bananas came with vanilla ice cream with sprinkes....a touch bizarre!

Overall, it was worth the trek to Burnsville and I look forward to returning.

Decor: welcoming!

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: they could go a lot hotter!

More information:

Thai Curry House
1916 Highway 13 East
Burnsville, MN 55337

Joy's Pattaya Thai Restaurant

2009-11-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

To sum it up, I'd say that Joy's Pattaya Thai Restaurant wasn't especially memorable. Yes, the food was pretty good and the service was okay...but if I hadn't been able to share it with such an amazing dining companion, I probably would have forgotten I went there!

To start, we ordered Angel Wings (boneless chicken wing stuffed with minced water chestnuts, carrots, chicken and glass noodle) and Curry Puffs (puff pastry filled with avocado, chicken, potatoes, onion) because we were both starving!! The Angel Wings I recognized as I'd tried them at Bangkok Thai Deli. These were equally bizarre, but pretty tasty! We loved the sauce- it had a bit of a kick.

The Curry Puffs were definitely the best of the three places I've had them (King & I, Ruam Mit Thai and here). They were really light and flaky and anything with avocado is AMAZING (I haven't seen avocado at a Thai restaurant before....) We couldn't quite figure out what one of the sauces was...it might have had pickle in it? We stuck to the sweet and sour sauce instead.

He ordered Rama and chicken (a choice of meat with steamed spinach, sprouts and cauliflower topped with peanut sauce), which he loved. It really was quite an attractive dish and he said it had a fair amount of spice even though he hadn't indicated a preference. I was impressed he tried something new, but he admitted that peanut sauce is an easy choice.

I ordered Panang Curry with chicken (exotic panang curry paste with coconut milk, basil leaves and bell peppers. A choice of meat), which I hadn't had in ages (okay, weeks, but still!) It had a really rich and savory flavor, but it wasn't spicy enough for my taste...they had three options: mild, medium and hot, but hot was more of a medium- boo! It was still delicious and I really enjoyed their chicken.

All in all, everything was really good, but it just didn't stick out that much....and my dining companion agreed.

Decor: fine
Price: average ($10-15)
Spice: could have used a spice tray....

For More Information:
7545 Lyndale Avenue S
Richfield, MN 44523

www.joyspattayathai.com

Hong Thai

2009-11-15T19:34:00.001-08:00

Oh the joys of shopping! As a break for some serious outlet mall shopping, my friend and I decided to try Hong Thai, a Thai restaurant in Albertville about 1 mile from the outlet malls. We were pleasantly surprised with our lunch.

To start we had Spring Rolls (Rice noodles, crispy lettuce, bean sprouts, sautéed beefsteak, wrapped in rice paper, served with our own sauce), which were good, but the peanut sauce was the real winner- too bad we didn't have quite enough. Our waitress was slightly MIA, so we made it work.

For lunch, my dining companion ordered Spicy Noodle with Basil and vegetables (Stir-fried egg noodle, bamboo shoot, bean sprout, onion, tomato and carrot with spicy garlic sauce and basil), which had a surprisingly rich flavor. We also loved that the carrots were cut in cute shapes! She didn't intend to have a large lunch, but it was delish and she kept eating.

I ordered Pad Thai with chicken (Stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprout, green onion and topped with roasted peanut), which was very savory and quite traditional since it was on the drier side. I enjoyed it a lot, but resisted taking leftovers (I am only taking leftovers when I can't resist because I'm trying to eat healthier).

Overall, it was a good experience, but they didn't have tofu, which is quite unusual. I guess the cool wooden chairs made up for that?! They looked like they might have even been from Thailand...some of them features elephants.

Decor: loooved the chairs
Price:Average ($10-15)
Spice: just fine

For more information:

Hong Thai
5600 La Centre Ave
Albertville, MN 55301

www.hongthairestaurant.com

Jasmine Orchid

2009-11-14T19:32:00.003-08:00

Today I sat in traffic on the U of M campus ALL day because I accidentally decided to drop my sister off at the exact time that the Gopher game ended....yuck! Traffic did give me time to notice Jasmine Orchid, a Vietnamese and Thai restaurant in Stadium Village. After lots of errands (shopping!), I returned to campus (Gopher-free) to get take-out.

For dinner, I decided to try Tom Kha with steamed tofu (an exotic and spicy coconut soup with choice of meat or seafood, lemongrass, galanga and dry chili). I read an article about the health benefits of yellow curry today, but tonight really felt like tonight was a soup night! I was truly impressed. This place is a little bit of a dive, but the Tom Kha was savory and delicious. I asked for extra vegetables and they obliged thoroughly.

As I waited for take-out, I watched tons of delicious curry and noodle dishes go by- I can't wait to try something else!

Decor: It's in a strip mall...
Price: average ($10-15)
Spice: Good!

For more information:

Jasmine Orchid
304 Oak Street
Minneapolis, MN

www.jasmineorchid.org

Pad Thai Restaurant

2009-11-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

What a gem!

No website and I'd never heard of it until I saw it on Urbanspoon....but wow, Pad Thai Restaurant in St. Paul rocked! The place was extremely busy for a Wednesday night, which made us excited to go in! My dining companion and I started with Fresh Spring Rolls (The best spring roll. Stuffed with fresh variety vegetables vermicelli noodle, with shrimp and roast pork. Served with delicious sauce). They definitely tasted fresh and the peanut sauce was scrumptious.

Even though my dining companion is obsessed with Pad Thai and the restaurant was called Pad Thai Restaurant, she decided to stray and tried Panang Curry with chicken (sauteed with basil and keffir leave with panang cocount curry sauce served with sweet pepper/broccoli), which was great. It had a really rich flavor and the vegetables looked amazing. She was very happy with her choice!

I ordered the first thing I read on the specials menu, Khao Pad Khiao Wan- Green Curry Fried Rice (combination shrimp, pork, chicken fried rice with pea, green bean, onion, sweet pepper, basil and coconut green curry sauce), which was absolutely delightful! It had endless flavor with a good amount of heat (I ordered a 3 of 4) and the three types of meat were all very tasty with the green curry. I was also impressed that the green beans were cooked to perfection- often they are overcooked at Thai restaurants.

After Sunday's dessert fiasco, I wanted to try again! Mango is back in season (thank the heavens) and so we ordered Mangoes with Sticky Rice, which is such an amazing combination of different types of "sweet" between sticky rice, mangoes and coconut milk. I could eat their Mangoes and Sticky Rice dessert every day!!

I cannot wait to go back here....I can't believe that I had never heard of it. It's right off of 94....oh and the service was PERFECT!!

Decor: comfortable and chic

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: great!

More information:

Pad Thai Restaurant

1681 Grand Ave
St Paul, MN 551035

Lao Thai Family Restaurant

2009-11-08T20:19:00.001-08:00

I was enthusiastic about trying another St. Paul restaurant on University Ave, but Lao Thai Family Restaurant wasn't as good as the others I have tried recently. We started with two appetizers- Family Egg Rolls (stuffed with ground pork, vegetables, bean thread noodles and deep-fried) and Cream Cheese Wontons. The egg rolls were quite good, but after all of the egg rolls I've tried in the last few months, they weren't exactly memorable.

One of my dining companions ordered the Red Chicken Curry (Sliced chicken broiled with coconut milk, sweet peppers, bamboo, with red curry sauce), which was okay, but I've had better red curry most places. This curry was lacking a bit of flavor and extra salty. She was a bit disappointed because she is a green curry lover and the only curry they offered was red.

Two of our other dining companions had the Pad Thai (Stir fried noodles with bean sprouts, eggs, green onions and peanuts on the side)- one with chicken and the other with tofu. Although it was fairly traditional because it was pretty dry, there was almost no flavor to it. It definitely wasn't unedible like Kindee's Pad Thai, but both people ordered extra sauce to try and give it more flavor.

I ordered the Walleye Fillet (8-10 oz deep fried topped with family special curry sauce) to try and mix things up a bit. This featured the same red curry as the chicken dish mentioned above, which was only okay. The fish was delicious though and actually soaked up the curry flavor well. I was a little apprehensive about ordering a fish dish, but was pleasantly surprised.

Because the prices here were so low (the Pad Thai with tofu was $6.50), I decided to order the only dessert on the menu for our group, Tri-Color, which had no description. The waitress had a bit of a smile when we ordered- never a good sign! This "dessert" was so bizarre that we couldn't really eat it. It was a goblet with spoons that had greenish milk with ice and floating fruity things and hard pieces. That's about all of the detail I can share because we had no idea what we were "eating."

I'll go back...but it's on the bottom part of my list for now!

Decor: comfortable, but super unattractive

Prices: cheap! ($6-11)
Spice level: okay- we forgot to ask for spicier!

More information:

Lao Thai Family Restaurant

501 University Ave W
St Paul, MN 55103

Mango Thai

2009-11-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had the opportunity to try Mango Thai in St. Paul, which is the sister restaurant of Chai's Thai in Minneapolis (which rocked!) My dining companions surprised me by letting me order for the group! We started with Crab Avocado Rolls, which were recommended by the staff at Chai's Thai. The sauce on the rolls was amazing and gave the rolls great taste overall, but we didn't feel that the crab was that flavorful. They were definitely a nice change from the standard egg roll and had great presentation.

We decided to share three dishes. First, the Pumpkin and Shrimp Red Curry served in a real pumpkin (included red and green peppers, peanuts, onion, pumpkin and shrimp). The presentation was awesome and the curry had a truly rich and savory flavor. We ordered all items on the spicier side, but they definitely didn't tingle my lips (boo!). This was probably our favorite of the three dishes.

Secondly, we decided to try Pad Kee Mow with chicken (wide rice noodles with chicken or beef stir fried with garlic chicken and basil). This dish had great flavor, but was super light on the spice. The noodles were cooked to perfection and so were the vegetables, but there wasn't a whole lot of chicken to comment on.

Lastly, we shared Spicy Basil Beef Fried Rice, which tasted quite similar to every other fried rice to me! I really enjoyed the beef, as that is something I rarely order, but fried rice never seems to be very flavorful....is there anywhere that I can order truly stand-out fried rice?!

Decor: Very comfortable

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: a little on the low end

More information:

Mango Thai

610 Selby Ave
St Paul, MN 55102

www.mangothaimn.com

Taste of Thailand- Downtown Minneapolis

2009-11-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, in a surprise twist of plans, I was able to try Taste of Thailand in Downtown Minneapolis. It was a crazy busy night downtown, but Taste of Thailand was noticeably quiet...that made me and my dining companions a touch suspicious.

We started with Cream Cheese Wontons (risky, I know!), which were good, but pretty standard, which is fine with me.

Both of my dining companions preferred a little less on the spice side and ordered their meals with no chilies (I smiled and acted normal- don't worry). One dining companion ordered Chicken Pad Thai, a staple, which had great flavor. Although it wasn't very juicy, like I like, it was more traditional than most Pad Thai's I have had recently. My other dining companion ordered Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken, which looked good and she enjoyed, but I couldn't add enough spice to make it worth eating to me.

I ordered a Peanut Curry with Chicken on a bed of spinach. I don't see this dish everywhere and was eager to try it. It had amazing flavor- rich and savory- I loved it!! They warned me that their medium spice level was like an extra hot level at other Thai restaurants in the area so I ordered medium. Well that waiter (who was also slow and awkward) was wrong! It was not spicy enough.

Overall, the dining experience was very mediocre and I have yet to try their other 5 locations!!

Decor: Fine

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: okay- a normal scale

More information:

Taste of Thailand

11 S 7th St
Minneapolis, MN 55402

They have a website listed...but it is incorrect!

Suggestions??

2009-10-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Is there anywhere that you'd like to see me try?
Let me know and I'll go there!!

Also- if you have suggestions or more info you'd like or how I could improve my deep dive into Thai food in the Twin Cities- let me know!!

adventuresinthaifood@gmail.com

THX!

SukieC

Krua Thailand

2009-10-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

I was looking forward to trying Krua Thailand in St. Paul after a friend recommended it as her favorite Thai restaurant. I was even more excited when I saw how close it was to Bangkok Thai Deli...could there be two great places in that area??

After my dining companion and I adjusted to the 100 degree temperature, we started out with an Egg-Roll Salad (sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, fine shredded carrot, sliced lettuce and corn served with sauces). The menu had pictures of every item, which was really convenient and this looked like an interesting take on egg rolls. This dish was delicious- a good variety of flavors and textures, but definitely not spicy (that was ok!).

For an entree, my companion ordered Basil Fried Rice with chicken (Basil, carrot, green bean, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, straw mushroom and white onion). He absolutely loved it (even though it was NOT spicy at all) and I thought it had good flavor. We both really enjoyed the presentation of all of the food- notice the carrot slices and cucumber- very attractive!

I ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice with Tofu- spicy (Pineapple, egg, tomato and mixed vegetables). When it first arrived I was quite disappointed because it wasn't spicy at all and I had asked for extra spicy. Boo! With a little help from the spice tray, I got it to optimal level and then it was delicious and had a lot of good flavor.

The real winner for the night was our dessert- Cinnamon Banana Rolls, which we picked out from the picture immediately. These hot, pastry rolls were filled with delicious, sweet, melted banana and covered with cinnamon sugar. They were a real treat!!

Although my food wasn't spicy, the owner really won me over with his pleasant demeanor and I can't wait to go back and try something else...I'll ask for extra-extra spicy!

Decor: Cutesy with a waterfall

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: needs work

More information:

Krua Thailand

432 University Ave W
St Paul, MN 55103

Bubble Me

2009-10-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

Bubble Me is a "Bubble Tea & Snack Bar" that recently opened up in Uptown. As I drove by the other day, I saw an advertisement for curry and added them to my short list.

Although I was quite disappointed, I feel compelled to give Bubble Me a little bit of leeway because they have only been open two weeks. Given that, they should probably stick to the bubble tea and stay away from trying to cook Thai food.

I ordered Green Curry with Chicken, which is one of four Thai items on the menu (other items on the menu include Japanese cuisine and sushi). This meal was LITERALLY green curry with chicken. The curry was very brothy, which is traditional of Thai curry, but its main flavoring was salt. This food was super boring....not horrible enough that I had to throw out...but soo boring.

I definitely don't intend to stop here in the near future for Thai food, but I hope that by the time I'm back they will have soaked up some knowledge from some of the many great Asian restaurants in Uptown.

Decor: best for take-out
Prices: super cheap
Spice level: does salt equal spicy??

More information:

Bubble Me
1404 W. Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.mybubbleme.com
(this website isn't actually up yet- its under construction- but they advertise it on their flyers!

Bangkok Thai Deli

2009-10-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

Yowzer!!

Bangkok Thai Deli had been recommended to me by my sister's friend who studied in Thailand with her. Knowing him, I figured this wouldn't be quite as nice as most places I've dined, but aesthetics are secondary to food anytime! He was SOO right. They do an amazing job in their deli/convenience store/restaurant. The tables are set with red and white picnic table cloths and the language barrier can make asking questions difficult, but the food is breathtaking.

We started with Stuffed Chicken Wings (silver thread noodle, onion, carrot, water chestnut, grounded pork, grounded chicken) out of mere curiosity. When they arrived...they were still pretty odd looking (especially the inside!!) but they were pretty tasty!

For dinner, my dining companion ordered Red Curry with Beef, but alas the waiter brought her Green Curry with Beef (coconut milk, kaffir lime leaf, green curry paste, eggplant, sweet basil). Although it was insanely spicy (she could barely eat it), it was by far the best green curry I've ever had. It was really soupy and broth-like and had the most savory flavor. I didn't even need the rice, vegetables or meat- I just wanted to lick all of the curry up!!

I ordered Pad Kee Mow/Spicy Noodle with pork (noodle, egg, sweet basil, onion, green onion, tomato, green Thai chili pepper). I'm not usually a big pork fan, but my little sister has been badgering me into trying it. She was right! On Urbanspoon, one user reviewed the restaurant as really spicy and recommended not asking for extra spicy (my usual order!)- boy was he right! This dish was really spicy (gotta love a little bit of a runny nose) and had great flavor and consistency.

Even though we were quite full, I've been aiming to try more Thai desserts, so after looking at our options at the deli counter (hard to tell what the heck anything was), we ordered the ugliest looking thing I've ever seen- Thai Custard with Sticky Rice. The tag line for this restaurant is "Thai Food and Thai Dessert and Cake" so I was determined to try something. As you can see from the picture, off-white custard on white rice is weird looking, but holy moly it was so delicious!! I would definitely recommend giving it a try. Very different from American desserts, but tasty!

All in all, I was absolutely blown away by Bangkok Thai Deli. I am VERY eager to return!!

Decor: Not exactly somewhere to take a date

Prices: inexpensive
Spice level: hot! ask for mild if you need to!

More information:

Bangkok Thai Deli

315 University Avenue W
St. Paul, MN 55103

No website- we suggested that they create one and they were basically like...."um, no thanks!!"

Ruam Mit Thai

2009-10-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Blah...that's how I'm going to describe Ruam Mit Thai in St. Paul. I hate writing negative reviews...but tonight was just not good at all. The restaurant is located in downtown St. Paul (so cute), but I probably won't be back soon... I was anxious to go there after reading a review by Minneapolis & St. Paul Restaurant Critics, which specifically mentioned the Pad Thai, but maybe they were having an off day?

I ordered take-out and wanted to try Curry Puffs (three hand-made pastries filled with coconut curried potatoes, chicken and onions, deep fried to a golden brown. Accompanied with a fresh cucumber salad topped with fresh peanuts) because I had tried them at King & I and although good, I thought I could possibly find something even better. Unfortunately, they were not good...at all. As I ate one, I tried to decide if it tasted more like dessert or bad mashed potatoes or what? All I know is the flavor was sweet and I would not have been able to tell you that there was chicken or onion in there!

Next I moved on to Pad Thai with chicken- extra spicy (By far, our most popular dish! It perfectly compliements any of our other entrees or is delicious alone. Stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts and green onion; garnished with crushed peanuts and a wedge of lemon). Although the dish was quite spicy, which I love, it was lacking on flavor and had these huge chunks of flattened chicken...so weird that I had to pull them all out (yucky chicken makes me want to be a vegetarian again). I ate a little more without the weird chicken, but the lack of flavor bored me, so I tossed it.

Me not saving leftovers is a statement!!!

Decor: Looked okay- I got takeout

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: good

More information:

Ruam Mit Thai

475 St. Peter St.
St. Paul, MN 55102

www.ruam-mit-thai.com

Big Bowl Fresh Chinese and Thai

2009-10-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I rounded out the weekend with a third Thai restaurant, Big Bowl Fresh Chinese and Thai. Many people immediately dismiss Big Bowl because it's a chain and chains can't be good. Well, don't be fooled- some chains do it right!

To start, my dining companion and I enjoyed Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps (seared tender beef, thai herbs), which is absolutely delicious. It comes with peanut sauce and although it isn't spicy (I'll live) it has so much flavor and the beef is so tender. I would highly recommend it.

My companion ordered Chicken Pad Thai (Thailand's famous dish, ours has the clean bright taste of fresh lemon and herbs with rice noodles, basil, eggs, sprouts and peanuts - mildy spicy), which we both love! It is a very dependable choice at Big Bowl and anyone who loves Pad Thai would love their version.

I ordered my usual, Panang Chicken Curry- extra spicy (chicken, light peanut-coconut curry, peas, snow peas). I order this dish almost every time I'm at Big Bowl...I actually ate curry once on Friday and for all three meals on Saturday, so I wasn't sure I'd be able to have curry again...but I just couldn't resist!! This curry is less sweet than most, which I love and has an extremely rich flavor.

Big Bowl's service was great and the ambiance is almost always nice (sometimes the kiddies at Roseville can get a titch noisy!). When it comes to chains, Big Bowl is at the top of my list!!

Decor: Nice ambiance...even if it's in a mall!

Prices: average ($10-15)
Spice level: No scale, but they do a good job!

More information:

Big Bowl Fresh Chinese and Thai

1705 Highway 36 W.
Roseville, MN 55113

http://www.bigbowl.com/

Zen Asian Contemporary

2009-10-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I decided to try Zen Asian Contemporary in Uptown, which features Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisine. The restaurant is located in the cute, Lyn-Lake area and has a really gorgeous interior.

Zen had amazing lunch specials, so my dining companion and I both ordered combination platters. The combination platters came with rice, a side salad tossed with house vinaigrette and Zen's delicious eggroll. She ordered the Mixed Vegetables and Fried Tofu (She had steamed tofu with bell peppers, bean sprouts, carrots and pea pods, stir-fried with teriyaki sauce). She loved it, which is great, but spice-wise it was a little dull for me!

I ordered the Red Curry with Chicken- extra spicy (chicken in a coconut based red curry sauce with sweet potatoes, bell peppers and onion) and it was just AWESOME. The curry was spicy and thick and had a really rich flavor. The egg roll was also very flavorful and went great with sriracha sauce.

The service was a little slow...especially considering that we were the only ones there. Oh and our poor waitress dropped EVERYTHING and so the cooks had to remake both of our lunches.

Decor: Beautiful with greens and purples- very well done

Prices: low! lunch specials for $7.95
Spice level: right on!

More information:

Zen Contemporary Cuisine

3016 Lyndale Ave S

Minneapolis, MN 55408

http://www.zenmpls.com/

King & I Thai

2009-10-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Absolutely scrumptious!

I was really looking forward to trying the King & I Thai in Loring Park after seeing tons of positive feedback on other blogs and boy were they right!! Although it was basically in a basement, it was huge and had a really nice ambiance. We started with Curry Puffs (Delicate pastry filled with curried potato and chicken with spicy sriracha sauce for dipping). They were good, but anything dipped in sriracha sauce is just to die for!

For a main course, my dining companion chose the Combination Raad Na-spice level 4 (Wide rice noodles in savory sauce with pork, calamari and shrimp). Although it was good, it was not spicy at all and it was hard to distinguish between the huge chunks of calamari and the wide rice noodles...

I ordered the Chef's Special Curry with chicken- spice level 5 (today's: yellow curry with brocolli, carrots, potato and peanut) and it was AMAZING!! It was savory and spicy and was thicker, which is the way I prefer (although research has told me traditional Thai curry is thinner). The portions were huge and the curry was so delicious I just kept eating....yet I still have at least two cups of it left!!!

Other blogs said the service was spotty, but our waitress was great- knew a lot about the food and was quick to refill water (it's not like I'm ever thirsty, right?!)

Although this was definitely a more expensive choice than the places I normally frequent, I will definitely be back soon!! Oh and make a reservation!!

Decor: Great- very spacious, but with lots of little nooks
Prices: high ($18-$30)
Spice level: perfection

More information:

King and I Thai
1346 Lasalle Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403

www.kingandithai.com

Weekend Plan

2009-10-16T14:12:00.001-07:00

I am really excited for a Thai-filled weekend.

Friday
After reading about King & I on the Minneapolis & St Paul Restaurant Critics blog and on Twin Cities Eats (the curry is spicy!!!), I am salivating at the thought of enjoying their favorite Thai place in all of Minneapolis. I'm also interested to see if the service is as spotty as they say....

Saturday
I'll be somewhere new for lunch...undecided at this point!!

Sunday
I'll be at Big Bowl...don't squirm at the idea of a chain- their Panang Chicken Curry is literally bowl-lickin' good!

Roat Osha

2009-10-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have been living in close proximity to Roat Osha for months. Every day as I arrive home from work, I am overpowered by the savory aroma of curry- it haunts me! After driving to Ban Thai in White Bear Lake and discovering it was closed (death in the family), my dining companion and I decided to go to Roat Osha for a visit (I hadn't been there since I started this blog).

We started our late dinner off by sharing a Green Papaya Salad- spice level 5 (Green papaya, carrots, cherry tomatoes, dried shrimp, lemon juice, roasted peanuts, long beans and Thai seasoning. Served with cucumber and a wedge of lettuce) . We rolled the salad up in the lettuce leaves to enjoy as lettuce wraps. It was scrumptious and quite spicy. A very good start to the meal and a solid first time enjoying this salad for my companion.

After that, we moved on the our main dishes. She ordered the Massamun Curry with chicken- spice level 5 (Massamun curry is a spectacular dish from the southern part of Thailand. This dish combines potatoes, onions, peanuts with your choice of meat). She orders this dish a lot! She really liked it- nice and thick sauce, but the 5 was not spicy....although our Papaya Salad was spicy?!

I ordered Mee Kah Teeh with chicken- spice level 6 (Red curry with rice noodles, egg, peanuts, garlic, and bean sauce. Served with bean sprouts, fried chilies, scallions, cilantro, and lime). The server poured the curry on the noodles in front of me- fun presentation! Roat Osha's spice levels are 1-5, but 5 never seems to be very hot, thus I ordered a 6. This dish was a little low on flavor and EXTREMELY low on spice. Maybe a 2?? Although Roat Osha generally does a good job with flavor, combinations, meat, and so on, they consistently have inconsistent spicy-ness and it's driving me crazy!!

Overall- a decent experience, but they need to get this spice thing figured out FAST!

Decor: Great- almost luxurious
Prices: average-high ($12-$20)
Spice level: who knows?! It's a guess!

More information:

Roat Osha
2650 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55408

no website! yeah...craziness!

Sawatdee Bar & Cafe

2009-10-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sawatdee Bar & Cafe was full of disappointment as I tried to celebrate a birthday and hopefully future engagement of one of my favorite dining companions. I promise as part of this journey to try the other locations and go back to this location a few more times, but I am definitely not looking forward to it.

I chose to order Kapi Thai Rice with tofu (Aromatic fried rice with shrimp paste, mangoes and green onions. Fresh Thai chilies on the side. Vegetarian, Chicken or Tofu, Shrimp). This dish was marked as *new* online and I thought- shrimp plus mango....that sounds pretty different- let's take it for a whirl. Well, ladies and gentleman, they were out of mango so instead of telling me that, they brought be shrimp paste rice AND there were no chilies on the side. I would compare this to ordering Pad Thai and then when you get it- there aren't any noodles! I mean, shrimp paste and mango- two ingredients, if you're out of one....say something!!! Oh and I said extra spicy and she gave me a judging look like "yeah, you can't handle our extra spicy." Well listen up- that wasn't spicy!!

My dining companion ordered Rice Noodle Soup (Chicken or Tofu, Beef, Shrimp) and she loved it. She asked for them to add vegetables and they did a really good job with that direction- cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, etc. Unfortunately she has a cold and I wasn't willing to risk it to taste it, so we will take her review!

After we had started our meals, voila!, our appetizer arrived (yeah, we were confused too). Either I'm really over spring rolls, or these were just super boring. We had Sawatdee spring rolls (Two Beef-filled spring rolls stuffed with silver-thread noodles, Chinese mushrooms, carrots & bean sprouts).

I left Sawatdee Bar & Cafe completely unsatisfied. I am so disappointed.

Decor: Fine- definitely a bar layout
Prices: average ($10-$15)
Spice level: blah

More information:

Sawatdee Bar & Cafe
118 N. 4th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401

www.sawatdee.com

Kindee Restaurant

2009-10-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I went to Kindee, "a modern Thai restaurant in the heart of the Mill District" with 9 of my closest dining companions (yes, 9). We were excited to try a variety of things, but in the end, really bad Pad Thai ruined our overall dining experience, even though many of the other dishes were great.

I ordered Drunken Noodles with tofu- extra spicy (Stir-fried flat rice noodle with Chinese broccoli, bell peppers and Thai basil Your choice of chicken, tofu, beef or shrimp) at the recommendation of our server who like me, likes his food to tingle the taste buds. Several of my other dining companions ordered this entree as well and we all loved it. The flat rice noodle held tons of flavor and there were plenty of vegetables (and spice for me!)

Many other diners ordered Stir-Fried Vegetables (Assorted vegetables stir-fried Served with brown or jasmine rice), which they loved. Some even ordered extra spice...gotta love the Minnesotans! Another ordered Pad Se Ew Noodle with chicken (Stir-fried flat rice noodle, dark sweet soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, egg Your choice of chicken, beef or tofu), which I would definitely try again! One of my regular companions ordered Red Curry- she didn't like it as much as Massamun, but I thought it was very tasty. We also had a dear friend order Fried Rice. She said it was only okay...but it's Fried Rice?! My expectations would never be that high....

Lastly, my newly married friend ordered Pad Thai, probably the most popular Thai dish. Unfortunately, this Pad Thai was TERRIBLE. I know it sounds like I'm being over-the-top harsh, but really....if your Pad Thai is bad...I'm over you! The noodles had no flavor and were gummy and not at all spicy. Barely any vegetables...no aroma coming from the plate...ugh...she had to return them and get something else (more Drunken Noodles!) and let me tell you, we are not dinner-returners! Sorry, Kindee, but I'm worried for you!

On a lighter note, as we were enjoying our dessert (Coconut Ice Cream- so-so and Fried Bananas- YUM) we did have the opportunity to chat for a moment with Bobby Bruiniks and one of his buddies. One of my companions graciously thanked him for our educations....oh my!

All in all, I am not looking forward to going back to anywhere that can't make a decent Pad Thai....

Decor: It was fine...the restrooms were a touch creepy
Prices: average ($10-$15)
Spice level: Good

More information:

Kindee Thai Restuarant
719 S. 2nd St.
Minneapolis 55401

www.kindeethairestuarant.com

Sen Yai Sen Lek

2009-10-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

Sen Yai Sen Lek, "Big Noodle, Little Noodle" was worth the terrible drive through traffic and the pouring rain. I called as I left my house to order take-out and asked the server what he recommended. He suggested Po Pia Tod and Pad Bpai Gra Pow. I said....sure, just make sure it's spicy!

The Po Pia Tod (crispy spring rolls with mung bean noodles, wood ear mushrooms, shredded carrot, cabbage and ground pork. Served with sweet chili sauce) was good with the sauce being the real winner. Usually sweet chili sauce it pretty bland to me (remember that sauce with the Australian Battered Potatoes at the State Fair?!), but this sauce had some real kick and made my lips tingle with delight.

For my main dish, I had the Pad Bpai Gra Pow with chicken (Thai basil stir fry with ground pork or chicken, garlic, chilies and long bean. Served with steamed rice, topped with a fried egg). In addition to this being recommended, my friend at work also thought it looked tasty AND my sister used to eat rice with a fried egg on top almost daily in Thailand. This was also delicious. The menu says that one of their guiding principles is cultural authenticity, which intrigues me since I've never seen ground meat on a Thai menu before. I will do some research and follow-up! Although I loved this, I wish I would have asked what the curry special of the day was since after all, I am a curry girl at heart! Maybe next time.

I am excited to go back...and I just LOVE the cute restaurant name (although I think the owner had a crush on the Noodles and Co. look!)

Decor: eek- I just ran in for a second AND was on the phone....
Prices: average ($10-$15)
Spice level: Just right!

More information:

Sen Yai Sen Lek
2422 Central Avenue NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418

www.senyai-senlek.com

Royal Orchid

2009-09-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I picked up take-out from Royal Orchid, " The Best Thai Food," in Roseville. I first heard about this place through a friend and had my doubts....Thai food in a strip mall? When you go inside, you may continue having doubts as the ambiance is less than perfect. However, there are always people in there because the food is great and so is the service!

I decided to go with Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken- very spicy (fried rice with a touch of class; fresh chunks of pineapple, diced carrots and onions with your choice of meat, served in a pineapple bowl. Topped with cashews and garnished with cilantro and green scallions). I'm not much of a fried rice girl, but am trying to keep things exciting and this was one of Royal Orchid's four signature entrees (sounds fancy, right?!) This fried rice was awesome. I was nervous to do something without sauce (I go gaga for sauce), but this rice had a ton of kick.

Because I ordered take-out, I did not have the opportunity to see it served in a pineapple bowl (sorry, kids!). The one questionable component was that there were raisins in the rice. The menu definitely didn't list raisins....they were good though!

Decor: eclectic
Prices: average ($10-$15)
Spice level: Just right!

More information:

Royal Orchid
2401 Fairview Avenue N
Roseville, MN 55113

www.thebestthaifood.com

Chai's Thai

2009-09-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Chai's Thai barely shows up in google...I couldn't find their website....we struggled with parking...the place is tiny....but man oh man it is full of flavor!! I love trying new things, but we went in a touch suspicious and ended up happily surprised by the bright green walls, white accents and hip furniture.

To start, we ordered spring rolls (we are daredevils, eh?!) and they were amazing. Watch out, Tum Rup Thai- these have more flavor and better dipping sauces. YUM.

For dinner, I order Pad Thai- extra spicy (Traditional Thai noodles, green onions, bean sprouts and crushed peanuts with shrimp and chicken), which came with chicken AND shrimp....already off to a nice start! The presentation of the food was beautiful- the noodles were on a large banana leaf on top of a very cool glass plate. The spice level and flavor really wowed me. I drank TONS of water and diet coke while I ate (more than normal for people that know me). I absolutely can't wait to sweat and sniffle through my leftovers tomorrow.

My dining companions both had Panang Curry with chicken- medium spicy (Chicken or beef in Thai red curry and coconut milk with fresh basil, chilies and other herbs). They absolutely loved it and were almost to the point of licking their plates...I thought it was good- nice and thick curry is my favorite- but a touch sweeter than I prefer. The staff was very accommodating and willingly added vegetables for my health-crazed gal pals.

Although I usually pass on dessert at Thai restaurants, the presentation at a nearby table was so enticing we decided to go for dessert. Based on the server's recommendation we tried Sticky Rice with Mangoes (I felt like I was back in Thailand- rice for dessert!). This dish was delicious- sweet and warm with a touch of coconut milk drizzled on top. Chai's Thai is worth it just for the dessert.

Decor: tiny, but very hip and welcoming
Prices: below average (meals $9- $15)
Spice level: I was sucking on ice....loved it!

More information:

Chai's Thai
414 1/2 Cedar Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN

www.chaisthai.com

PS they have a sister restaurant in St. Paul- I'm excited!

True Thai

2009-09-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

True Thai, "Authentic Cuisine from the Golden Kingdom," had a home run with its appetizers. My dining companion and I tried two: Palace Style Wontons with tofu (Fried wontons hand tossed in a sassy sweet and tangy sauce, then drizzled with fiery sriracha sauce) and Fried Egg Rolls- Golden Kingdown Style (the best egg rolls in the world! <--obviously I had to see!) The egg rolls were very good, maybe not the best in the world, but definitely worth trying. The Palace Style Wontons were AMAZING- spicy and sweet and just full of flavor. A must have.

For a main course, I had Panang Curry with Shrimp- extra spicy. The flavor was great and the shrimp were delicious, but the curry was so thin and broth-like and I definitely prefer my curry to have a thicker consistency.

My companion had Stir-fried Sukiyaki Noodles with chicken (Look out Pad Thai – there's a new noodle dish in town! Silverthread noodles in a spicy Sukiyaki sauce with egg, white button mushrooms, red cabbage and green veggies). Although True Thai is one of her favorite spots, this dish was lacking that Thai punch of flavor we both love. It also came with rice...which was sort of odd. A noodle dish with a side of rice? Also, isn't Sukiyaki Japanese (I would know!) Hmmm...a bit curious!

Overall, it was a good meal...I just wish the appetizers would have been the main course. True Thai's new expanded restaurant is nice and features a variety of table sizes and booths. The service was notably slow, but did help me out when I forgot to ask for my dish extra spicy (regular spice level would have been absolutely tragic!).

Decor: Nice and spacious
Prices: average (meals $10- $20)
Spice level: they can make your throat burn (that's good!)

More information:

True Thai
2627 E. Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55408

http://truethairestaurant.com/

Supatra's Thai Cuisine

2009-09-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

W-O-W!

Supatra's Thai Cuisine in St. Paul is outstanding. I sat on their patio tonight and enjoying limeade and Yellow Curry- spice level 4 (yellow curry simmered with dark meat chicken, coconut milk, roasted shallot, potato and green pumpkin). Although this dish could use more spice, the curry flavor was to die for. They green pumpkin had great flavor and the dish was served in a deep bowl, which kept everything soaking in the curry....I'm purring as I think about it! I also smiled when I saw the utensils, a fork and a large spoon- just how it should be!

My dining companion had Massamun Curry with chicken- spice level 4 (Thai spices, potatoes and peanuts). This dish was also amazing. Not too sweet, which I've found at some places....just the right amount of coconut milk. My friend is that type of girl that eats really healthy and never ever finishes her food, but she was close to licking the bowl!!

Supatra's atmosphere was nice too- loved the patio, use of color inside and the costumes that the servers wore. I am so excited to go back. Next time I'll see if they can do spice levels above the range on their menu. Is this place going to become a favorite? Only time will tell....two dishes is not enough information!

Oh and they have cooking classes....hmmm

Decor: inviting ambiance
Prices: average (meals $10- $20)
Spice level: average

More information:

Supatra's Thai Cuisine
967 W 7th Street
St. Paul, MN 55102

www.supatra.com

Tum Rup Thai

2009-09-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight I headed to Tum Rup Thai, "Uptown's Best Thai Experience." Although I was excited to enjoy their food again, I was curious to see how it would compare to Roat Osha since they have the same ownership and almost identical menu (odd, right?!).

I ordered Pad Nam Prig Sriracha with tofu, spice level of 6 (stir fried broccoli, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, spinach, onions and cauliflower in a sriracha sauce). This dish really blew me away. Lately I've been frustrated because I haven't been able to get food spicy enough for my liking. This dish was definitely spicy (I like to have slightly prickly lips and the sniffles...) and had a lot of flavor. It's hard for me to stray from curry, but I keep hearing that sriracha sauce is the best and I'm bound to agree!!

One of my dining companions had Pad Thai, which did mirror Roat Osha's exactly and they have the best Pad Thai in the Twin Cities. YUM!

I was really impressed with the spice levels. The menu offers 1-5, but our server said they can do better and they can! Whew- you can get spicy food in the Twin Cities!!

Although I will definitely return, Roat Osha is far closer to my house and has the same cuisine...but Tum Rup Thai definitely has a cooler atmosphere.

Decor: cool ambiance, good use of space
Prices: average (meals $10- $20)
Spice level: they can get it spicy!!

More information:

Tum Rup Thai
1221 W Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.tumrupthai.com

This Week's Plan

2009-09-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Monday night: Chiang Mai Thai in Uptown
Tuesday night: Supatra in St. Paul (this will be my first time!)
Wednesday night: True Thai in Minneapolis

Note: I don't always get to eat my favorite cuisine this often!!

Thanh Do

2009-09-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

For my first official dinner in my journey of experiencing all Minneapolis-St. Paul area Thai food, I ventured to Thanh Do, "the new generation of Asian cuisine." This restaurant, located in a strip mall type area of St Louis Park, is all the rage for some of my friends and several co-workers. It is also the same ownership and Executive Chef as Azia, a restaurant on Eat Street that I love.

I ordered Bangkok Noodles with tofu, spice level of 4- highest (Your choice of meat, Bangkok style curry, tomatoes, mushroom, onion, scallion and fresh egg noodles). This dish was delicious. The tofu was cooked to perfection as were the noodles and vegetables. The noodle dish featured green curry, known for its sweetness (gotta love coconut milk), but this curry was not especially sweet, which was fine with me. Our server warned us about the spice levels, but unfortunately she was wrong- their highest spice level, while good, was not that spicy.

My friend ordered Pad Thai, a true staple in all Thai restaurants, which was good, but not as good as Roat Osha's, which has come to be my benchmark.

Will I return? Definitely, but I'm not in a huge hurry....

Question to think about: this restaurant featured several types of Asian food, not just Thai. Are Thai-only restaurants better?!

Decor: nice layout, clean space and tables
Prices: average (meals for $10-$20)
Spice level offerings: average

More information:

Thanh Do
3005 Utah Ave.

St. Louis Park, MN 55426

www.thandorestaurant.com

Purpose of Blog

2009-09-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome :)

I am starting this blog because I am passionate about great Thai food! In the next year, I will be enjoying Thai food all over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and blogging about my meals. I'll include details about service, atmosphere, location and more, but the true focus will be on the food.

I am excited for my journey!