I always feel silly finally finding a restaurant that has been there for years, which turns out to be great. Why did I not know about this? Why have I driven by this so many times without stopping?
Today for lunch my wife and I made it to Thai Cuisine just east of Cole Rd. on Overland. A co-worker has told me about it for weeks once she found out we were Thai food fans and I can’t believe it took this long for us to get there. The atmosphere was fun and inviting. The tables and chairs, hand-carved and decor covered the walls in the ornate look of the Wats (temples) I saw all over Thailand.
Thai is one of those genres of food that I crave pretty constantly, so we eat it quite often. Up until now, our favorite was Chiang Mai Thai Food on Emerald St. & Orchard St., but it got a new competitor for our craving from Thai Cuisine today.
We started with the Chicken Satay with peanut sauce, which immediately kicked me back to buying chicken-on-a-stick in the alleys of Bangkok. My wife got the special, which was Duck Curry Soup, a large bowl of noodles and veggies in a broth cooked with bone-in duck thigh, leg and wing. The meat was cooked with curry spices and added a nice heartiness to the warm soup on a cold day. I had the Panang Curry, a red curry with a creamy sauce over jasmine rice that was actually spicy. A big pet peeve of mine is asking for a spicy dish and getting American spicy (a.k.a. “not very spicy”). Most of the time even a list-topping “5” will leave me wishing I’d asked if the numbers could go to eleven. Each table even had a chili carousel reminiscent of those I saw at every table in Thailand to make it even more spicy if you like.
Bottom line, the food was terrific, and the fact that the entire meal made me think back to my trip to Thailand, gave me a sense of authenticity that will definitely bring us back.
The Back Row Diner 