mark nguyen
Google
OMG! Ann’s Tom Kha is the bomb! If you’ve read my other reviews, you know that Anong’s restaurant (in Wyoming!) had knocked my socks off (that review has gathered the most agreed’s). Here at Ann’s in Abilene, I almost fell out of my chair tasting the first spoon of their Tom Kha. Rich, aromatic and complex; Ann’s has the best Tom Kha I’ve ever experienced. And this is from a guy who has been seeking out Thai restaurants in LA, NYC, Las Vegas (where I had the pleasure to sample dishes from the famed Lotus of Siam), Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver.
A good Tom Kha soup requires a fine culinary balancing art of blending 3 relatively hard-to-find herbs: galangal which is in the soup’s namesake (kha, a plant in the ginger family but its aroma cannot be more different from ginger), makrut lime leaves (most important herb in Thai’s cooking and arguably most hard to find fresh), and lemongrass. Many restaurants, and some recipes, unforgivably omit or substitute 1 or 2 of these herbs. But not Ann’s. Ann’s Tom Kha combines all three herbs in the ultimate balance that resulted in the most aromatic, pleasing and refreshing Tom Kha soup I’ve experienced. I ordered the combo proteins (highly recommended as it does not cost much more) and the chicken was soft and fresh, and the shrimps were big and juicy. I also like mushrooms and I weren’t disappointed: fresh and plumb mushrooms aplenty, in combination with a hint of some clingy green and white vegetable that I have not seen elsewhere but it gave the soup an even more fresh and refreshing texture. All immersed in a rich and nutty coconut broth that almost sent me falling out of my seat at the first spoon. And did I mention the classy presentation of the soup (and an accompanying bowl of perfectly cooked steamed rice that was soft and tender) in classic blue print on white ceramic chinaware? And did I mention the restaurant’s warm and classy interior ambience that is so uniquely Thai? And a dining space that is just right and not too small or too big, and ample parking spaces outside?
This is genuinely Thai. A gem, a diamond of a restaurant.
In Abilene!
To be fair, there is at least another Thai restaurant in Abilene, Krua Thai Restaurant. The reviews for that restaurant are also excellent so I went there a few months earlier. While I appreciate a-hole-in-a-wall kind of restaurant but it was a bit too raw and primitive even for me: There were few (picnic type) tables/seats and the ambience was zero and that also applied to the presentation of the food. I don’t remember what I ordered so apparently the food did not make an impression on me. This time I was craving for Thai food but I fretted about going to Krua again. So I went to Ann’s and boy that was the best decision I’ve made food-wise!
