Justin M.
Yelp
Something that stirs my heart is individually owned and operated, mom and pop restaurants. They tend to be authentic and value traditional flavors and an old way of doing things. While Madam Mam's has several establishments, you can tell as soon as you enter the doors they craft the atmosphere with generations of experience. I talked briefly with the owners and they told me they frequent all of their restaurants several times a week to ensure quality control. I agree whole heartedly.
My date had never had Pad Thai before which blew me away so I was on a personal crusade to change that. After two weeks I had my heart set on some Garee Curry (yellow for the regular white folk like me). We entered and the place oozed culture. Gold head sculptures on ledges, bridge cages hanging from the ceiling, warm traditional paintings adorning the walls and the smell of great Thai food. The bar is small but inviting, having a couple TVs for those who actually take their eyes of a phone for a few seconds. Entering the dining area, it was refreshing to see more than half the tables full with customers enjoying themselves in light conversation.
I ordered a sweet tea with Chrysanthemum and it was marvelous. I just loved the floral aspects that were on the back of the palate after the tea flavors gave way. Me and my date were hungry but not overly so, knowing that we had a full meal ahead of us. We "rock / paper /scissors" our decision on an app and ordered the Madam rolls. These are so darn good. I actually like fried spring rolls more than egg rolls as there's more crunch and less dough to the roll. The filling was stuffed full of bean noodles, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and spices. The rolls lasted approximately 1 minute and I even debated eating the sweet and sour sauce on my spoon. I highly advise getting an order if you so decide on apps. I debated the Gyoza and Satay but that will be another time I suppose.
After some pleasant banter with the wonderful waitress our food arrived. I asked my date if she could pick up on the Nam pla (fish sauce) and see said "something fish funky I guess" which was spot on. A very subtle background note. She loved the dish but couldn't finish it all. I enjoyed my two bites as well. Great flavor, yummy texture especially with the raw bean sprouts and perfect heat for me. The only thing I will note is it took a while to get a refill on my drink, but in this heat, I think everyone is over hydrating lately.
I ordered the yellow curry "white man mild" with pork. The waitress said "we'll have to put more coconut milk to cool it a bit". Perfect! I love coconut milk and when the order came out, I had a huge bowl of curry goodness. Thick, rich and creamy with a perfectly flavor a home chef can't replicate. Generally yellow curry comes with carrots but alas their version didn't. No matter, plenty of other ingredients to carry to curry from spoon to tongue. The rice was perfect and while I could have eaten it all, I paced myself and took some home.
Outside of Austin, this was my best Thai experience, by far. If you're looking for a clean and authentic atmosphere to eat enjoy Thai for the 10th or first time I highly advise giving this restaurant a shot. My plan is to come back and try some other items such as Guay Teaw Tom Yum (sweet & sour soup), Drunken Noodles, or Keow Wan Curry (green). Overall I loved my experience and thought the food was extremely satisfying and great value while itching that Thai scratch I had.