Hyoun K.
Yelp
I was craving Asian food today, but my friend/coworker is very picky about what kind of Asian food he eats. I give him a pass because he's Caucasian and you can't expect everyone to like all Asian food. I think being Korean myself, I'm genetically programmed to like all Asian food. So today, I suggested Thai food over ramen/sushi/Vietnamese/Korean/Japanese and he said OK. I was going to go to Thai Esane, which seems the popular spot for Thai in the downtown area, but after seeing the reviews on both Yelp & Google... I decided not to go there. Simply because the comments on the food & price varied considerably. I mean who wants to pay $20 for a dish I can probably get at a legit "hole-in-the-wall" Thai restaurant? After a quick search for Thai places that were not Thai Esane, I settled on Siam Cuisine because it was the most promising.
Arriving to the White Bridge neighborhood, Siam Cuisine was tucked away in an office building. It's quite big for what it is, but with it being a time of the year where traffic is cut in half, there weren't that many patrons.
When I eat Thai, I always get Pad Thai or some type of curry. I know that's what I like and I'm afraid to stray from that. Maybe it was the rainy weather, but I was craving a soup & curry that day.
I ended up with the Tom Kha Gai Soup (cup for $3) as an appetizer. Chicken poached in coconut milk and loaded with onions, mushrooms, green onions, lime juice, and silver galangal (Thai ginger). The soup was very strong and pungent. I think it had to come from the fish sauce, which is used in a lot of Asian cuisine. Despite the fishy smell, man was it delicious. The coconut milk made it sweet, the fish sauce made it salty, the lime juice made it sour. It's a very complex soup and with all the meat and veggies, it was absolutely filling.
For my entrée, I selected the lunch portion ($9) of the Kang Ped (red curry) with pork meat. Spicy curry sauce, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, bell peppers, mushrooms, peas, carrots, and basil leaves are loaded into a bowl. There's a lot to love about Thai curry and this one doesn't disappoint. It's sweet, it's spicy, it's hearty, it's filling. On top of all that food, 2 vegetarian spring rolls came with the lunch entrée.
Excellent, authentic Thai food is what Siam Cuisine offers. Not only is this place super affordable (I can't tell you the last time I got this much quality food for $12), but you could technically eat here for under $10 (sans the soup). I'll definitely come back to this spot for future lunch adventures!