Why I hate mediocre Thai food...

I know that I'm going to get a lot of flak for this (and the restaurant I'm going to write about as an example) but Thai food needs some work to me. First off, I've yet to travel to Thailand—I would love to someday—but it's not on my top 5. I would imagine that in Thailand, Thai cuisine would be incredible.

This is what I want

I've been thinking for some time that I didn't care too much for Thai food. I've tried tons and tons, at times gone to authentic Thai restaurants and very much enjoyed it, craved it and went back but have not been feeling it for a while. Earlier this week J and I were hungry, didn't want to spend much and lazy (plus our apartment was so messy you couldn't see the floor...that's a bad sign) and decided to walk to Toi on Sunset, which is close to our apartment. We both ordered lunch specials. There is something that I really love about ordering lunch specials, kind of similar to my love of prix-fixe menus. Yes, I know that sometimes restaurants try unload their old food onto you, especially some sushi joints (I would never order chicken off a prix-fixe menu) but if you go to the kind of place that serves seasonal food—it's perfect. There is something comforting to me about having an appetizer, soup (and if I get really lucky, an eggroll or spring roll filled with meat) and a main dish for a discounted price. It makes me feel safe, a little old and also, I really like going out to lunch. It must be why all old people I've seen always order small cups of coffee versus sizes as big as your face. Have you ever seen an old person order a large cup of coffee? They know better.

Every restaurants has problems...
J usually orders Pad Thai, the typical whitey dish, but that day he was feeling adventurous and ordered a chicken satay. I know that's not that adventurous, but it was different than his usual. I decided on Pad Kra Prao, beef with Thai basil and spices. Now I know that people are going to say, "Well, you gotta go to ____ or _____!!!" And yes it's true, I haven't given Thai food in LA much of a chance, considering Thai town has the largest Thai population outside of Thailand (useful tidbit from No Reservations). I've been meaning to try Sapp Coffee Shop and a few others I read about in blogs. I've given Thai restaurants in other cities chances. I've been to Tuk Tuk a few times and thought it was pleasant but nothing to write home about. I thought they concentrated more on ambiance than on the food, which is nice sometimes as a restaurant should also be enjoyable to sit in as well as eat. But food should be the most important part! For example, I love Soot Bull Jeep because they cook their meat on real hardwood but sometimes I wish it were a little cleaner. Not that I'm complaining, I don't even think I reek that much when coming out of the joint. My biggest beef with Thai food is that it's frankly too sweet. It's the Thai equivalent of teriyaki (meat candy) for adults. Take typical Pad Thai for instance: noodles coated in massive amounts of sugar and ketchupy dressing. I used to love the curries but stopped because they simply too sugary. But to me, pretty much most of the dishes on Thai menus taste laden with sugar, peanut sauce and/or coconut milk. It's not that I don't know how to order either, it's simply that things are too sweet for my taste. Imagine how sad it would be if sushi restaurants only served eel? I do, however, love almost all the soups at Thai restaurants. Give me a Yen Ta Four, Tum Yum Gai, seafood or beef noodle soup any day, and I'm a happy cat. I like larb gai, white sticky rice, fishcakes, and green papaya salad. I also like Thai basil and chilis, tamarind, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass...I just happen to like dishes that I can taste all the above. Thai food is supposed to be a harmonious blend of hot, sour, salty and sweet. The saddest salad ever. Actually the lettuce and cucumbers were crisp, my body was begging me to take a bite so I did. Still, it was part of the lunch special! Sorry little satays, you bore me.

Meh.

At Toi, the satay was dry and spiceless, my Pad Kra Prao too sugary. I could taste a little chili and basil but it...was...mostly...sugar. I know that if I ordered something different such as Pad See Ew, it would taste almost exactly the same: wide rice noodles, sugary, maybe more hints of soy sauce. But the sad thing is that I think so many Thai restaurants are like this. Still, I can't be mad at Toi, the lunch specials were only 6 bucks each and we weren't hungry after eating half.

So until then, I have resolved to only order soups and appetizers when going out for Thai food. Like most people, Americans especially, I think it's the sugar that keeps people coming back for Thai food. I'll wait to visit Thailand.