Never had Thai food done like this. Done well like this. Cooked well like this. Served well like this. Eaten well like this.
I'm glad a group of us Yelpers congregated here on a Monday night because half of us have been here while the other half didn't know what to quite expect. Walking into the hotel and into the restaurant made me feel like I was checking out an indie concert at the Legion downtown. When we sat in the place was small but cozily decorated with anything that would remind you that you set foot into a Thai restaurant.
Our server couldn't understand us too well, I guess she wasn't the usual owners in charge. She didn't want to take on the challenge of picking out our food so it was understandable. But she also didn't remember one of our dishes and insisted it wasn't mentioned.
Seriously. Even with the burps in service miscommunication, this place served solid dishes. Really solid dishes.
We started out with a few appetizers and a bowl of soup. The veggie spring rolls tasted fresh and the peanut sauce complimented it perfectly. The chicken and coconut soup was a wet dream for foodies: the kaffir lime leaves brought a refreshing sour component to the already savoury-sweet broth of the soup.
Their eggplant and tofu curry dish was inspiring. We have a potluck coming up and I might just try and emulate the experience I had from this dish for a recipe idea I have. Their penang tofu was worth the wait and the confusion of ordering. I thought I was done for but when this came, I shoved some room in my stomach just to savour it's curry soup.
Finally their coconut rice. I almost doomed the group by ordering regular rice, but Julia shook her head at me and said "you gotta go coconut all the way or go home" and so I did. The coconut rice was tasty enough to eat by itself, but with the beef bamboo shoot stir fry, it was like tasting the final battle to bloodsport, where JCVD was about to serve sweet justice to Bolo. It tasted like VICTORY.
I could go on about how their pad thai is the MOVES and should be placed on metal rings for engagement proposals. Or I could ramble on about how their banana spring rolls with coconut ice cream could be the best dessert that exists in that city quadrant.
But no, because I'll be back White Elephant, like a bad action movie sequel, you best believe I'll be back.