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| - This is really a 3.5-star rating; the bump has to go in some direction, and I feel like Krung SIam has 4-star potential. (Also, my husband's review will be three stars, so together it works out. Yelp math!)
We hit Krung last night after doing an "Open Now" search on Yelp at 2 a.m.. After eliminating all of the usual casino coffeeshops (with their limited late-night menus) and deciding against a drive to Jean to try the all-night buffet (summer break = Teachers Eating Wild!),Krung it was.
"Wait, didn't this building used to be Satay?" My husband had been bugging me to go to Satay ever since trying their chicken sticks at the International Food Fair. (Translation: 2007.) Well, look honey, you finally got your wish.
I was rubbing my hands in anticipation because my love affair with Marnee Thai, also in "Chinatown" and also open in the very wee hours, was cut short on the second visit when we found the menu, ownership, and seemingly the chef had all changed. Noooo! We were supposed to be the Brangelina of late-night Thai. Shari + Marnee =... Sharnee! A portmanteau for the foodie ages! But now I had a second chance at finding late-night Thai love. (Shari + Krung =... Shrung? Hm.)
Right away I was struck by the pleasant, spacious decor. (Space is a big deal with me. It's an only-child thing.) We were seated in a long, cushy booth by the little stage where bouncy remixes were blasting. A customer soon came over to turn it up even louder. Eeek. The cushions in the booth were shaking like we were playing the Top Gun slot and just got the bonus game. Then a waiter hurried back to turn it down; we gave him an appreciative nod. Then he came back to turn it up again, asking us if it was okay. Awkward. At this point we were the only people sitting by the stage, and the few other patrons across the room didn't appear to be the partying type. We shrugged it off as Krung's "thing" and got used to it. If the restaurant had been busier, though, the overall noise may have been too much.
Several reviews of Krung complain about the promptness of the service. Our two servers were polite and swift with refills. Absolutely no problems there.
We ordered large. We're never too proud to get to-go boxes for tomorrow's lunch. Fried tofu, chicken satay sticks, fresh (not fried, although that's available) spring rolls, pad thai with tofu, and basil with chicken. Although I'm disappointed every time I go to a Thai restaurant and they don't have summer rolls like Panna Thai does, the menu was nicely varied and much on par with Archi's in that regard.
Fried Tofu: The best I've had in Las Vegas. Definitely crispy, pieces not so large that the center is gooey, and I really liked the usual sourish sauce with a heavy layer of peanuts on top.
Chicken Satay Sticks: And these were, according to my husband, the worst in Las Vegas. Ever. Bland. Kind of cold. "Tasted like they'd been microwaved, and not very well." The satay sauce was not unlike unsalted peanut butter.
Fresh Spring Rolls: Huge! Imagine a double-fistful of salad wrapped in lettuce, and the salad is deliciously aromatic with a spicy crunch. Fun to try, but hard to eat, and we definitely didn't need four of these giant things. (Came with the same satay sauce in quasi-shot glasses with peanuts on top. We eventually started dipping them in the bowl of sauce that came with the fried tofu instead - much easier to manage.)
Basil: I'll let my husband review that one on his own, but he liked it.
Pad Thai with Tofu: I know, not very adventurous, but I just love pad thai. The tofu seemed to be fried first then cut up, making for some unfried sides, which is not how I prefer it, but it was still good, especially since the tofu pieces were small.
I asked for the heat to be "7, maybe 6-7," and I feel they nailed that perfectly. That said, on a few occasions I crunched into a tiny pepper-pocket that must've still had seeds, as my tongue nearly blistered right off. I don't seem to get that problem elsewhere.
Overall, the flavours mixed well to suffuse the entire dish, and I can honestly say this is the only pad thai I've had in a long time where I didn't seek out all of the tofu bits to eat first.
As good as the service was, we did have a timing problem after all. Our two main dishes came out within a few minutes of our appetizers, so we had almost no time to linger and enjoy the "courses." Instead it was like a tableside buffet. Luckily we'd realized at this point that we'd prefer a quick meal, but if it had been a more normal hour and we'd not been on the tired side, this would've been disappointing.
Overall, Krung is a place I will delight in visiting after-hours, but when the sun is up, it's still going to be Panna Thai, Archi's, and maybe Pin Kaow II for me.
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