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| - Convenience at a price. De Thai is located in the heart of Marda Loop, which offers free parking and proximity for those of us fortunate enough to live nearby. However, being the only Thai restaurant around, the menu is a bit pricier than most.
Chicken satay...3 stars. A decent offering but not worth $12. The chicken is fried rather than grilled but was still cooked well. The meat was a bit over seasoned, though...I could taste the saltiness even through the peanut sauce. The peanut sauce was also just decent, nothing special...some folks may like the bits of peanut in the sauce but I didn't care for it. The accompanying vinaigrette was more or less eye candy as the skewers were covered in the stronger tasting peanut sauce. Overall, this was an average dish.
Spring rolls...4 stars. Very good rolls. Perfectly cooked; golden brown and crispy. The problem with small rolls is the limited filling, so you end up enjoying just the fried wrapper.
Pad Thai (chicken)...4 stars. Nice and light. The noodles are lightly coated in the peanut tamarind sauce. The sauce is used sparingly and doesn't drown the dish. It also has good color but could use a bit more flavor. The dish could use a bit more chicken, as well.
Larb (chicken)...2 stars. All the right flavors are there (lime juice, chili peppers, lemon grass, scallions, cilantro, fish sauce and bile for that traditional bitter taste) but the protein killed the dish. Using and sautéing minched chicken breast only made the dish taste very dry. The sauce, itself, is already very rustic and adding dry meat only makes it worse. Boiled/baked and shredded dark and light meat would've given this dish 5 stars. The tender boiled meat would balance the sauce out. Perhaps I'll have to try beef next time. I requested lettuce leaves but the dish is usually enjoyed with sticky rice.
Red curry (chicken)...4 stars. A decent offering. The sauce has good consistency, color, and flavor. Kind of strange to see zucchini, but then again, you could add almost any vegetable to curry dishes.
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