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| - My wife wanted to try Thai tonight. So, off on Yelp we went and we found the reviews on Lotus of Siam. Based on what we read, it sounded great and we went to check it out.
First off, it was quite a hike from where we live to the restaurant (45 minutes). It is not located in a very pristine area. In fact, questionable would be a nice word. The only good part of the location is that it is in an outside shopping mall. As a result, there were plenty of parking. When we arrived, there were not a lot of cars there.
We made reservations for Friday @ 5:30pm (opening time). By the way, MAKE reservations. Otherwise, good luck on getting a table. When we got there, there already was a line about 15-20 people deep. That is a great sign. Somehow, people waiting outside kinda reminds me of the Disney flick/cartoon -- Ratatouie (you know at the end of the movie where the crowd is waiting to get in). By the way, if you do not have reservations, depending on how busy they are, you may be turned down. They turned a few people away due to "no availability".
Because of the early dinner and the reservation, we had no problems getting a table and were seated within a few minutes. Walking into the restaurant, you notice immediately how clean and big the restaurant is. The staff were very courteous and friendly. I was definitely impressed.
Now, on to the food, the 3 of us ordered a variety of items and shared amongst us. By the way, there was a table of 8 family members next to us, they all ordered their own dish and did not share. I can not imagine us doing this. I would be tempted to taste and try every possible dish that I can. Anyways, this is what we ordered:
Appetizers:
a. Tom Yum Coconut Soup w/ Chicken. Compared to a lot of Thai restaurants that I have been, this was on the scale of AVERAGE. It was okay and nothing to brag about. Would I order this again... probably not -- I would preferred to try something else. It was good average... I give this a mid to low 3 stars.
b. #14 - Nam Kao -- okay, we ordered this because of the reviews. It is basically sliced ginger, mixed with some fried type of crouton/rice/bread (hard to pinpoint), green onions, red onions, papayas, and some other stuff. I guess this is sort of a hit or miss. You either like it or not. Honestly, I was not a fan. In fact, I thought this was the worst dish of the night. I give this a mid 2 stars.
c. Beef salad -- this was the star of our dinner. By far and away the best dish of the night. If I knew, I would have ordered 2-3 of these puppies. The beef was cooked to perfection ~ medium rare. And, it was seasoned to perfection. The only issue that I had was that it was very spicy (for a #2 spice level). I must have drained 3 large glasses of water. But, this was well worth it. My first 5 stars.
Entrees:
a. Drunken Sea Bass w/ Noodles -- okay, this dish was about 29.95. It was a bit pricey; however, based on the review, we had to try it. And, quite frankly, this was a very good dish. The Sea Bass was soft, tender, and flaky. And, the right mixture of sweetness and season was mixed in with the noodles. But, I did not think this should have been a $29.95 dish. It is a bit steep. For this, I grade it as a low 4-4.25 stars.
b. Fried Prawns -- this was by far the most original dish. They basically take these jumbo sized shrimp (think size 10-15) and peel the skin back. Best way to explain this is to think of a horizontal line. On one end of the shrimp is the shrimp meat and on the other is the peeled shell side. They marinate the whole shebang in some salty sauce and deep fry it. What you get is a fried shrimp with the shell attached. You eat both the meat and the shell. It was quite tasty. However, I have to say that I wished they had a dip for this - something tangy would be a nice fit .. i.e. sweet and sour would do. For originality and taste, I give them a high 4 stars or low 5 stars.
Desserts:
a. Fried Banana - If I had to do it again, I would not order this. It was okay.... also, we were a bit too full to eat this -- doggy bag time. 2-3 stars.\
b. Sweet Rice with Mangos -- this was not too original. I was not into the rice; however, I have to admit that the mangos were very sweet. I give this a mid 3-star rating for the mangos.
Overall, this was a pretty cool experience. The service was excellent. We had some dishes that were okay, but we also had some amazing and original dishes as well. Dinner total for 3 (no drinks - except water) totaled to 106 dollars. With tip, it added up to $125 in all. 3 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts -- hmm, not a bad price at all! I would give this a solid 4 with room to move up to 5 star status...
BTW, as we walked out around 7pm, the whole restaurant was packed and the parking lot was filled with Lotus of Siam patrons.
We definitely would be back. And, we look forward to trying other dishes.
Cheers!!!
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