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| - Thai Grill and I have a long history. Starting nearly five years ago, I started eating authentic Bangkok-style Thai food here on a weekly basis. Some of you might remember Pock and his family's unique, gourmet Thai food during that time. About a year ago, ownership changed, and the food changed... starting the beginning of this year there is yet a new owner with new recipes, especially Northern and Southern Thailand recipes. Here is my updated review for Thai Grill over several visits.
Pad See Ew - Fresh Chinese broccoli, fairly well prepared chicken. The sauce is a little heavier than it used to be, and slight bit sweeter. However, it is still a good version of this classic Thai dish. I would say that it compares to the style of Pad See Ew at Kung Fu.
Pineapple Fried Rice ($9.99) - Very well done. Lighter, and a little less flavorful than the old Thai Grill fried rice, but not greasy at all. They started using fresh pineapples again, which gives the dish the properly fruity-sweet flavor that it is supposed to have. I enjoyed it.
Kang-Pa, Jungle Curry ($8.99) - A Northern Thai spicy fish sauce curry soup (no coconut) with bamboo, various peppers, galanga, choice of meat, and a whole lot of taste. This is a very authentic curry, and I loved how th curry flavor mixed with the fish sauce. I haven't had a lot of Northern Thai dishes, but this was definitely much nicer than the Northern Red Curry at LoS. I wouldn't recommend this for folks who aren't adventurous, but if you are then this is a great dish to try.
Hung-Ley ($8.99) - This is a pork base with a homemade curry (not coconut curry) type sauce on it. The pork was cooked similar to pot roast. It was extremely tender, and expertly prepared. The taste over rice was amazingly great. I highly recommend trying this one.
Duck Noodles (10.99) - This came with a regular egg noodle, duck, Chinese broccoli, and various herbs. The broth reminded me of pho, and wasn't spicy at all. I added some chili powder to spice it up, and it probably could have also benefited from the sour sauce in hind sight. The duck was well prepared. Overall I would order this again for people who aren't into the stronger tasting Thai dishes.
Nam-Tod (8.99) - This is a deep fried pork dish over a vinegary sauce and light salad. The fried pork was flaky and simply amazing. I am not a huge fan of fried foods, but the way the pork was prepared was simply amazing. If you like to explore, try this one out. The vinegar sauce was not overpowering, and was well balanced (unlike most vinegar sauces at Thai restaurants). You can tell that the cook knows how to balance flavors properly.
Red Curry w/Beef ($7.99) - So far my only real disappointment, if you could call it that, but it wasn't that bad compared to most Thai restaurants in Vegas. This is the first coconut based curry I have had here. It had a light, but unique flavor. It definitely could have used more umph to it though. the server promised that the curry can be made spicier for us next time. With some chili powder though, it was still a good curry.
Khao Soi ($7.99) - YUM! This has fresh, yummy noodles, and a well balanced yellow curry. I loved their version of the dish. It comes in a huge bowl, so it is bound to fill you up. The best part about this dish is the yellow curry, which is rich and flavorful (not sweet).
Desserts - the Fried banana and sweet sticky rice are perfect. I've only had "better" fried banana at TSNH, but even that is a toss up... these were very lightly fried, which made them easier on the stomach than TSNH. The sweet sticky rice (with or without mango depending on the season), is again expertly prepared. The sweet coconut based sauce saturates the rice, making it very sweet (not candy sweet though), but somehow doesn't make the rice soggy. You've got to try this one if you are a fan of this classic Thai dessert.
Final thoughts: the new cook, Natta, knows how to balance Thai food, and at the same time keep it strong and unique. The food is about as authentic as it gets. The menu is absolutely huge, featuring different regions of Thailand; you are bound to find a dish that you have never heard of/tried before. I will definitely return on a regular basis!
UPDATE/WARNING: In my opinion, Thai Grill has two modes: Slightly Americanized, and Authentic. The Americanized versions aren't bad at all. The main thing is that the base recipes are well done. Some people might not like the added sugar/toned down Thai flavors of the Americanized versions. If you are one of those people, be sure to tell your server to make the authentic, strong stuff!
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