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| - After hearing raves about this place from Food Network shows, I had to stop by during my Vegas visit.
We ordered the Crispy Duck Panang, Nam Prik Ong and Combination Fried Rice. The portions aren't as huge as you're probably used to from other Thai places, but that was enough to fill two people up.
The Crispy Duck Panang was the clear highlight of the meal -- tender duck, crisp skin, spicy & creamy panang sauce. On their 1-10 spicy level, we got a 6 and it had a perfect amount of spice to it. Definitely don't discard the basil garnish -- mix it in with the sauce, eat it with your rice. Yum! It comes with a small pot of sticky rice, so you don't really need to order extra rice, but I'm a fan of Thai fried rice, so we got the combination too.
The Combination Fried Rice was good -- not any better than other Thai fried rices I've had. The chicken wasn't particularly moist or tender, and it only came with 2 shrimps. I would probably stick to just beef fried rice or shrimp fried rice, since the chicken didn't really add anything to the dish.
The Nam Prik Ong was what I really came here for -- I'd heard Ming Tsai raving about it on Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate -- and honestly, I was underwhelmed. Not sure if they were just having an off-batch, but it wasn't as complex or flavorful as I expected it to be. I was expecting it to be spicy, with earthy flavors, herbacious Thai basil & cilantro, maybe some lime for acidity. It had a bit of heat to it, but it was pretty one-note. It reminded me more of a tomato-based chili than anything.
All in all, I can see why people flock to this place. The menu is really huge and the prices aren't too bad (considering you're in Vegas).
The strip mall it's located in is honestly really sad and run-down looking, but once you're inside, the ambiance isn't bad.
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