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| - Where does one go in the West Valley when the craving for exotic Asian food strikes but Chinese super buffets won't cut it anymore?
Since we moved to Phoenix, I noticed more and more people are turning to Thai restaurants to get their Asian food fix and for good reason, too. Thai food appeals to more than just the sense of taste. It tantalizes the eyes and nostrils even before the first morsel touches the taste buds.
Traditional ingredients in Thai food includes Pik Kee Noo (Thai chili peppers), garlic, lemongrass, lime, tamarind juice and Nam Pla (a translucent reddish-brown fish sauce made from anchovies, water and salt and allowed to ferment for a year up to 18 months).
We visited our neighborhood Thai spot, Sala Thai, located near the intersection of W. Glendale and N. 75th Avenues in Glendale and just a few blocks away from the Westgate entertainment district.
Owner Sam Pluemjit and his wife Somsaun opened this Sala Thai, their 3rd location, in June 2012. They came to the U.S. in '93 and worked in a factory for nearly 14 years before opening their first Sala Thai restaurant on N. 32nd St in Phoenix. Opening the Thai restaurant wasn't an impulsive move nor did it happen overnight.
"The whole time we worked at the factory, we did a lot of catering, serving Thai-style food," Pluemjit said.
From his early catering days to his current Sala Thai location, Pluemjit works with recipes he learned from cooking with his family in Thailand. He leans toward the spicier offerings on his menu, favoring traditional fare such as spicy seafood, spicy green beans, spicy basil leaves and yellow curry.
We started our meal with the chicken satay, chicken marinated and grilled on a bamboo skewer. I'm a huge fan of street food and eating this made me feel I was walking the streets of a bustling Asian city and soaking in the sights, sounds and tastes.
Our next course was soup and Pluemjit recommended the coconut milk soup or Tom Kra Gai. Chicken is cooked in a broth of coconut milk with tomatoes, onions, Thai herbs, mushrooms, lime juice and lemongrass. This fragrant and filling soup, served in a hotpot, could easily have been our one and only course for the evening. I loved how the coconut milk smoothed out the citrusy tang of the lime juice and lemongrass. Order this dish if you're feeling under the weather or want to warm up on a cool winter evening.
The rest of the menu is divided into sections offering a variety of dishes for whatever you happen to be in the mood for. The noodle section includes crowdpleasers such as Phad-Thai, rice noodles stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, eggs and bean sprouts, and Drunken Noodles, consisting of big, flat rice noodles with mixed vegetables, Thai peppers, basil and choice of chicken, beef or pork. It's somewhat spicy but packs enough flavor to make you think twice about putting that fork down.
The entree section offers meat, vegetable and seafood dishes. Some dishes are mild while others are spicy for the brave foodie to enjoy. Spice Seafood consists of catfish chunks with squid, shrimp and fish ball (similar to meatballs but made with fish and boiled until it achieves an elastic texture).
A couple years ago, my wife and I "beta tested" a dessert Somsaun made, consisting of ripe mango slices laid on a bed of sweet, sticky rice and topped with sesame seeds. I'm happy to report Somsaun has fine-tuned the dish and it is now a regular item on the menu.
Overall, Sala Thai stands apart from other Asian restaurants, offering no-kidding Thai home cooking that appeals to the senses.
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