Chiang Mai

I have to admit that I really like Thai food and since I've been hearing raves about this place for years, I decided that I would stop in for dinner at Chiang Mai.

Tonight, I brought along a couple of friends so that I (we) could sample more than just one dish.  We decided to select one dish each that we wanted to try from the menu.  The first dish, was the nam tok (BBQ beef salad, US$8.50).

(Sorry for the blurry picture.  My camera wasn't focused properly.)

There was quite a lot of tender beef in this salad, which is a good thing.  Besides the beef, the salad was seasoned with lots of cilantro, mint, onions and chillies.  I would have thought that with an abundance of herbs this salad would have been delicious.  I was disappointed as the salad had practically no flavor to it at all.

The second dish we ordered was the pak bung fai deng gai (ong choi with chicken, US$8.50).

I don't normally order this type of dish from any Thai restaurant, but my friend suggested that we eat our veggies.  When this arrived at the table, it seemed to be more of a Chinese-style dish than a Thai one.  The wok-fried ung choi and chicken was supposedly sauteéd in a yellow bean sauce, but the sauce did little to impart flavor on this otherwise bland dish.

The last dish ordered is the kaeng kiew wan neua (Thai green curry with beef, US$8.50).

Green curry is perhaps the one dish that I use to measure the quality of a Thai restaurant.  The subtle and complex flavors of this curry are hard to obtain in just the right balance.  That said, this dish was a little better than the last two, but not good enough.  There was a lot of beef in this curry, but it was a bit chewy, probably from overcooking.  There was not a whole lot of spiciness to this dish even though I had ordered it medium-hot.  And lastly, there was a bit too much coconut milk in the curry, giving it too much  sweetness.

With just the curry to hold the meal up, and not by much, this was an utter disappointment.  Perhaps it's because I have high expectations of any Thai restaurant that I visit.  Or perhaps it's because I don't expect a "Westernized" presentation of Thai food.  Would I come here again?  Probably not.

Chiang Mai
2239 South King Street
Telephone:  808.941.1151

Comments

[lance]

I've always wondered about that place for years. In fact every time I go to Longs. Now I know.............thanks. Right next to Longs (Ewa side), there's a Japanese restraurant that serves pretty good donburi. Plus, if you like, they have a small area outside to sit and relax and eat. Not much on parking, though.

[Reid]

Hi Lance,

Thanks for dropping by. I wondered about this place for a long time before actually coming here, but I guess every restaurant, no matter how good or bad, has its loyal customers. Thanks for the tip about the Japanese restaurant next door to Longs. I've always wondered about it too...now I know. I'll give it a try when I have a chance.

[stef]

Man that looks so good. I actually miss the Thai place in Columbus GA - I just haven't found the best Thai place here in Seattle. I need to find it. :) I know I will.

[stef]

Oh sorry for the multiple comment but in Singapore, when you're there...First Thai in Purvis St will give you the fix

[Reid]

Hi Stef,

Nice to see you again! It's been a while. This was actually disappointing for Thai food especially since I was told that it was one of the better Thai restaurants in the state. There are literally hundreds of Thai restaurants here and I'm sure I'll find one that's really good. Most of the time, the food is not authentically Thai in one way or another.

I heard about First Thai and will definitely put it down as somewhere to try when I go to S'pore. My trip that was planned for November, has now been put on hold indefinitely. =(

[FatMan Seoul]

Yay! Another Thai-food lover. Phat bung fai daeng is a staple in Thailand, referred to as "morning glory" over there. You must be looking forward to your trip there next year.

[Reid]

Hi FatMan,

I think Thai must be one of my favorites, behind Japanese that is. It's kinda sad that we don't have very many really good Thai food places especially since a lot of them are relocating here. And yes, now that my trip has been rescheduled for the third time, I am definitely looking forward to it more than ever.