Table for 13??

Today was my Mister's office farewell luncheon.  He chose to have everyone gather at one of OUR family favorite places to gorge; Taste of Thai.  We found this gem in 2009, shortly before I had our Sprout.  When I am pregnant I canNOT get enough spice in my food, there is just NO such thing.  I was visiting Indian, Thai & Chinese eateries quite often at this point.  I was SO excited to try what they had.  Honestly, I hadn't had a good Thai experience in YEARS.  I was eager to rectify that situation.  Taste of Thai met the challenge rose to the occasion then and met my expectations today when we all got together to celebrate my Mister's new job in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Specials board..always legible & always current for the hour & day

 We were very pleased when we walked in to see that they were going to be able to accommodate the large party we had.  Having been there before I was already well acquainted with the fact that they had plenty of high chairs available for children and whether you're a party of 2 or 13...there was plenty of room for you to dine. 

 

 

 Always a beautiful posy in water on each table...LOVE it!

We LOVE the variety their menu has to offer and find something new and exciting no matter what day of the week we drop in.  I decided to hit up the lunch specials menu.  On Tuesdays that means Massaman Curry Beef, Crab Rangoon, rice and your choice of main dish from the entree menu (in a smaller amount of course....).  I chose the Cashew.  When you make this choice there is STILL yet another decision to make...Chicken, Beef, Tofu or Shrimp for a protein choice with that entree.  I went with Chicken. 

Oft times, I'll order an appetizer here such as their FABULOUS spring rolls or just grab the combination plate and have a tad of everything.  But having chosen the lunch special, it already came with crab rangoon and soup...perfect!  This is normal; soup or a house salad with homemade dressing on top always accompanies the lunch specials.  Their portions are always sized JUST right; not too much, not too little.  A gal watching her waistline can appreciate that greatly!  I ordered up my water with lemon and waited for the first delight of the event...the Hot & Sour soup.

Don't let this picture fool you...that was a very large cup (we have these at home, it fits about 3 cups of soup or chili in it), so what you see there is at least a 1.5 cups of soup.  It was a perfect balance of heat and there was just enough "sour" to make me pucker a bit after each spoonful.  The veggies were tender crisp and FULL of flavor.  DeLISH!

My combo arrived before I'd finished my soup, that was fine with me...I had to get the Sprout home for his nap by 12:30.  We had gotten there shortly before Noon and the woman running the front was just on FIRE!  The orders were flyin' out to the table as fast as they were being sent to the kitchen.  I was pretty impressed; more so than normal...I mean...we had a table of 13 with us.  The rest of the restaurant was filling up all around us.  I commend her and her wait staff for their prompt AND courteous service.  

Back L-R: Massaman Curry Beef, Crab Rangoon, Rice

Front Center: Cashew Chicken

Before my order went back I got the usual synopsis of the Thai heat scale for their place.  They have a sliding scale of 1-3.  I went 3.  I always choose the hottest unless they can honestly tell me it may in fact kill me.  I was pleased with my choice.  The spice level here is always spot on and never overpowers the rest of the dish.  The carrots still crunched JUST a bit in my mouth, the onions really bring a sweet flavor into the dish and the cashew just adds SUCH a richness and rounds the flavor out into a nice CREAMY plate with a bit of a kick on the back end.  PERFECT!  I always use my rice for the entree only.  I really prefer to savor the curries and soups on their own.  Their Massaman Curry Beef is wonderful!  The meat was tender and, having roominated in the broth for a bit, it was spectacularly flavorful, as was the potatoes.  The peanuts also had the same affect on this curry as the cashew did on the entree; adding a second dimension of creaminess to the already rich, sweet coconut milk base.  I am in LOVE with this restaurant!!

If you've never tried Thai, if you love Thai....or you've had a horrible experience with Thai, I encourage you to add Taste of Thai to your "to eat" list when you're in Midwest City, OK.  I PROMISE you won't regret it and you will find it to be a place you frequent above all others for Thai.  I'll miss this place when we're in Ottawa...but don't YOU miss it if you have the chance!