Novi Siam Spicy:Novi

Today we ventured out to Novi Siam Spicy (which as you might expect from the name is in Novi) in the West Oaks shopping center. The store is just another strip mall space with a typical asian restaurant interior. They have a varied, moderately price menu which includes soup for lunch. Marshall of course ordered the Chicken Kow Pad Prik (67) and I my usual Chicken Gang Mus Sa Mun (27). They had the Chicken & Rice soup at the table before we even ordered and that had good taste but salty. Normally lunch is also served with shrimp chips but never arrived at the table. Marshall's food was delivered pretty quickly with excellent flavor, but a little more oily than he likes. After checking with wait staff twice, and as Marshall nearly finished his meal, my entree finally arrived. It was more a soup with an extremely runny sauce and mostly onions with very little chicken, potatoes, or peanuts. I found its taste disappointing. Marshall's meal was a pretty small portion and mine was even less. Even without factoring in the missing shrimp chips and poor service this store delivered a very poor value. Factor in those and normally we wouldn't consider a revisit to this store. Being that Marshall and his wife have eaten her previously and had good experiences we might give it another try. That will be quite some time off.

Darryl: 3/10
Marshall: 5/10

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Sawasdee Thai Restaurant:West Bloomfield

Our experiment in Thai this afternoon took us to Sawasdee Thai Restaurant in West Bloomfield. The restaurant is tucked into a strip mall and we almost missed what looks to be the only source for Thai food in miles. We were happy to see the store was busy but got a table immediately. We were joined by Fred again and just about the time we sat our soup orders were taken. While Marshall and I selected what looked to be our usual testing dishes (Marshall picked their FR2 Chicken Kow Pad Prik and I their 122 Chicken Potato Curry), Fred picked their ND1 Chicken Pad Thai from their moderately priced lunch menu. The soup arrived and while Fred and Marshall liked their Chicken Noodle, I wasn't pleased with their Hot & Sour Soup which had a very plain and unpleasant taste. A short while later the spring rolls arrived. Those were good, mostly cabbage, but flakey and not overcooked as we've seen elsewhere. The entrees were varied. Fred's Pad Thai was very good, served very hot both in temperature and spice. Marshall was happy with his Kow Pad Prik at first, but the further he got into the dish the less he liked it. As for my Potato Curry it wasn't even close to a Masaman. This was more like an Indian Yellow Curry dish and didn't seem to have the coconut milk nor peanuts. I was very disappointed in the dish mostly for the indian flavor. They did do a good job preparing the dish with the potatoes being cooked well. Given the price of the complete meal we're not likely to return for a second test on this store but being that there are so few Thai restaurants in this area we might end up giving it one more try.

Darryl: 5/10
Fred: 7/10
Marshall: 6/10

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Ahan Thai:Royal Oak

One place we've been hitting on occasion is Ahan Thai in downtown Royal Oak. This stand-alone building had been a coffee house near the tracks in it previous life but now is a very attractive Thai restaurant. This afternoon we were joined by a coworker to try the place again. The lunch menu seems to have been reduced in price and now falls far toward the low end of the Thai lunch rates -- a very welcomed change! I ordered their Chicken Masaman (C4) while Marshall settled on their Chicken Kow Pad Prik (FR2) and Fred tried their Chicken Peanut Curry. The meals came with Hot & Sour Soup which we all agreed was too salty to eat and didn't have much substance (all broth), but Marshall substituted his soup for a terrible spring roll (bitter and greasy) which he also didn't eat. Fortunately the entrees were good rescuing the overall rating. They were still lacking with Fred and I commenting that they were dry and lacked the spice we've expected and heat we ordered. Given the price it's good, but we'll take the drive to one of the other restaurants next time.

Darryl: 6/10
Fred: 7/10
Marshall: 5/10

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Thai Taste:Troy

Marshall was feeling under the weather today and wanted something good to help him feel better. Thai Taste is my favorite local Thai source (at least since Thai Magic Kitchen in Birmingham was sold and later shut down) and Marshall wanted to give it another taste. Hence we ventured over today for a lunch-time treat. The small store front just on the other side of the freeway from the tall offices of Troy, this was one of those places I found years ago while driving past. Today we visited just after their lunch rush to partake of their lunch menu. I ordered the Chicken Masaman Curry (C5) and Marshall tried their Chicken Thai Special Fried Rice (KP7), both on the high side of the average price. Each was served with their Hot & Sour Soup and a Spring Roll. Marshall couldn't stop raving about the soup as the best he's ever tried. The spring rolls were also good, though a better balance between the wrap and contents would have made me happier. As usual, the portion sizes were good and coupled with the soup and spring roll, but was enough to fill me through dinner and take a little home. The taste of each dish was sublime. Marshall couldn't stop raving about the taste and quality and took some of his home as well. Marshall now complains that he has found the Thai restaurant he wants to eat all the time and doesn't feel like continuing the search, but I protest we must try others a little closer to his home and to the office. So the search will continue.

Darryl: 10/10
Marshall: 10/10 (off the charts)

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Thai on Main:Royal Oak

One of those restaurants we'd not tried in years was Thai on Main in Royal Oak so that was our destination today. The first thing we noted was that their web site needs work having among other issues a broken link to the menu. Their interior was pleasant enough but a little disquieting for lunch with more of a cozy dinner feel thanks to the music selection. The service wasn't quick, but once we ordered, I ordered the Chicken Masaman (E22) and Marshall ordered the Chicken Kow Pad Prik (FR2), we were informed that the waiter didn't know what type of soup they were serving today – just that it was something sesame. It looked like a basic noodle soup but in a terribly salty broth and neither of us were able stand more than a couple spoons. The entrees were much better. My was a little bland but not bad. Aside from the favor it was decent quality but didn't have that freshness of ingredients we've had at most of the better rated stores. Marshall thought his was pretty tasty though the rice was a bit greasy. It was on the low end of pricing for Thai lunches we'd found and the portion was good for that price. Sadly we don't recommend the restaurant mostly because neither one of us felt quite right after leaving the table. We've had worse at a much higher cost. Perhaps we'll try again in another couple years.

Darryl: 5/10
Marshall: 5/10

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