Thai Cafe:Royal Oak

For the first time in about a month we were able to escape for some Thai food again. This time our target was a small restaurant in downtown Royal Oak, right across the street from the local community college. We had been to Thai Cafe before but last spring might have been the most recent visit. Perhaps since it is such a small storefront (with a few tables outside) the service here was very prompt. As I sat down we already had our water and were placing our orders shortly after. Marshall ordered their FR2 Chicken Pad Pad Prik, while I went for the E22 Chicken Masaman (which sadly was available only in a dinner portion). Marshall passed on the Egg Drop soup and I decided to give it a taste. I'm not a fan of Egg Drop soups yet found this one to be better than usual. After a few spoonfuls it was still too salty for my taste and I abandoned a nearly full cup. The entrees arrived moments later. My Masaman was very heavy on peas with huge chicken pieces almost too large to fit into my mouth. Marhsall found his fried rice to be tasty but more spice than he wanted. Within twenty-two minutes of parking the truck we were back into the truck pulling out of Royal Oak leaving some rice and peas behind. We talked a little about the food as we drove away and concluded they used more salt than either of us like. Overall we were pleased with the taste and experience.

Darryl: 7/10
Marshall: 7/10

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Bangkok City Thai Cusine:Southfield

It had been weeks since we'd been able to head out for some Thai food and we were really excited to try Bangkok City Thai Cusine today. We were excited to try a restaurant with such good ratings from Google, Urbanspoon, and Yelp. The store was a pretty simple front in another strip (sorry about not grabbing a photo this time) but the interior was much more impressive. Though a little dark, it was a very pleasant oriental feeling. As soon as we were seated the waitress delivered the Hot & Sour soup and we placed our orders – Marshall the FR1 Kow Pad and I the E15 Gang Masaman. Once our orders were placed we were free to sample the soup. Neither one of us liked their soup. It was overly thick and lacked much flavor but did leave an unpleasant aftertaste. Very quickly after we abandoned our soups the entrees were delivered. The flavor on each was good. My Masaman was swimming in onions (more than a third of the dish) and the chicken didn't seem to be of very good quality. Marshall's rice was undercooked and he didn't come close to finishing the meal. Being that it's at the lower-end of the price spectrum (especially with their 15% off lunch coupon on the website) it was worth the try. It will not make it to the list of Thai restaurants to re-visit.

Darryl: 5/10
Marshall: 5/10

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Thai Garden:Ferndale

We stopped at Thai Garden on the recommendation of a co-worker for this afternoon's adventure in Thai food. This is another simple restaurant tucked into a small, neighborhood strip mall with a simple, light Thai theme (though oddly they didn't have any lights on inside). We sat down and were quickly delivered a couple bowls of Hot & Sour Soup. A quick look through the menu and we located our usual dishes, at very low fees, and placed the order for one F1 Chicken Kow Pad and one SP10 Chicken Gang Mus Sa Mun. We sampled the soup while waiting for the main course. It was pretty good but suffered from a starchiness that killed it for us and neither one of us finished our soup. The real disappointment came once the entrees arrived. Marshall's Kow Pad was by far the worst fried rice dish we've experienced. It had a burned taste to it though not burned, and the chemical taste of Doritos. My Gang Mus Sa Mun was very mild – both spice and flavor – with rubbery peanuts, flavorless potatoes, and chewy, fatty chicken. We did what we could to finish the dishes and hoped for better results as we dug in. Before we hit the halfway point we had to cut the losses and left the remaining dishes on the table and left. Our co-worker who recommended the venue received a thrashing when we made it back to the office and without question we will not be returning.

Darryl: 1/10
Marshall: 0/10

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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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