For all my regulars out there, I had to take a detour the last time I thought about Thai. Not gonna happen this time. Aye, Positive!
For all the newbies, In my earlier post I had a slight change of plans en-route to a Thai restaurant which led me to the Greek Truck. So, I got you all covered here in this post.
I had this itch which was pricking me all the while to visit a Thai place (Yes, I hate to eat it alone!) and the almighty has listened. Got a bunch of my friends come over for the weekend and we all planned to visit a restaurant and the onus (Oh Ya, I love it!!) was on me to choose one. I started yelping and I circled down on two of 'em. It was either Hot Pot or Thai.
"Both of them are spicy, Yum!" I voiced emphatically.
Though, I was leaning towards Thai, the dilemma was taxing. So, I put forth my choices with the troop and out they shouted.....
"THAI," in unison. Well, that was easy.
The restaurant we opted for was Thai Gourmet, the well known and most rewarded Thai restaurant in Houston. I was excited to try it out and have my readers experience the same. Situated in Uptown, this place has an aesthetically pleasing charm to it.
Has been around since 20 years and the interiors are as appealing as they could get. The place is usually crowded and was no different to us. Had to wait 30 minutes before we could get a table. However, the seating area was good enough and we were dallying off at the store they had set up with Thai artifacts.
After goofing around for a while, we were called upon and the server had us placed and tossed some menus on the table. The menu was ginormous. Lot of choices. We chose the Appetizer Tray to start the ball rolling. We needed more time for the entrées and hence the server was out with the order. Ordered some Thai beer (Singha) for the lightheaded moment. Was nearing half hour whilst the order came up at the table.
No wonder they are called Appetizers. They sure enact it right. The Appetizer Tray consisted of Spicy Cheese Rolls, Spring Rolls, Thai Gourmet Dumplings and Chicken Satay.
The Spring rolls are passable, however, the Spicy Cheese Rolls add some tang to the palette with a filling consisting of extra spicy mayo. Both of these have nothing to write home about. The next comes the Chicken Satay which has surely hit the mark. The chicken is quite tender and the charred texture blends perfectly with the satay sauce made of soy and peanuts which provides a delectable experience.
Would definitely recommend it among the other appetizers. Finally, you have the Thai Gourmet Dumplings which are satisfying as well. The forcemeat has a generous amount of marinated meat which is surely satiating. The pickled onions and cucumbers have jelled quite well with the dumplings and the chili oil.
Taste: 7.5/10
We were done ordering the entrées and were waiting while finishing up the appetizers and the beer. Soon came the first dish.
Pineapple Fried Rice it is.
Went with the spice level of medium as the server was hell bent on intimidating me that I couldn't handle it hot. There was lot going in that dish at the first glance. Had this ordered with Tofu instead of meat so you could look at those huge chunks of 'em. Came with raisins, cashew nuts, carrots, broccoli, red and green onions and yes, the pineapple.
I had a nibble at it to check the spice level and it was way below than what I could handle. Trust me when I say that because if I could handle spicy, any of my readers might as well go a step ahead. Immediately added some chili sauce they had up there and loaded my first bite with all the delicious filling ingredients aforementioned.
"This is it!" yelled my inner voice. It was mouth watering to look at and it carried the notion precisely while I was chomping at it. It was totally full-flavored and the crunch you get from the cashews with a tinge of sweetness from raisins are to drool for. This is a dish I would order any day.
Taste: 8.5/10
While I was delving into the richness of this dish, I was distracted by the tantalizing aroma which led to our table.
These are the Thai Curry Noodles. They are influenced from Northern Style and also known as Khao Soi. They consist of egg noodles and the broth is made out of red curry paste with red and green onions, topped with coconut milk and crispy fried egg noodles. I ordered this Hot and it is just perfect. The broth is spicy enough to enjoy all the flavors the dish had to offer. It does clear up your sinus, you bet!
The crispy noodles pair perfectly as a savory for the spicy broth and is really refreshing with the green onions and cucumbers you have in there. Go for it!
Taste: 8/10
Then, came the final dish for today.
Crab Fried Rice. Ordered this spicy as well and I recommend my readers the same. Was piping hot and the fried rice just looked like My Granny's Fried Rice. The colors were vibrant and you could smell the infusion of garlic in there. All it had was garlic, egg and some red and green onions.
But wait, can never forget the lumps of crab meat I found in there. Never had crab with fried rice before and this was an entirely fresh experience I was loving. The crab chimed perfectly with the ingredients in there and the spice was just about good. No harm done!
Taste: 8/10
Well, this Thai does not disappoint. Check the disclaimer, guys!
Details
Thai Gourmet
6324 Richmond Ave Houston, TX 77057
(713) 780-7955
Overall
Taste: 8/10
Ambience: 8.5/10
Service: 6.5/10
Value For Money: 7.5/10
Disclaimer: The servers tend to intimidate you with the spice level of the dishes you order. If you are used to having spicy food, then the level "Hot" is not too much to handle.
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