SalaThai

Recently, I was invited as a guest speaker for a Yelp Elite event to talk about food photography. I was flattered to be part of this event because I would not consider myself a professional photographer at this point. Luckily, the Yelpers looked engaged when Tina and I were providing some tips for food photography. After, SalaThai was very generous to treat us to a delicious and unreal meal.

SalaThai is opened in 1986, and it is known for the traditional Central Thailand cuisine. When I ordered in a Thai restaurant, I would most likely order pad thai or green curry. But after this event, I also learned a lot about what real Thai dishes are. Although we also tried pad thai and green curry, there are two dishes that I would like to feature in this blog post. And I hope this post will change your thoughts on Thai cuisine.

Khao Soi

Let me introduce you to this secret menu item that only serves on #NoodleMonday at SalaThai – Khao Soi. This was my favourite dish of the night, and it changed my mindset of how Thai cuisine tastes like. Khao Soi is popular street food in Northern Thailand. The egg noodles are soaked in this curry soup base, with a hint of coconut milk. It is served with two tender chicken drumsticks. Lastly, it was topped with artistic-looking deep-fried egg noodles.

The curry soup was thick and creamy, but when you dipped the egg noodles in this aromatic curry soup, the combination was bomb. The crispy egg noodles added a crunchy texture and a rich curry flavor after soaking them in the soup. The soup was flavorful, with a hint of spice and heat. Chicken Drumsticks were tender; you can literally tear the meat off using a fork easily.

Cho Ladda & Krathong Tong

Cho Ladda‘s regular serving comes with four pieces of beautifully looking steamed floral dumplings, filled with minced chicken, peanuts, and palm sugar. Although I thought the sweetness from the palm sugar was overpowering the savoury flavor, I loved its chewy texture and purple color.

Compared to Cho Ladda, I preferred the “Golden Basket” – Krathong Tong. It comes with six pieces, and they are crispy waffle shells, filled with minced chicken, corn, and onion. I loved the crisp and how the corn gave a hint of sweetness to the flavourful appetizer.

These two appetizers were different in terms of texture, flavor, and presentation. It is quite a unique experience to try them both at the same time.

Overall Impression

Of course, we tried more dishes than I mentioned above, but I hope I can bring a different experience to you all that there are actually more delicious dishes out there than Pad Thai or Green Curry in Thai Cuisine. Next time if you are in a Thai restaurant, try to order some new dishes. Maybe you will have a surprising food adventure.

Taste: 4/5 • Service: 4/5 • Ambiance: 3.5/5 • Quality-Price: 4/5

Disclosure: Invited as a Guest Speaker for a Yelp Elite event