Chai Thai - DT

ChaiThai
3334 Curry Ford Road, Orlando, Fl map
407.898.1181

Sa-wat dee. There’s new Thai in town. Chai Thai located on Curry Ford Road just a few blocks east of Bumby. The décor is clean and comfortable and the prices very reasonable. For this visit I met two friends of mine for a quick bite while their kids attended karate next door.

I see fresh summer rolls on the menu therefore I must have them. I love the fresh julienned carrots, and lettuce with a generous proportion of shrimp rolled in a rice paper wrap and served chilled. While smaller than other summer rolls I’ve tried, you get three to an order accompanied by a house sauce, sweet with a soy base and topped with chopped nuts. I asked the owner Toy what was in the sauce. She just smiled and said her husband Chai makes it special. While quite good, she allowed me to sample the peanut sauce as well.

My friend ordered the Tom Kha Gai, a gusty Thai tradition of white meat chicken and straw mushrooms in a seasoned broth of coconut milk and lime juice. He had the same soup at another restaurant recently and describes this bowl as better than most. The broth was spicy and smooth with a complementary blend of herbs.

My other friend ordered the Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango. A seasonal desert decorated with a touch of black sesame for contrast, the sweat creamy custard provides an effective bridge between the cold rice and the tangy, ripe mango. Most tasty with an elegant presentation.

Did I mention the awesome karate dojo next door?

Other reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chai-thai-cuisine-orlando

Service: òp òon (friendly)
Quantity: appropriate
Price: All dishes under $5 each.

Revisited Restaurants - dj

Winnies Oriental Garden: We went with a big birthday crowd again, the service was good for a group of 10 people. I was going to get something different from last time but ended up with the same dish Chicken & Cashews. I had the same impression as last time as well BLAND. Even with the addition of salt it still did not have much taste.

Rating: **
Service : ***


Siam Garden The restaurant looks the same as last year. The menus have been updated with photos of the food. They look quite nice. I had the Stir Fried Ginger with Chicken again. It was just as good as I remembered.

Rating: ****
Service ***

Thai Place – DJ

501 North Orlando Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
407.644.8449
“Step into our world of exotic Thai Cuisine”

The Thai Place has been under new ownership for about 5 months now. We went right after the change over and were disappointed but recently I heard that they had a new menu and has redecorated the dining room, so I thought we should try it again.

We arrived at 12:30 and were able to be seated right away even with a party of 6 now necessarily a good sign. The redecoration of the dining room was nice. The walls had been repainted a dark brown there were new table tops and new lighting. The room was now quiet attractive. It looked as though there were a few things still left to be done.

The new menu had several new item including a “Salmon Lover” item that could be fixed three ways; with Hot & Sweet Chili Sauce, Fresh Hot Basil, or Curry Sauce. The person that ordered this dish said it was very good. The lunch dishes were all $6.95 except that the Salmon which was $7.95. The Dinner menu items were mostly $9.95.

So that I could get a true comparison of the old Thai Place to the new Thai Place I ordered my old standby Ginger (Pad Khing). The meal started with the usual salad with peanut sauce. The salad was good; the lettuce was just a bit watery. The peanut sauce was about the same maybe it had a bit more peanut flavor. The Ginger stir fry was also good but it was a bit dry there was not very much of that delicious sauce that I cannot duplicate at home. Over all the meal was a good one. The overall experience of having Boon there was missing; he was always so friendly and made each visit a special one.

Rating: ***
Service: **
Price: Lunch/Salad $7.45

Thai House - DJ

2117 E. Colonial Drive
Orlando, Florida 32803
407.898.0820

I have not been to the Thai House in many years, maybe as long as 5 years. We started going to the Thai Place out of convenience, and we liked Boone. Now that has moved to The Villages we are in desperate need of a good Thai meal. We went back to the Thai House on a Friday evening. Arriving around 7 PM. The restaurant was full. We had a short wait of ten minutes.

The building was as I remembered. It was nicely decorated with touches of Thai decor. The wait staff all had on Thai dress that was quite attractive. The prices on the menu had just gone up about a dollar an item, but this is as expected these days.

I ordered #34 Phad Khing – Ginger, mushrooms, onions, carrot, and celery stir fried with chicken. This was served with white Jasmine rice. It was delicious. The sauce was slightly sweet and smooth. The vegetables were sliced in long pieces and the chicken was thinly sliced but was not dried out. This was just as good as Boone’s. I remember now that when we first started going to Boones I still preferred Thai House, but Boones it was closer.

I’ll go back again next week for lunch and bring my camera for a photo. The luncheon menu has entrees for $6.50.

The readers of the Orlando Weekly voted the Thai House best Thai restaurant in Orlando 2007.



Service: ****
Rating: ****
Price Entree/water: $8.95

Siam Garden - DJ

1111 Webster Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789
407.599.7443

The gang was feeling like Thai today for lunch. We ended up at Siam Garden, it was a nice surprise. The lunch specials were priced at $5.95 with 17 offerings to choice from. They ranged from Pad Thai to curries to stir fried dishes. The restaurant is nicely accoutered with fancy Thai table cloths under glass and a temple like atmosphere. The lighting in the back room is soft, a little too soft for lunch time. The overall atmosphere is pleasant.

I had the Stir Fried Ginger with chicken. The dish was a bit larger then I expected which was nice. The dish had a nice brown sauce which was very good. The vegetables were nicely done, still crispy. The chicken was also good. The dish had the standard rice accompaniment. My overall impression was good. I have been lacking a good Thai restaurant to go to since The Thai Place changed owners a few months ago. Boone from the Thai Place recently moved to the Villages and opened a new restaurant called Siam Orchid. It opened on July 2, 2007. The address is 1561 Bella Cruz Dr., The Villages, FL 32159. I have not had the time to go visit especially for lunch since it is about 60 miles away. Siam Garden will be a nice place to go to fill the vacuum left by Boone’s departure.


Service: 4
Meal/Water:: $6.34.

Siam Garden - DT

Now that my favorite Thai restaurant is under new management, the search is on. Siam Garden, at 1111 Webster Ave just on the north side of the Winter Park Village, is said to have the best Pad Thai for the money. The atmosphere is clean and roomy. The lighting is dim and the reception was a bit more business than friendly. Typical number of customers for a mid-week lunch. I can’t pass them up so I ordered the Spring Rolls (a new item on the menu).

The spring rolls were fresh, good sized and provided adequate support for the peanut sauce. The peanut sauce could be a bit more peanutty. Even though everyone at the table was watching me eat them, I still feel this is a fair review. For lunch the Cashew Chicken is my favorite so I ordered #22, Stir Fried Cashew Nuts with Chicken, medium spicy.

The food was delivered in good time. The red curry base was not too sweet and spiced just right. The ingredients: Scallion, Onion, carrot, celery, water chestnut, chicken and cashews were all fresh and in good proportion, served hot but not overcooked.

Service: 4 (Out of 5)

Quantity: 4

Spring Rolls, Cashew Chicken and water $9