Royal Orchid- Downtown Minneapolis

Eek! Gag! Ugh! Blah!

That's about all I have to say about the "food" I was served at Royal Orchid in Downtown Minneapolis. If you ever find yourself wandering around the skyway looking for lunch, STAY AWAY! I would not have known I was eating "Pad Thai" and "Yellow Curry" had the signs not said so....this place is truly horrible.

I'm not even going to give you the address- you don't want it!!

Spice Thai

This weekend, I had a truly unique opportunity to enjoy Thai food with a newbie!! This dining companion had only tried Pad Thai once at Roat Osha (best Pad Thai ever!) and otherwise was a total Thai virgin! Obviously, the pressure was on for Spice Thai in Savage....and for me to pick some delicious dishes.

We started with Kung Pom Tong (Crispy Shrimps wrapped in golden fried egg noodles served with Thai spiced sweet & sour), which was tasty, but not very memorable. It felt like a good warm up for my dining companion though...

For dinner, we ordered Gaeng Ka Ree with chicken (Yellow curry with coconut milk and potatoes) and Basil Noodle with scallops (Thai rice noodle stir-fried with basil, onion and chilies in our own special sauce. One tasty noodle dish). We ordered both dishes medium (2 out of 5- don't worry, we got a spice tray too!!) and they both had really rich and delicious flavor. The curry was on the thicker side, which is how I prefer it and the potatoes were cooked to perfection. Although Basil Noodle is not something I regularly order, I was particularly impressed with the flavor combination of this sometimes so-so dish.

Although Spice Thai is a touch out of my way (not sure I have many other reasons to be in Savage...), I will definitely be back. YUM!

PS My dining companion dropped his business card in the fish bowl to win a giftcard and 3 days later, they emailed him that he in fact won $25 to Spice Thai!

Decor: just right

Price: average ($10-$15)

Spice level: jury is still out....we ordered medium!

For more information:

Spice Thai
3989 County Road 42
Savage, MN 55378

www.spicemn.com

Chiang Mai Thai #2

This weekend I was thrilled to go to Chiang Mai Thai where I knew I'd get a great meal. On this particular visit, I truly struggled with the menu. I love all Thai food and it felt like it had been ages since I'd had curry...and pad thai...and soup....and laab essan...in the end, I decided to get a Sriracha Stir Fry with chicken. Sriracha sauce ALWAYS hits the spot and Chiang Mai Thai did a fabulous job!

My dining companions ordered pad thai, fire noodles and pad see eiw....all delicious. Thank you, Chiang Mai Thai for consistently delivering a delicious meal.

Now I just need to try their bicycle delivery service!!

Rating- :) :) :) :) 4 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Chino Latino

After quite a hiatus from my spicy food addiction, I enjoyed some tantalizing Thai dishes at Chino Latino. Our group ordered two Thai items- Black Laab and Coconut Shrimp Curry. We also dined on some other delicious food, but obviously the Thai food was the highlight of the meal for me (and for a few of my other dining companions too!)

We ordered Black Laab (Thai lettuce wraps with spicy ground beef, mint, cilantro, sprouts and nuoc cham dipping sauce), as a small plate to share and it was absolutely delicious. We struggled a little bit assembling our lettuce wraps (so many things to combine!), but the end result was a great mix of flavors. The cilantro truly complimented the nuoc cham dipping sauce. We were hooked!

For one of our larger dishes, we chose Coconut Shrimp Curry (with pineapple and red bell peppers in a sweet Thai coconut red curry sauce over jasmine rice), which my visiting dining companions order every time they go to Chino Latino. Although it wasn't spicy enough for my liking (when we share dishes- I forgo my usual spice level!), the flavor was right on. For a restaurant that has so many different types of cuisine, they truly nail Thai food. The only thing I'd do differently is keep the rice separate from the curry instead of all mixed together....the rice just takes up space in my stomach and I just want the curry!

This was a delicious first official Thai experience at Chino Latino and I'm hungry for more!

Decor: awesome

Price: above average ($13-$18)

Spice level: good

For more information:

Chino Latino
2916 Hennepin Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.chinolatino.com

Thanh Do #2

Thanh Do, mmm good! After a second experience at Thanh Do filled with Spring Rolls, Cranberry Curry and Vietnamese Curry Coconut, I am totally sold on Thanh Do!

The Cranberry Curry (Chicken white meat, fresh mushrooms, onions, scallions, Thai curry, coconut milk and cranberries) literally blew my mind it was so delicious. The flavor combination of sweet and spicy....it's making me salivate to think about it. It was thick and rich and really coated the vegetables and chicken to a T.

My dining companion enjoted Vietnamese Curry Coconut (Chicken white meat marinated with vietnamese spices, curry, coconut milk, onions and topped with crushed peanuts and served over a bed of lettuce and bean sprouts), which she also devoured like there was no tomorrow.

I can't wait to return....I'm craving it!!

Rating- :) :) :) :) :) 5 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Tum Rup Thai #2

Recently I returned to Tum Rup Thai, which can always make my food spicy enough (love that), but I have to say that I think the food is just a touch blah. There is nothing wrong with it and I can't really describe why it's blah (weak, I know), but my dining companion and I agreed that it's just really forgettable.

The place is quite cute with great happy hour specials....so they have that going for them!

Rating- :) :) :) 3 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie

Mango Thai #2

And that's how its done! I had a second amazing meal at Mango Thai.

After taking my sister to quite a few less-than-great restaurants (so sorry!) I was excited to take her somewhere that I enjoyed a lot. We ordered Laab Essan with Chicken to start and it was absolutely delicious. The waitress offered up the spice scale as medium-hot, hot-hot and Thai-hot. We went with hot-hot to start, which was definitely the right choice.

My sister ordered Pad Kee Mow cooked hot-hot and she absolutely loved it. They do such a good job with this meal! I ordered the Green Curry with chicken (her usual treat) and decided to go with Thai-hot. It was amazing and about as hot as I can tolerate...any hotter and my lips might have fallen off.

Overall, Mango Thai is a GREAT choice for lunch and dinner. Additionally, it is super cute with leather chairs, cozy corners, and hip decor. I would highly recommend it!!

Rating- :) :) :) 5 out of 5 Smiles from Sukie