Mt. Fuji

As I walked past Mt. Fuji on my way home to eat a healthy meal with tons of veggies, I thought to myself...I wonder how this sushi restaurant does with Pad Thai....? A few minutes later I was inside ordering take-out (whoops!). Although the wait for the take-out was a little long (20 minutes), it was totally worth it.

I ordered Pad Thai with chicken, their only Thai dish on the mostly sushi menu, and was so impressed with the presentation, flavor and SPICE. The dish was prepared to perfection and would give Roat Osha a run for their money. I'm not sure why a sushi restaurant has Pad Thai on the menu, but if you can do it right, then why not?

I'd highly recommend trying their Pad Thai...hopefully their sushi is just as good?!

Decor: good ambiance

Price: average ($10-$15)

Spice level: perfection

For more information:

Mt. Fuji
2819 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55408

www.mtfujimn.com

True Thai #2

This weekend, I had the opportunity to return to True Thai. I was definitely looking forward to this since it is so critically acclaimed, yet has never impressed me to the same extent. Yet again, I think that do a decent job, but they definitely don't scream best ever to me.

My dining companion and I started with Fried Tofu, which was delicious, but pretty standard. For dinner, my dining companion ordered Laab with Beef (Your choice of minced ingredients blended with healthy portions of lime juice, roasted rice powder, coriander, and shallots. Served with sticky rice), which he adored.

I ordered Southern Thai Bean-Thread Rice Vermicelli Salad (Deliciously seasoned with authentic Thai spices, mixed with pork and shrimp,blended with sweet and spicy dressing with lime) because I didn't recall seeing anything like it anywhere else. I ordered it as a 5 (out of 5), which the waitress recorded as "TH" (Thai Hot) and it in fact had an amazing spice level. The blend of flavors, pork and shrimp was a real win.

Like I said the first time I reviewed True Thai, their service definitely has room for improvement. It's just...so slow!

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

Sawatdee Express

After my most recent experience eating Thai food in the downtown skyway, I was a bit scared to try Sawatdee Express. My dining companion and I both ordered Pad Thai with chicken (they have quite a limited menu) and although it wasn't the best Pad Thai I've ever had, it was decent! I also had a spring roll, which was delicious and made me think of Sawatdee on Washington (definitely the best in their group) and my dining companion enjoyed cream cheese wontons.

The meals were quite expensive- over $10- for what we received, but I'll definitely be back to try their curry.

Decor: it's a closet in the skyway...

Price: average, but expensive for the skyway ($10-$15)

Spice level: definitely no spices added during cooking, but they provided them to add!

For more information:

Sawatdee Express
733 Marqutte Ave #211
Minneapolis, MN 55401

(in the Baker Building)

www.sawatdee.com

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