My first visit to Thai Food (集.泰國菜) a month ago left me moderately disappointed. The yellow curry with chicken (NT$280) tasted bland, as though it came from a packet, and the steamed sea bass with lemon sauce (NT$450) had a sickly sweet flavor. When asked for Thai chili sauce to add some kick to the sour and spicy seafood salad (NT$300), the server brought over a dish of sliced red chilies drowned in soy sauce.
But what a difference a month makes. Perhaps the kitchen had been experiencing growing pains — it has only been open few months — because on my second visit to the family-style restaurant located a few minutes walk from exit 2 of the Guting MRT Station (古亭捷運站), the food had improved considerably. (Admittedly, this could have something to do with the fact I ordered some different dishes.) But even though it now has Thai chili sauce, the restaurant still has a ways to go before it can justify its somewhat pricey menu.
This is most noticeable with the sour and spicy seafood salad, which contains generous portions of fresh shrimp, cuttlefish, crab and clams, all tossed in a zesty lime and chili dressing. The overzealous addition of sliced onions to the dish, however, distracts from the delicate flavor of the seafood, leaving a somewhat astringent aftertaste that could have been avoided with the addition of lightly flavored vegetables such as cherry tomatoes or cucumber.
Photo: Noah Buchan, Taipei Times
The raw shrimp with sour chili dressing (NT$300 for six), shelled, deveined and tastefully laid out on a disc of ice, also suffers from a similar flavor imbalance. A dollop of relish consisting of garlic, chili and what looks like chopped lemongrass tops each shrimp, but its strong garlicky overtones overpower everything else. Removing about half the relish evens out the taste.
Having been let down by the yellow curry on my first visit, I was hesitant to try the green curry with chicken (NT$260) on my second, but I’m glad I did. Like the seafood salad, the portion was on the largish side, and the curry had a light flavor with a pleasant lemongrass finish.
I was a little surprised to receive sticky white rice as an accompaniment to the curry. When asked, my server told me they don’t have the long grain variety favored in Thailand. Sadly, ithe restaurant doesn’t have Singha beer either, though it does stock Corona, Heineken and Taiwan Beer (NT$120).
Thai Food’s menu features an extensive selection of vegetarian dishes as well as some Taiwanese favorites. The food seemed to have improved since my first visit, and the excellent service remained the same. On both visits, the servers were constantly bustling around the bright and modernist interior, attentive without being overbearing.
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