Photo Credit: ecstaticist.

So I’ve dedicded to start a new project for dining in 2010. The tagline of this site is “Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver” and so instead of of traipsing around Vancouver’s culinary delights in the random way I have been for the last (almost) 2 years, I am going to present my finds country by country.

I still have a bit of a backlog of reviews, so I may post those interspersed with the project and if I feel really keen, I may even post some recipes.

First stop on the grand tour: North America. Got any favorites you’d like to recommend?

We sat in the same table as we did on our last visit in it’s last incarnation as Gastropod and save for some bamboo and a stencil on the mirror, this is the same restaurant. That is, until the food hits the table. We ordered Siam sun ray cocktails, vodka and toasted coconut punctuated with lime, chili and ginger. Then fermented Thai sausage, a disappointing start. It was purported to have dragon chilis in it, but that is one tame dragon as it was about as flavourful as a hotdog stand special.

A minor setback, however, because it was followed up with one of the best pad thais I’ve ever had, roasted chili peppers on the side of fresh noodles and prawns. The taste of tamarind and heat was sensual almost and paved the way beautifully for the crispy pork belly with green peppercorns and Thai Basil. I’ve never had a dish like this, fragrant and flavourful, with tastes and textures colliding off the sides of my mouth and back into each other. I love pork belly on the best of days, but the greens and spices do something amazing to it and actually manage to balance the fat.

Finally, the smoked duck curry. The meat was a little bit chewy but the sweet and sour sauce was utterly drinkable – and I did. With egg and rice, it is a filling dish but the complex flavours mean that every bite is subtly different.

Dessert was a disappointing, sweet rice concoction that stuck to the sides of my mouth, but we were too full to enjoy it and I don’t have much of a sweet tooth anyways. I need to go back soon for the spicy-sour grilled hangar steak salad that I’ve been dreaming of – it sounds just about perfect on a hot day – and I’ve got the Muslim oxtail soup earmarked for when the weather gets colder. Also, that curry needs to be sampled about 20 more times.

At $13-18 for a main, it’s become much more of an every-day place than Gastropod was and consequently it’s packed every day, including lots of take-out going out the door. But it’s worth it, even on fireworks night.

This post was reprinted from Foodists.
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Maenam
1938 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver

One of my favorite places for a quick sit-down lunch in Yaletown is Urban Thai. A laminated menu full of lunch specials comes with rice and a spring roll for about $8. A variety of curries and ingredients make selecting difficult, but the curry beef (above) is a favorite.

The room is fairly large with cozy booths accented with beautiful Thai touches that would make for a nice lingering dinner, but the

For something a little different, the curried chicken lunch special comes with spring roll and rice and vegetables for a dollar more. Their Pad Thai is also delicious, with noodles and peanuts and shrimp.

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Urban Thai
1119 Hamilton Street, Vancouver

I love it when you stumble upon a place with no expectations and they are fulfilled wildly for you. That happened to me recently with Yuum Yai Thai, a little Commercial Drive storefront that upon first glance could swing in either direction, to dingy and depressing or excellent and secret. With a colourful awning outside and a small, basic room spruced up with Thai accents, it is welcoming enough and comfortable. Also clean.

The menu has all of the dishes you would expect to see in a Thai restaurant; green, red, yellow and Panang curries, pad Thai, etc. but also a lot of non-standard specialties. I waffled a bit before choosing the Choo Chee with king prawns (you can also get it with a fish fillet) for $15.95. It’s a kind of curry (not overly spicy) made with kafir lime leaves and sweet basil and served over white rice it’s a little piece of heaven. The lack of heat really makes the spice mixture shine and there is a generous helping of prawns, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Delicious.

A foodie friend who’s been to Thailand told me later that this is one of the most authentic Thai places in town, and I can definitely see that. Go check it out if you’e in the neighourhood.

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Yuum Yai Thai

1859 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

It’s not very often that I get take out. Maybe if I want to watch a movie or have a significant amount of work to do that won’t allow for eating out or cooking, then it’s a necessary evil for me… and requires a decision on whether I want to cram the Styrofoam packaging and bags into the garbage can and simultaneously dirty a plate or whether to just eat out of the to-go package and risk the whole thing exploding on your lap.

I get that other people like take-out though, and so I have for you the perfect compromise. Take Thai Home on Commercial Drive, appears at first glance to be all about ordering your dinner to go, and in fact there are even an assortment of curries, ingredients and recipes so that you can even make your own Thai dishes at home. Me, I prefer to sit in. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with red walls and wide tables (suitable for balancing many dishes, if you are sharing with a friend). Over the bar/kitchen/ordering counter is a faux tiki hut that actually isn’t that tacky and there are thoughtful Thai decorating flourishes all over the room.

The main reason to eat in, however, is that the food is still ready just as fast, but you can sit down and enjoy it on real plates, accompanied perhaps by a cold Singha.

Because Take Thai Home is less than a block from my house and I often get home late and too tired for cooking, I have sampled a pretty wide swath of their menu. You can never go wrong with the Pad Thai ($8.75), and I also like the spicy Tom Yum Kung soup ($6, pictured top) on a cold day.  For a heartier meal, the curry combos are a good value – and delicious. Below is the Panang curry with prawns ($8.50) that comes with rice, vegetable soup, salad and chips. I also like the Latna for something different – egg or rice noodles with chicken, broccoli and carrots in Thai gravy.

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Take Thai Home
1736 Commercial Drive, Vancouver