Tag: thai

Food Review: Chang Thai in Sherwood

I have heard from only two friends about this place, and they love it. However, I hardly ever go to Sherwood. One Friday night we decided to finally try it, and I’m glad we did. Here’s the breakdown:

Environment

Chang Thai is located on Hwy 107 in a small shopping center.

It is certainly nothing fancy, but it large enough to seat quite a crowd. Our waitress was very nice and knowledgeable about the food, which is always a plus.

The Menu

Their menu is quite expansive, with everything playing within the Thai category. However, many items were given unique twists. For example, you can get regular Pad Thai here OR an egg-wrapped Pad Thai…I’m going to have to try that one day. Everything sounds so delicious, it was very hard to narrow it down, so I tried not to go too narrow.

You can find their menu HERE on their Facebook page.

The Food

What I wanted to try was the Meing Kham. With a picture of 5 large spoons filled with large bite-size servings, it includes ginger, coconut, cashews, shallots, and lime wrapped in a Betel nut leaf with a tamarind coconut sauce.
Right?! I was so excited. But no, it is “seasonal” and they didn’t have it. So, I guess I’ll return in the summer?

Sesame Balls (8) $3.75
Description: Deep fried glutinous rice balls with sweetened red bean paste filling.
Our table of four shared these three appetizers. I love sesame balls, but if you have never had them, they are really sweet (even though red bean paste doesn’t sound like it) and a dense, but soft texture with a little crunch and nuttiness on the outside from the sesame seeds. They are great! These could have been cooked a little longer for me, but I like everything but steaks cooked longer than most people. 

Por-Pia Sod, Fresh Spring Rolls (2) $3.75
Description: Fresh organic baby spinach, shrimp, fresh basil, and shredded carrots, rolled in rice paper and served with tangy peanut sauce.
This was the most impressive appetizer to me. It was extremely fresh and bursted full of flavor. I will definitely get these again.

Tao Hoo Tod $5.00
Description: Crispy fried tofu served with sweet and sour sauce with crushed peanuts.
I love fried tofu and this one was cooked a little longer than other places where I’ve had the dish. I loved it this way, but most would consider it too dry and crunchy. There was no flavor in the tofu and I love it when they marinate the tofu first to give it some taste. But it was still tasty dipped in the sauce.

 

Small Tom Kha (Galanga Coconut Soup)
Description: Aromatic herb soup with coconut milk, galangai, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, mushrooms, onions, and fresh lime juice

Wow! Hands down, my favorite Tom Kha. I had options to order with chicken, vegetables, or tofu. I decided to try the veggie option and I’m so glad I did. Besides the normal veggies that already come in it, there was a ton of others: broccoli, carrots, extra mushrooms, etc. They were fresh and cooked perfectly in the soup, so they still had good chew.
But that broth! It was thicker than any other version I have tried. It was flavored perfectly (I ordered it a medium heat ,5/10) which ended up being spicier than most versions I have had, which are hardly spiced at all. It was still sweet and rich, so the heat matched it perfectly.
*They asked if i wanted the small or large, even though the small is not listed on the menu. So, I am not sure how much this costs. But the large is $9.

 

Yum Neua (Thai Beef Salad) $9.00
Description: Grilled beef mixed with Chang’s chili-lime dressing, red onion, tomato, scallions, and cilantro.

This was the most disappointing dish. If you read my blog, you know I am a huge fan of Thai beef salads, and I have had many by now. This one is undoubtedly my least favorite.
The only lettuce is thick cut romaine. The beef was overcooked and hard to chew. And I ordered it at a 5/10 spice, and that was too spicy for me. It was good, but after a few bites, I had to break for Panang to cool off.

 

Panang Curry $9.00
Description: Panang curry cooked with rich coconut milk, ground peanuts, bell pepper, and basil.

What a steal! With the curries only being $9 for chicken or pork, I figured they would be smaller portions. Nope! This came in a huge bowl with a ton of sliced pork. The pork was tender (which can be an issue at other places) and the panang was delicious! It was peanut-y just like I like it. We ordered this one’s heat 3/10 (which the waitress said was a “medium” to most people that aren’t of the Thai culture) and that was just right. Just a  kick, but didn’t start hurting you after a few bites.

Pad Thai $9.00
Description: Rice noodles stir-fried with eggs, bean sprouts, scallions, crushed peanuts, and homemade sauce. Garnished with fresh bean sprouts and lime wedge.

I didn’t try this one, but it was pretty! And our friends said it was good.

 

Overall

I love the prices and portion sizes and I had some of the best versions of Thai food here, and one of the worst.

Food Review: Fantastic Thai at Thai Esane in Nashville

I am 99% sure this is the best Thai restaurant I have ever eaten at. Located in the Gulch in downtown Nashville, it is modern and full of options for both drinks and food. Here’s the breakdown:

ATMOSTPHERE

While the outside of this restaurant looks like nothing fancy, especially for the Gulch area, the inside is very nice, modern, and clean. (As were the bathrooms, which is important to me.)

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THE MENU

Drinks:


The drink menu had many unique cocktails, reasonably priced, as well as craft beers and wines.

We decided on the Long Island Thai Tea (Freshly brewed Thai iced tea, Vodka, Rum, Gin, Tequila, Tripe Sec, sweet & sour mix, topped with Sprite.  It was delicious! The Thai iced tea had more of a chai taste than iced tea I am used to. It didn’t taste overly alcoholic, even with all that was included. I would definitely get this drink again.
We also got the Thai Tonic (Gin, Thai basil, cucumber, lime juice, and tonic water.)  This was a kicked up Gin & Tonic, with so many more flavors. You can really taste the Thai basil and cucumber. It was refreshing and delicious.

Food:

You can see the full menu here: menu.

While there are so many options to choose from, from 16 appetizers, to rice entrees, to pan fried dishes, to noodle soups, to house specials, my favorite part of the menu was each item had a picture! I love that.

       

THE FOOD

Papaya Salad (Esane Style) $6.95
Description: Carrots, papaya, tomatoes, lime juice, fish sauce, shrimp paste, tamarind sauce.

For those of you who read this blog, you know I have been bound and determined to try a papaya salad that I like. However, the two I have tried before were sooo spicy, they were inedible.
FINALLY! This papaya salad was not spicy and it was pretty good! I loved the crunch of the fresh veggies. The sauce they used was not overbearing, but had enough flavor that the salad was enjoyable.
My only complaint was there was too much fish sauce. A few bites in, that flavor (which I can only describe as foot funk) became overwhelming and I had to put down the fork.
Drew finished it off and enjoyed it tremendously, however.

Paneang Curry, $10.95
Description: Broccoli and carrots in thick creamy curry sauce.
With choice of chicken, beef, pork, or tofu. Seafood is an extra cost.

Oh Lawd! This was so good. This was the perfect paneang sauce, so creamy and peanut-y. I couldn’t get enough of this. I got it with chicken, which was perfectly tender. I loved the broccoli in it as well, which I don’t see very often. This dish was PERFECT.

Masaman Curry, $10.95
Description: Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and onions.
Comes with choice of chicken, beef, pork, or tofu. Seafood costs more.

Another home run! This masaman was very delicious, being the quintessential masaman curry I love. The potatoes and carrots both soaked up the creamy sauce so well that they were a softer texture, but full of flavor. I really enjoyed that!
We got tofu in this one was it was cooked perfectly. I hate just a boiled tofu. I prefer a seared one with some outside texture. They seared our tofu bites just how I like them!

OVERALL

Well, I’m going to have to come here whenever I visit Nashville, even though there are so many other great restaurants I have on my list. But when that Thai food craving hits, this place more than hit the spot. It was absolutely delicious and certainly not expensive for all we got.
I will continue to get the paneang curry, as it was the best I’d ever had, but may try something new besides the masaman and the papaya salad, because I’m sure I’m missing out on plenty of other delicious items.