by guest blogger @iam_robot
I remembered a few years ago Thai food was considered an
exotic cuisine prevalent only in big cities. These days, getting a Thai food
fix is becoming an easier process than locating the next Starbucks. And they’re
often mediocre – heat is often tempered while sweetness accentuated to adjust
to American palates. Therefore, I’m
always looking for a good Thai Food - something a little better and different
from the conventional.
Last week, I was very excited to attend a tasting at
Emporium Thai Cuisine in Westwood. This place has been open since 2000 and
it’s owned/ operated by the same family as the super famous Jitlada on Sunset
Blvd. Rumor has it, this is the place where Jazz and Tui of
Jitlada started out
before venturing out on their own.
Nevertheless, Emporium Thai Cuisine is a cut above the
usual. Focusing on authentic Southern Thai recipes, Emporium is swank but the
price is right. It offers an extensive selection - beyond the usual suspects
like green papaya salad, chicken pad thai, pork satay, fish cakes and various
curries, they have other lesser-known but even more intriguing dishes to try–
Crying Tiger Beef, Khao Yam (fragrant rice salad with dry shrimp and coconut), Mussel
Soup, and Crispy Pork Pad Prik King. If you're like me, you'll want to try them
all at the highest heat level. I love how all the dishes can be customized to
our preferred spicy scale of 1 – 10, with 3 being moderate and 10 being
devilishly spicy.
Below are the dishes I tasted that night:
Coco Mango Salad with Fried Tofu
This is a very common Southern Thai appetizer. What struck
me with this dish were the variety and vegetables, herbs, spices and accents in
the salad. Shredded raw mango, dried coconut, Thai chilies, lime juice, and
deep fried tofu were all present in perfect proportion. I thought this dish was
a great way to start – light, refreshing, sweet and a tad spicy. In terms of texture,
I really like the tofu crispiness and the red onion crunch.
Crying Tiger Beef
This is the same Crying Tiger Beef I always ordered at
Jitlada. 5 years ago, I remembered I had to go to Jitlada the next day after
watching Curtis Stone cried his eyes out proclaiming “hot, hot, hot” at The
Best Thing You Ever Ate (Food Network). Essentially, this dish is char-grilled, marinated beef served with their homemade chili sauce. If I have to guess the
chili sauce is made with shallots, onions, mints, fresh Thai chilies and lime
juice. I love this dish so much! Meat is sliced thinly but very tender to the
bite. The sweetness from the beef marinade complements perfectly with the heat
and tanginess of the chili sauce. This is my definition of fun-eating!
