Golden Spoons Review: Thai House Restaurant

(CNS Foodie): I found myself in the mood for Thai food and thought what better place to go than Thai House Restaurant? It’s located in the heart of George Town in Elizabethan Square. I think a lot of us may forget about it because of its location (and lack of parking) but it definitely has a lot of foot traffic from the lunch crowd in the area. I hadn’t eaten there until about a year ago when I was invited for a birthday dinner and karaoke.

If you walk into the restaurant the first thing you’ll notice is its bright, lime green walls and faux pagoda bar. The green seems a fitting choice as it’s said to evoke feelings of harmony, freshness and life which are all things I attribute to a good meal. You wouldn’t think lime green to be a harmonious colour but it works well with all the dark panelling in the place.

My partner and I went in for lunch and were quickly greeted, seated at a table by the window and given menus. It was nice being able to people watch and enjoy so much natural light. Our waiter was welcoming and helpful throughout our meal, as was the entire staff as they all seemed to help out where they could.

We opted to order off their regular menu rather than get their lunch buffet. We started with egg rolls ($5) and crispy beef ($13.95), and ordered drinks. The beau went with a Corona ($4.25) but I absolutely can’t get enough of Thai Tea ($3) and find it’s the perfect complement to balance the expected heat of a Thai meal.

The egg rolls were as expected – crispy, full of texture, scalding hot and a bit oily. They came three to a plate and were served with a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce.

I had never tried crispy beef before and it arrived in a large pile on an oval plate placed in the middle of our table. The fried, lightly breaded slices of beef were accompanied by a spicy nam phrik sauce. The tender beef, slight crunch, and the tangy, sauce were a great combination. The portion was larger than expected so we got to take some home for later.

I find it hard to eat Thai food and not get curry. Thai curries are my go-to when cooking at home so ordering out tends to not be much different. My date followed my lead and we ordered a green and a red curry, both chicken ($14.95 each).

My red curry was packed full of chicken, carrots and bok choy. It was savoury, creamy and spicy with a hint of sweetness. The coconut milk base provided the sweet, while the red curry paste brought out the savoury. Notes of kaffir lime, ginger and red chilies shone through and married perfectly with the tomato-based curry sauce and coconut milk. This is one of the hotter curries but if you can handle the spice you should give it a try. Or take a page from me and order a Thai Tea to help take some of the heat away.

The green curry is another favourite of mine. It is sweeter than the red version but still has a nice kick to it. The coconut milk and cream in this dish helped to curb a little of the spice from the green chillies. The addition of basil also added some freshness to the dish and worked well with its notes of citrus. Both curries were served with white rice and veggies but this one had the addition of broccoli which I rather liked since it proved useful in sopping up the sauce.

The meal left us happily satisfied. While my partner grabbed a Magners ($4.25) and the cheque, I asked for to-go boxes as we had a fair amount of food to snack on later.

The total bill for two was $69.39, including a 15% gratuity that we added ourselves, as the tip is not an automatic charge, which was a nice change.

Thai House website

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Tags: Asian food, George Town, Thai food, Thai House

Category: Golden Spoons Review, Lunch