Thaiphoon

Most days, when going to a restaurant, one encompasses not only food in his evaluation, but also service, atmosphere, cleanliness, wait-time, etc. And all these considerations are entirely valid when examining a restaurant, because a restaurant is composed of all these things. But today, I want to discuss the art of food, and thus I will be sticking entirely to the dishes themselves; a mono a mono, head-to-head, sudden-death showdown between the chef and me.

As a student at Stanford, going off campus for a meal is a rare treat, so anything, really—other than dining-hall fare—is a step up. So, when I got to Thaiphoon (let’s not even get into the name) I decided I was going to splurge a little bit.

To begin, I ordered some chicken fried egg rolls. For me, egg rolls say a lot because they are so common to Asian cuisine that if you don’t do them well, it’s not a great sign. And, to be honest, these weren’t the best egg rolls I’d ever head. Not crunchy enough on the outside and two hard on the inside, it seemed like the “simple” egg rolls weren’t getting the attention they deserved. Additionally, the spicing was alright but I could definitely have used a little more flavor in the food itself that I think was bled out due to poor cooking techniques.

After that, I received my entrée, beef with bamboo shoot. I’m not going to lie, I mostly ordered it because it came with bamboo, which I thought was awesome. But in the end it turned out o be a really great decision. The beef was cooked just right, a little too much (as per my request), and the spicing was toned down a little from the egg rolls, focusing on accentuating the taste of the beef itself, not drowning it. The bamboo too, which I felt was something of a gimmick, was in fact a really interesting and valuable addition. Firstly, it added a taste with which I was unfamiliar; I didn’t love it, but it was cool to get to try it. And secondly, it contributed a really neat aesthetic to the whole dish, which was otherwise rather boring and unappetizing.

Lastly, I got some fried banana with homemade coconut ice cream that I thought was just delicious. After the poorly executed egg rolls, it was nice to have the banana be really expertly cooked, and the ice cream was delicious, with a little less sweetness than most store-bought kinds and a little more flavor. It was a little heavy after all the food I’d already had, but I think that was more my bad choice for the moment than a reflection on the chef.

At the end of the meal, I was very pleased. The meal wasn’t the greatest I’d ever had, but it was really good and certain components especially shined. As I said, I fear that they may be prioritizing too much and losing some dishes by the wayside, but nothing was anywhere near inedible and most was quite delicious; I would wholeheartedly recommend it!