My Thai (SM City Fairview)

My Thai
G/F SM City Fairview
Regalado Ave Greater Lagro, Quezon City
(02) 351-1627

It was another grocery day for us, and since we met mom after her work, it was already dinner time when we finished doing the errand. Thinking we would be too lazy to cook, we decided to eat before leaving the mall, and it was my decision for us to eat at My Thai (also known as My Thai Kitchen). I guess the first taste of Thai cuisine while I was in Baguio got me more interested in trying more of it, and I was glad my mom and brother approved my choice.


Located at the Annex Atrium, My Thai has a great spot because it's near the entrance/exit of the mall, and it's very near the entertainment area where some of the shows are held.


The space wasn't that big, but they didn't maximize it by adding more tables, so it still looked clean and pleasant. I liked the contrast between pink and black, and although I don't know what the stacks of drawers represent, I thought it was aesthetically nice.

Obviously, the restaurant serves Thai food, but part of the restaurant intersects with Pho Hoa (a Vietnamese restaurant), so diners of both restaurants can actually choose from both menus. I suggested to mom and brother that we order from My Thai menu, after all, we were seated at the My Thai area, and here's what we had:


Pad Thai
Mom's choice. The menu offers different toppings - I remember we had to make a choice between chicken or shrimps, and mom went for the shrimps because it's one of her favorites. She was a little disappointed that the plate of noodles cost about 200 pesos, yet it only had 2 shrimps in it. Anyway, the flavor was good... the noodles were cooked perfectly, and the little amount of coriander allowed to give this dish that distinct Thai flavor. I personally don't like coriander that much, which was why I appreciated that they didn't go heavy on the herb. The serving is good enough to share, so even if there were a slight disappointment with the shrimps, mom said it was all okay.


Tom Kha Gai (Chicken with Coconut Lemon Grass Soup)
Dishes at My Thai are quite expensive, and I didn't want us to spend a lot for this dinner as we already spent a fortune buying groceries. This was the cheapest soup on the menu, and like the Pad Thai, it was also good enough to share. I loved the harmonies of flavor came together - there were kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, coconut milk, and it also had a souring agent (possibly tamarind). If there was a complaint, it would have to be the chicken. The meat was cut so little and so thin, and there weren't that much meat on the bowl.


Khau Pad Goong (Shrimp Fried Rice)
I thought the soup I ordered was good enough to pass as a viand, so I went to order a cup of rice. The presentation was good, and I was glad that it had enough chopped shrimps in it to satisfy me. The rice was very soft, and I was so happy that it didn't taste something like a suman or a paella. It was seasoned well, too!



Sauteed Chicken and Mushroom on Rice
I did suggest for us to order from the My Thai menu, but brother couldn't help but order at the Pho Hoa menu, because he still didn't know if he would like Thai food or not. I gave this one a taste and found it very tasty that I suggested we eat there next time.


Thai Tamarind Juice
It was obviously sour and it felt like drinking sinigang broth. Choosing this as my drink wasn't a good decision because the soup I ordered was sour, too.


Khao Neaw Mamuang (Sticky Rice with Mango)
One word to describe this would be "amazing!" The rice was so soft that it melts in the mouth, the mango had a good balance of tang and sweetness, and if the ice cream wasn't enough to make it creamy, there was this little serving of coconut cream to make it heavenly creamy! It was such a great way to end the meal, and tasting this made me hope I can cook something like this, too.

My Thai wasn't the best Thai restaurant I've been to, so it will take a very long time before I dine there again. I know for sure there are other Thai restaurants that serve better food (some even cheaper), so I'd explore more before I come back here.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Thai at Silk is Now "Silk Thai Cuisine"

Silk Thai Cuisine
Unit 1C12 G/F Serendra Piazza
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
+(63) 856-0386 / +63917-8829818
18 January 2012

Thai food is something I want to explore more. Before this food trip, I only got to visit two Thai-inspired restaurants - Arharn Thai Kitchen in Baguio City and My Thai in SM City Fairview. That being said, I can't make awesome comparisons, but still, let me share to you this Thai dining experience I recently had.


Formerly known as Thai at Silk, the restaurant was re-launched last Wednesday and is now known as Silk Thai Cuisine. From what I heard of, its sister restaurants include Thai Pan and Simply Thai, but Silk Thai Cuisine offers more of the traditional Thai dishes.


I love how simple yet elegant the place look like inside. Color motif centers on White, Pink, and Green, though we were told that before, the place is more of green and white.

We sampled quite a lot of dishes last night -


Fresh Thai Spring Rolls. A take from Vietnamese Cuisine; rolls of fresh shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, Chinese Vermicelli, cucumber, carrots, spring onion and basil served with Thai Peanut Sauce and Sweet Vinegar and Cucumber Dipping Sauce.

> First bite, I put a little of the sweet vinegar and cucumber dip, second bite I put a little of the peanut sauce. I personally preferred the bite with the peanut sauce, but on my last bite, I decided to put a little of both dips, and it resulted in a much better tasting spring roll.


Seafood Satay. Marinated squid, shrimp, and snapper fillets on skewers with vinegar and chili sauce and peanut sauce.

> My favorite dish that night - it was served with dipping sauce, but I didn't feel the need of it already for the seafood pieces already tasted good.


Tung Tong (Crispy Shrimp and Coriander-Filled Pastry). Crisp pastry filled with chopped prawns and coriander paste.

> A very big plus that this was served while the pastry was still hot. I love the texture and how balanced the fillings were. I am not a fan of the coriander, but the chopped prawns and the pastry somehow balanced it, so I was able to enjoy it.


Vegetable Filled Roti. Crisp unleavened flat bread filled with melange of vegetables with Thai curry dipping sauce.

> I wasn't able to dissect the dish well, so I can't say what the vegetables inside were, but it had little cuts of eggplant - something I wasn't so fond of (I personally don't like the taste of "boiled" eggplants - I always go for fried or grilled). One thing to commend about was the roti - so delicious!


Chicken Khao Soi (Chiang Mai Curry Noodles). A popular street dish in Thailand. It is composed of noodles in a freshly made curry soup then topped with tender pieces of chicken, crispy fried egg noodles, coriander, onions, pickled cabbage, shallots and lime.

> Contrast of texture between simmered noodles and crispy noodles is what I loved the most. As for the flavors, it had a hint of spiciness (posssibly from ginger), but not really that spicy - it was like slurping curry spicy tinola). The fresh shallots also added a good taste I loved.


Thai Style Apple and Mango Salad. Som Tam Style salad composed of grated apple and green mango dressed in a sour vinaigrette.

> It had the tang that will make you salivate, but the granny smith apples provided the slightly fruity sweetness. The shallots and chopped peanuts also add more flavors, but be on a lookout for some chili slices, especially if you're not fond of spicy dishes. Well, the chilies will only make an impact once you bit on it, otherwise, you will never really feel its presence.


Thai Style Beef with Oyster Sauce, Black Fungus and Bamboo Shoot. Our take on the popular Chinese Beef with Oyster Sauce; stir fried tender pieces of beef served with black fungus and bamboo shoots with a sprinkling of Thai kaffir lime leaves.

> There is something in this dish that I couldn't put my finger on. It's lightly seasoned - comparing this to the typical Chinese beef with oyster sauce, this one's less salty. Could it be they used a different kind of oyster sauce? Could it be because of the kaffir lime leaves? I don't know. One thing's for sure - with beef so tender and flavorful, this is something you'll love to eat.


Crispy Salt and Pepper Fried Squid with Coriander Root. Crispy pieces of fried squid stir fried with salt and pepper, coriander, onions, and peppers.

> It may look like calamares, but it tasted way much better, if I may say so. The breading was light (and so flavorful), and the toppings surely made it more delicious. As is it tasted great, but with a few sprinkle of lemon juice, it added more dimension. This was my favorite dish next to the Seafood Satay. If there's one negative comment - the squid inside was a bit mushy, but it's something I can get over with.


Pandan Martini. Aside from this, they also offer Lemongrass Martini, but I didn't get to taste this, so I can't make a comment. Asking Vince (the one who ordered both drinks), he said he liked the Lemongrass Martini more.

These were just a few of the many more dishes Silk Thai Cuisine has to offer. We weren't able to taste any of the popular Thai dishes, but if you're looking for any of the Thai Curry dishes and the Pad Thai, you can have it here, too! Reading blogs about this restaurant, all of them commend the Pad Thai dish because of its very interesting presentation, which is why the next time I have the chance to visit Serendra, I might go and try it out.

If you're craving for Thai dishes - from appetizers to desserts, Silk Thai Cuisine have something to satisfy your cravings. They are open daily from 11am - 3pm and at 6pm - 11pm. If you want to make reservations and inquiries on catering and functions, please call the numbers listed at the top of this post or contact them through e-mail at thai.silkresto@yahoo.com or through their Facebook page - Thai at Silk Restaurant.

- * - * - * -

One big "kob kun kaa" to Ms. Claudine De Leon (of Leung De Leon Marketing Services) for the invitation to this sumptuous event.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

My First Thai Dining Experience

Arharn Thai Kitchen
Leonard Wood Road
Baguio City, Benguet
16 November 2010

This being our last dinner in Baguio City, I hoped K and I would eat at Cafe by the Ruins, because I have read and seen so many wonderful raves and pictures related to the restaurant. Coming from Tam-Awan Village, K and I took the jeepney and strolled around Burnham Park. He was still not feeling well, so I didn't push for us to see more tourist attractions. Strolling around and taking a seat while people watching seemed to be a good way of enjoying Baguio City.

I was more than willing to stay at the park until it was time to eat dinner, but as soon as the night ate the day, I started feeling the chilly weather of the city and I started having cold feet and my fingertips were starting to turn blue. When K got alarmed, he decided for us to go back to the chalet.

I started shivering. I couldn't finish my sentence without a shake on my voice and my dark lips got darker. I am a person who doesn't like wearing sweatshirts and jackets (because of my size - wearing one would make me look like a big potato), so K just let me use his jacket and wrapped me with the blanket. It helped get me warm but I still was shivering.


I fell asleep and woke up around 8pm. Both of us were hungry, and since I still was shaky and my hands were sort of numb, we decided to just eat at Arharn Thai Kitchen - just outside Chalet Tepeyac. At first we didn't want to eat there as this is basically part of the chalet, but I am not feeling so good, so it wouldn't be a good idea for us to hail the taxi and go somewhere else. Changing my perspective, it was my first taste of Thai food (well, I might have tasted Thai food before, but this was the first time I dined at a Thai-themed restaurant), so it still made the experience very unique.


People checked-in at the chalet can phone the front desk and place their order, but K told me that would somehow lessen the essence of the dining experience, so we went out to dine at the restaurant. Aside from the Nest, there was this dining room - possibly for the Arharn Thai Kitchen, but we didn't want to dine here as the room was basically empty.


They also have an alfresco area - not as pretty as the restaurant inside, but the idea of watching the vehicles pass by while eating made us choose to stay here.

Their menu wasn't that extensive because this was a new restaurant at that time. From the list of dishes, we had:


Combo 3. I wasn't really that hungry and I still didn't know if I would like Thai food, so I just went for the value meal that I would seem love. I chose the combo with Bagoong Rice, Chicken Pandan and Lemongrass Tea. I liked the rice - it had the right amount of saltiness, and the dried alamang at the top was a revelation for me. The Chicken Pandan tasted alright, but the sauce that came with eat (satay, I presume) was so good! I also liked the Lemongrass Tea - truly different from the many drinks I have already tasted.


Green Curry Seafood. K went for this one because the wait staff said it would be good for two people, but one hungry person can eat it, too. This was one of their stand-alone dishes (no rice or drinks included), so K thought eating this would be a good idea. I have tasted a lot of curry dishes before, but what made this different was the coriander leaves. I am not sure if this one had the Kaffir Lime leaves, but the overall taste of the dish was wonderful.


Shrimp Cakes. From their list of appetizers, one thing that interested me was this. Since they have the option to get just two small patties, I also ordered this. It wasn't over the top good, but it made me wonder how they cooked this so I could cook it at home, too.


Green Papaya Salad. While making the decision which appetizer to order, I was sort of torn between two dishes - the Shrimp Cakes and this. I asked the wait staff which he thought I should taste, and he told me to go for the Shrimp Cakes and he will just give me a sample of the Papaya Salad just so I would know how it would taste. This one isn't tangy like our Papaya Atsara - it was mildly sweet, salty, and spicy rolled into one salad. It paired really well with the Shrimp Cakes.


Coco Pandan Pie. This wasn't my initial choice for dessert, but when the wait staff told me that my choice was unavailable, he suggested if I would want this. Since it was my "mission" to include desserts in our meals, I went ahead with it. Well... it's basically a slice of Buko Pie topped with pandan cream and vanilla ice cream. I am not so into it, but it was okay for a dessert.

Somehow, the idea of eating ice cream while shivering and complaining about the cold weather made me feel a bit worse, but at least I was able to enjoy ice cream on a cold night. Brr... :)

The next morning, K and I had our breakfast at the Nest, before going to Victory Liner where we took the bus going back to Metro Manila. On to the next chapter of this holiday.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad