Two great Thai curries at Shanghai Palace!!

[starlightjulian]

Thanks to Chowhound and Seth Chadwick's blog at www.feastinginphoenix.com, I've found yet another favorite Thai restaurant in Scottsdale!! I am so in love with Tottie's curries!! The spicy green curry I found there is the best I've tried in the valley so far (I enjoy meals at Thai Hut, Lemongrass, and Chandler's Swaddee Thai; I've eaten at Thai Rama a couple of times long ago, one time at Thaifoon (about two and a half years ago, one time at Thai Basil (tried the Pad woon sen, but found it dripping in sauce- a Thai coworker told me that authentic pad woon sen is dry, not swimming in sauce), once at Palee's Crown (good food, but very salty!), once at Siamese Cat, once at Malee's on Main (just ok, and I won't go back due to an experience I cannot mention here for fear of this post's removal), once at Yupha's Thai, two times at Royal Thai Grill, and a few times at Scottsdale's Swaddee Thai- I must admit that I only favor their Coconut Paradise ("mah prao en"), a rich dish featuring seafood simmered in coconut milk, curry, and young coconut meat and served in a coconut shell, which isn't offered at Chandler's location.

The other great curry dish I tried at Shanghai Palace is their grilled salmon with red curry sauce... I have to say the two curry dishes there are truly better than you-know-what :D I cannot wait to go back and try the rest of their curry dishes... I'm sure they won't disappoint. I will say that I DID NOT enjoy the Szechwan Style Bean Curd. I decided to give this dish a fair assessment and tasted its sauce and the veggies before delving into the red salmon curry dish, since I knew that the curry dish would be spicy and affect my sense of taste for the Chinese dish. I found the bean curd's flavors underwhelming and non-stimulating and refused to invest in its calories any further and so concentrated on the salmon dish, which took me for a ride to the other side of the gustatory pendulum!

Since I noticed from the previous visit (and also from the website) that brown rice isn't on the menu, I brought my won supply to the restaurant, which Tottie graciously warmed for me. She mentioned that she used to serve brown rice before, but had to stop as it was getting too expensive to cook and then throw most away (besides costing more than white rice, brown rice also contains vitamins and minerals, a higher fiber content, and fatty acids, which causes it to turn rancid more quickly than white rice- which makes it more costly to keep on hand). However, now that more and more people are appreciating its health benefits over white rice (as well as loving its nutty flavor and texture), Tottie is planning to re-incorporate brown rice into the menu in a couple of months when she unveils the addition of a sushi bar at Shanghai Palace!

I hope some of you find the info exciting! Now, please tell me what you enjoy having at Shanghai Palace and where else do you get comparable renditions of these dishes in the valley? I'd love to hear your input!

Thanks for reading!

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Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine
818 W Broadway Rd Ste 108, Tempe, AZ 85282

Swaddee Thai Cuisine
5055 W Ray Rd Ste 8, Chandler, AZ 85226

Swaddee Thai Cuisine
8989 E Via Linda Ste 101, Scottsdale, AZ 85258

Thai Basil
403 W University Dr, Tempe, AZ 85281

Shanghai Palace
7901 E Thomas Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Malee's On Main
7131 E Main St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Thai Hut
101 East McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Thaifoon Taste of Asia
7 North 400 West

Palee's Crown
1245 W Baseline Rd Ste 101, Mesa, AZ 85202

Yupha's Thai Kitchen
1805 E Elliot Rd Ste 115, Tempe, AZ 85284

Royal Thai Grill
321 W McKellips Rd, Mesa, AZ 85201

Thai Rama (Chandler location
)2040 W Chandler Blvd, Chandler, AZ 85224

[hohokam]

Futzing around with places...adding the Phx Thai Rama location to the mix...

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Thai Rama Restaurant
1221 W Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85013

[jkgourmet]

and isnt' there a small Thai place at the intersection of Power and Southern or Baseline?

[hohokam]

dunno. I don't ever get down that way.

[Professor12]

Yeah it's on the northeast corner of the Power and Southern intersection (I think). Haven't tried it yet but have been meaning to.

[ciaogal]

Are you thinking of Mike Thai?

5110 E Southern Avenue, in Mesa? It is wonderful!
http://www.mikethaillc.com/index.html

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Mike Thai
5110 E Southern Ave, Mesa, AZ 85206

[cowateni]

I think Mike Thai is at Southern and Higley. I haven't tried Mike Thai, but did try the Thai restaurant at Power and Southern once. I can't remember what it was called. I had a curry and pad thai, which were both tasty but not nearly at good as Swaddee or Yuptha Thai.

[hohokam]

Google says the restaurant at Power and Southern is Thai House Restaurant.

[hohokam]

Oops. Meant to include a place link above...

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Thai House Restaurant
1155 S Power Rd Ste 121, Mesa, AZ 85206

[starlightjulian]

I just remembered I've also tried Mint Thai in Gilbert (sister restaurant of Lemongrass; very good food) and Siam Orchid (it's been almost four years, so I can't recall... I vaguely recall enjoying the pad thai there, but I'll have to go for another visit to give a more accurate review... something I might never come around to).

I'd love to try Mike Thai, but it's too far for me (coming from Phoenix)...

[brianroaz]

Thanks for the list of many of the Thai places in town (I know Seth [and his dad] has/have probably hit up most of these places as well.)

As an FYI: I haven't heard anyone mention the new Thai place Tipps 81 yet (and I haven't been there yet myself). I think it opened a month ago on University, halfway between Rural and McClintock. Give us a review if you check it out!

[Seth Chadwick]

Dad will thank you for this tip. :o)