Thai Cuisine - Ithaca, NY
Just got back from a nice dinner at Thai Cuisine. I must admit, I'm sort of a newbie when it comes to Thai, so I don't have much to compare it to. I've probably dined in Thai restaurants, less than ten times in my life. I had been here once before, years ago and had a lovely roasted duck dish. I wanted to try some new stuff.
I started with the Tom Tum Tulay - a hot and sour broth with a shrimp, two mussels, two clams, a scallop and some mushrooms. It's a small bowl, but at $4.95 a definite bargain. The broth had a nice spicy after taste and all the seafood was very nice aside from the scallop, which was overcooked and rubbery. I've got a little bit of a salt issue in soups and broths, so I would have lessened the salt content, but I feel others would have felt it was spot on. My father has what amounted to a Thai version of fried calamari. I actually didn't try them, because they were gone before I knew it.
My entree was Massamund - a special house curry with a protein. I got the pork (Chicken, beef, tilapia and salmon were available and Roasted duck was another option for about $6 more). The curry was mixed with coconut milk, lemongrass, fresh ginger, corriander, potatoes, roasted peanutds, cherry tomatoes and pineapple. It flagged on the menu as a spicy dish, but I found it very mild. It was however delicious. It came with a bowl of rice which I used as a bed for the meat and sauce. There was a little side dish of pickled cabbage and cauliflower which was a surprisingly perfect topping for it. My father ha d a roasted crispy duck in a spicy tamarind sauce. His was very crispy, with a nice bit of heat. Far spicier than mine. The sweatness definitely cut the heat, but stilll a nice kick. We ordered a Reisling to wash it all down.
It was a slow night, but with one waiter and about six tables, I have to say the service was very good. Attentive, but never rushed. A nice quiet dinner, good food and good prices, especially for the nice sized portions.
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Thai Cuisine
501 S Meadow St Ste 1, Ithaca, NY 14850
