Restaurant spices up downtown Mount Clemens with top-notch Thai
By Molly Abraham, Detroit News Restaurant CriticA good friend, Nhagabushanam Jasti, and I traveled, on various occasions, to a number of Detroit area restaurants for lunch several years ago, one of which was a Thai restaurant in Troy. "Jasti," having grown up in India and being used to spicy Indian food, would, when asked by the waitress how "flavorful" he wanted his meal, tell her he wanted it hot. In my case, having been raised on pork chops and green beans and this being my first experience with Thai, I knew better. I asked for mine to be mild.
When Thai restaurants began springing up around town during the late 1980s, our collective palates were so happy to try the cuisine that tested our tolerance for spices, that we weren't very selective.
If the sign read "Thai," we'd rush in for chile-dotted noodles and chicken satay with peanut sauce, and usually leave satisfied.
Things are quite different now. The audience for Thai food has become more discerning. There are many more choices of restaurants, and we now know the difference between a hastily thrown together pad Thai and the real deal.
I remember when my meal was brought out, (it was called Royal Chicken as I recall), I took the first bite and began to gasp for air. My nostrils immediately opened and my nose began to run. I broke into a sweat. My insides, from tongue to throat to stomach, were struggling to escape. I went into an uncontrollable - and very embarassing - cough.
And all that before my second bite. Of "mild" Thai chicken.
From that day on, whenever I went to a Thai restaurant and was asked how spicy I wanted my food, I'd reply, "No spice." "No Spice!"
I may be a wienie but I like to keep from looking at my lunch twice ... if you know what I mean.
