Cheer Up With Food

If you read a few of my latest blog posts, I mentioned there's an abundance of Chinese restaurants in Chinatown.  There's also new Asian restaurants opening every so often in this area that its hard to keep track sometimes!   Pam Real Thai  (originally from New York ) which has been in Las Vegas since last year, is worth giving a try.  They serve their foods with generous portions, so one dish can be good for two people! Thai Iced Tea to accompany my meal: We were given this simple and soothing soup with mushrooms while we waited for our foods: Fried Shrimp Rolls for our appetizer.  All of these rolls had a nice crisp and wouldn't be complete without sweet and sour sauce :  Crabmeat Fried Rice - it was our first time eating this dish.  It had a good amount of crab and IMO, the spicier the better!  Eating this fried rice with all of its garnishes- the lime, tomatoes, cucumbers and sauce are key: We shared this tofu...

I've been to many Thai restaurants in town and  Chada Thai & Wine  stands out to me.  Other than their nice chic atmosphere, they serve dishes that I've never seen before (see  menu ) other than the popular Thai dishes like Larb or Panang Curry .  Some of the dishes we got were  Miang Pou (left middle pic)- a lettuce wrap with crab meat, ginger, roasted coconut, peanut, chili, lime, and onion; Fresh Oysters  (top right pic)- topped with roasted chili, lime, garlic, and cilantro; Hor Mok (middle right pic)- steamed curry with seafood, basil, and nappa cabbage. It was refreshing to eat different Thai foods and the way that each dish were flavored were on point!  Also, this restaurant is also known for their wine selection  and if you're on a gluten-free diet, just request for the  special menu .

Last weekend I attended the  James Beard Foundation's   Taste America: Las Vegas  at  The Mirage Hotel & Casino .  It was a lovely evening at this poolside gala trying out different foods and drinks.  Check out my previous post for more info.  It was great seeing the cooks and executive chefs prepare and make foods from each of their stands: There was also a silent auction on one side and food and drinks  everywhere else! One of the stands from  Ristorante di Mare .  Executive Chef, Paul Barolotta . This ristorante specializes in Mediterranean seafood.  There were many drinks to sample including drinks from   Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada . These oysters were from GOIC  - the Gulf of Mexico.  They were fresh indeed! BLT Burger .  Executive Chef, Laurent Tourondel . From BLT Burger I had the 180 Burger - Peppercorn crusted bacon, smokey sweet BBQ sauce, ...

I am quite fond of Thai curry , so fond that I could live off it!  I am also fond of  Thai Food To Go  because this is one of the best Thai restaurants in my area!  Despite their name, you can also dine in, which I prefer to do if I'm not busy on the go.  On one of my last visits I chose this Pumpkin Curry  off the daily specials menu.  I think this was technically kabocha squash  because of the deep green skin still attached to it.  Kabocha is naturally sweet, so it blended well with the curry: One of the reasons I like to dine here is because there is big mural that takes up one side of the wall displaying Thailand (you have to see it to know what I mean), I find this mural to be inspiring!

Kunchorn, a Thai restaurant, recently opened this month in my neck of the woods and of course I had to check this place out!  After observing the place, it looked like a family owned establishment (?), the tables were nicely spaced out, and I liked the simple decor.  Kunchorn is definitely a place to go to if you want to have a nice, relaxing outing. Shrimp in a Blanket - Whole shrimp inside a crispy  egg roll wrapper w/ Kunchorn sweet and sour sauce. I've never seen egg rolls rolled to the shape of a shrimp.. How creative! Avacado Panang   (spicy)- Tofu (you can choose other meats) with curry paste, coconut milk, avocado, bell pepper & Thai special sauce.  The slices of avocado complicated the creaminess the panang quite well, loved it! Menu

Sitck E Rice  is a small Thai restaurant located on Desert Inn Rd. & Eastern Ave.  I was surprised by the appearance of the place when walking in.  I really liked the interior modern design!   There's a variety of common Thai and Chinese foods to choose from the menu.  To me, there wasn't too many items to the point of being indecisive of what to order.   For an appetizer, we got the Fish Cake - served with sweet chili cucumber salad.  They looked like big fish nuggets and were delightful, not over fried or too salty: To the left is Pad Thai .  I heard a saying on a television show, to test how good a Thai restaurant is, you have to try their Pad Thai.  This noodle dish passed my test! To the right is Yellow Curry  - a creamy curry made with coconut milk, potatoes, carrots, and onions:

When I called to reserve a table at  SATAY , the lady I was talking to asked if there was a special occasion.  I told her that I was celebrating my birthday and she responded in excitement as she greeted me... I felt special haha.  My huge taro smoothie with boba  - I enjoy eating taro, the use of this root is endless: Fish meat ball satay - Common food seen all over Asia: Thai Ginger Tofu - comes with onion, green onion, celery, and red bell pepper.  I love foods with ginger because of its tangy taste: Coconut fragrance rice only has a slight scent of coconut:  Thanks for the free green tea ice cream  Satay!

I really enjoy eating at  Komol , their Thai food never disappoints me.  I've been coming here since I was kid... Maybe thats why I'm so attached to this place! The staff is always friendly, offer great service, and my friends and I have had nice conversations with them!   The appetizer Bronsen and I always get is the Vegetarian Satay  - flame broiled tofu strips on skewers with curry peanut sauce, toasted bread, and cucumber salad: The tofu satay always comes out perfectly light and broiled evenly :)  I highly recommend getting any item served with the curry peanut because its heavenly ! I also recommend trying the  Pineapple Fried Rice - with pineapples, cashews, green onion, tomatoes, shrimp, and chicken; and try any of the vegetarian dinner specials.  My favorite one is V egetarian Dinner Special #3 - comes with a spring roll, mushroom tom kha soup (as shown in the pic below), and pad Thai  (stir fried noodles with eggs, fish sauce, bean ...

I enjoyed my second visit to SATAY , the food was superb, I loved the music that was played, and the service was prompt! Me and the guys tried Grilled Calamari Satay - marinated and grilled calamari served with sweet and spicy garlic lime sauce. I liked how the calamari was grilled, the texture was fine and the sauce was sublime: The guys had Singha beer from Thailand: Garlic Shrimp - Stir fried Thai style shrimp in their Chef's garlic sauce with Coconut Fragrance Rice : Honey Walnut Shrimp - pan fried shrimp topped with honey mayonnaise and walnuts with white rice: Crispy Chow Mein - Crispy pan fried noodles, vegetables, and shrimp topped with gravy: