My Ethnic Dining Experience

Hannah Schleis FSN 250-01 April 15, 2013 Ethnic Dining Experience Since I have been living here in San Luis Obispo I have walked by Thai Palace many times while downtown but I have never gotten the chance to go. This assignment was the perfect opportunity. I have tried Thai food before, back home in Idaho, but have only tried a few of the most generic dishes offered. This time I was eager to try something a little more out of my comfort zone. As I walked in the restaurant I noted a very distinct smell of strong spices. The inside of the restaurant was painted a deep red and the lighting was low.

There were gold and brass decorations scattered around the room. It seemed to me to be a traditional Thai style with somewhat of an American appeal. The menu was very straightforward with plenty of pictures to accompany the description of the dishes. (Mini, take-home version of the menu is included in the back. ) There was a section dedicated to appetizers, salads, soups, curries, wok fried dishes, noodles and fried rice and the specials. I was familiar with most of the items on the menu from my past Thai restaurant experiences but a few were new to me.

There were plenty dishes that I’m sure may have originated in Thailand but seemed to have been scaled back to appeal to us Americans. The specials they were offering, however, were particularly different. (Photo of the specials menu is included on page 3. ) One of the main dish specials was titled Grilled Salmon wrapped in Banana Leave. Although I was very interested I was also a little short on money. When our server came I ordered what I had researched to be a traditional Thai meal of kaeng phet or Red Curry with chicken.

The dish consisted of bamboo shoots, carrots, bell pepper, kabocha squash and Thai basil leaves all in a red curry paste and coconut milk. The waitress informed me that it was the spicier of the curries and offered to bring a spice tray out too, “just in case I wanted a little extra. ” Along with the main dish I ordered a Thai iced tea. The tea was served in a tall skinny glass. The actual tea was resting at the bottom of the glass and above it sat the coconut and evaporated milk, which added a creamy flavor.

The drink was surprisingly sweet at first with a very strong black tea flavor beneath it. Our meals came out and were presented in a very appealing manner. My curry was served in a bowl on top of a plate with a paper napkin doily. The bowl was adorned with blue painted design around the rim. Steamed Jasmine rice accompanied my curry, which was served to our table in a large, engraved, silver dish with a lid to keep it warm. The spice tray that our server brought out with the food consisted of three small dishes filled with chili paste, chili powder and jalapeno slices with baby spoons in each.

I was surprised to see the jalapenos included and I wondered if they were a widely used spice in Thailand or if it was an American influenced addition. I had never tried jasmine rice before and was interested to see how it differed form regular white rice. I honestly could barely tell a difference. The jasmine rice was maybe a little skinnier and longer than regular rice with a slightly fragrant or nutty flavor. The curry itself was not red but rather a yellowish orange color and garnished with coconut milk. I first tried the curry alone and found it to be a very strong. It was a thick, creamy paste.

For a split second it was sweet and rich, but soon the spice kicked in. Luckily I love spicy food. I tried adding rice to the curry paste and I found it toned the spice down a bit and gave the curry some texture. I really enjoyed the vegetables in the curry as well. It seemed to me that while most “American” foods are so focused on the meat as the main part of a dish, the Thai menu included many more veggies and had meat as a side option to be added to a dish. I was obviously familiar with the carrots and peppers and even the bamboo but I was a little thrown off by the squash chunks in the curry.

I was surprised to find how nicely the sweet squash cubes complemented the spicy paste. Although the dish was quite spicy to begin with, I decided to add a little chili paste from the spice tray just for fun. Lets just say I was happy I ordered such a sweet beverage to get me through the meal. Overall I was very satisfied with my experience at Thai Palace. My entire meal came out to be about twenty dollars which I thought, although it was a stretch on my broke, college-student budget, it was well worth the money.

I was stuffed about halfway through my plate and although I would have loved to try the Sweet Sticky Rice and Mango desert I just didn’t have the room. The whole experience seemed to me to be rather authentic although I am sure there were many “American” alterations that I was unaware of. I was very pleased with my night and plan on returning to the restaurant when I have the chance to try a few more of the dishes. I also hope to someday experience real, authentic Thai food. Specials Menu