MY THAI CUISINE
ADDRESS: 2108 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Thai food is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when I think of an area like Lake Tahoe. I picture burgers, pizza, breakfast spots, chain restaurants, that sort of scene. But I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised when we decided to stop into My Thai Cuisine on the second day of our trip. The food was excellent, the ambiance was nice, and better yet, the price point was very reasonable.
Take one step into the restaurant and it’s hard not to be impressed by the elegant décor. Artwork, ornaments, lights, tablecloth, you could certainly feel the southeast Asian influences amongst all the things that were used. But a focal point that certainly drew your attention was the Buddha statue at the back of the restaurant, which had a very nice set up complete with track lighting shining down on the area.
There was no shortage of food choices when it came to the menu items. Aside from the noodle, fried rice, and curry dishes, you also had your chicken, beef, and seafood entrées. For me, my Thai restaurant litmus test is always going to be how they execute pad thai. Even if the depths of flavor, amount of sauce, and spiciness might differ from place to place, I have yet to go to a Thai restaurant and not see pad thai on the menu.
Even though after picking up my cousin Jonny from the airport we had hit up an In-N-Out for a “pre-dinner snack,” we were still hungry enough to get an appetizer of Thai egg rolls for the table to share. With rice vermicelli, cabbage, carrots, taro, celery, tofu, potatoes, and mushrooms stuffed on the inside, it had plenty of flavor to go along with the crunchy egg wrapper as you bit into one.
The thing that was even more remarkable was the fact that before we were able to finish off the Thai egg rolls (I think one of my cousins also was in the middle of his side salad), all five of our main courses arrived from the kitchen. My pad thai was served on a fish-shaped plate, which I thought was a really nice decorative presentation. My other immediate thought was that it was a heaping amount of food on the plate! Definitely looking like I got my money’s worth, at first glance.
I have to say, this was probably one the best pad thai dishes I’ve had in a while. The texture was really nice, with the crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, and scallions helping to give a bit of a crunch to the soft rice noodles. The sauce had great balance, hitting both sweet and umami notes from the tamarind and fish sauce, but at the same time not overpowering any of the other flavors. The sauce also wasn’t runny, as to cause it to start pooling up at the bottom of the dish. The shrimp and chicken that came with the dish also helped to provide some additional great flavors as well. I happily polished off that entire plate with no problem.
What started as an addition to our trip’s restaurant brainstorm list to have some cuisine variety turned into one of our favorite meals of the entire trip. The diverse flavors hit all the right notes and the expedient service from the kitchen was impressive. There is absolutely no question that My Thai Cuisine has made it onto my list of must-visit spots for the next time I vacation up in the Lake Tahoe area.
Let’s now take a look at the My Thai Cuisine Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Thai Egg Rolls **
Rice vermicelli, cabbage, carrots, taro, celery, tofu, potatoes, and mushrooms in an egg wrapper, fried golden brown.
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** Pad Thai Special **
Shrimp and chicken, stir-fried with rice noodles, eggs, bean sprouts, and scallions. Served with crushed peanuts.
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And finally, here are my rankings for My Thai Cuisine:
Food: 5 / 5
What more can I say that I haven’t mentioned above? The flavors were phenomenal, the presentation was fantastic, and the quality was certainly there. The variety of Thai dishes offered helps to cater to what you might be in the mood for.
Atmosphere: 4.75 / 5
The interior décor was really well done, blending together a nice mix of artwork, statues, plants, and lighting elements to make you really feel like you were in southeast Asia.
Service: 4.25 / 5
Various members of the waitstaff stopped by our table throughout the course of the meal to check in with us to see if we needed anything. The thing that was most impressive, however, was how fast it seemed like our food arrived from the kitchen after placing our order.
Price: 4.75 / 5
For both the quantity and quality of the food that you get, I was more than happy with the price points. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t really sense any increased prices due to the tourism in the area.
Overall:
18.75 / 20
(94%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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