Thai Me Up, Throw Me In Your Trunk And Drive Me Back To 'Taste of Thai'

Thai is one of those cuisines that cannot be substituted when I NEED IT. A masaman curry makes me feel warm and sensual inside, like i'm wearing a slinky satin robe of silky coconut sauce while stretching out onto a bed of fluffy, cloud-like starchy white rice. Was that too weird? I'm sure it was. Anyways...

Upon arrival, the interior of this place looked like something was going to be left to my imagination. In fact, the lack of decor actually sat me between a retail display of golden Buddha's, candle sticks and some old brown baby booster seats. Now, I have learned time and time again, that from the deepest depths of the darkest mud pits rises the most beautiful of Lotus flowers, and 'Taste of Thai' is no exception to this age old tale. (The decor is not for the foodie looking to find the serene, mellow Thai experience of waterfalls and trickling rock gardens, but more for the restaurant sleuth who wants to get their food fast, love it, finish it and lick their fingers and lips for the rest of the day while secretly planning their next trip back.) So, the inside kinda sucks. In the immortal words of Garfield, "Big. Fat. Hairy. Deal".

The food, on the other hand is definitely in the Top 3 of all Thai food I have ever had. I'm not sure if it's fair to say that over some Tom Yum (traditional lemongrass & mushroom soup), and a huge plate of #19... the masaman curry (meat sauteed with avocado, roasted cashews and broccoli in rich creamy coconut milk with masaman curry spice), but it's my story and i'm sticking to it. This food was incredible! It was all three  of my most favorite things in a Thai restaurant: 1. FRESH, 2. FAST, 3. SPICY, but not blowing my face off my head. I mean, I like a good amount spice, but I also like to be able to taste the elements of the dish, e.g., the individual flavors of the meat, the sauce, the veggies, and how they make a new completely different overall flavor, (I find it difficult for Thai restaurants to execute all three of these seemingly simply elements, and when just one of them is missing, it tends to really ruin a dish or an entire meal for me....especially the 'FRESH' element) but not to worry, this place gets it.
The hubby, being the tried and true kinda guy that he is, got the Pad Thai, (classic stir-fried thin rice noodles with meat, bean sprouts, egg and ground peanuts). It was also notably delicious. Heaping bowl of spicy noodles + quiet eating wife = happy hubby. Easy math.

The service was as short and sweet as any Thai place I have ever visited, making it a 22 1/2  min. in-and-out experience that will forever remind me of why I will turn my head 180 degrees to stare at it as long as possible every time we pass it, remembering my first bite, seventh bite, last bite and most of all, the warm, calm feeling we had walking out the door. Great prices, great service, amazing FRESH, fast Thai.

Colleen's yummy rating 5/5.

Find their menu here.

Plum Tree: Knoxville's Ancient Chinese Food Secret

When I look at a place like Plum Tree on Kingston Pike in Bearden, two very separate but distinct thoughts go through my mind. One is that I am about to re-visit the early to mid-80's and the amazing Asian decor that was lost in that decade, and/or I am going to get food poisoning, lose 25 lbs. and never have to wear fat jeans again. Both wrong, again. You would think that I would get better at the pre-judgement thing as I go try more restaurants, but nope. Not.Even.Close. I always assume the food is going to be run of the mill, greasy and salty, just how I like it, but I was in for a real surprise.
I implore you to consider the ability of Plum Tree, which is the size of a shoe box from Coffin Shoes to be able to masterfully prepare a 4-6 page menu of 17 categories (yes, I counted), then believe when I say that after being a real fat fatty and picking 6 items from all different categories, and tasting the 4 other items my husband picked, each dish was so delicious it could hang in the ranks of food I have had at high-end Asian places in several major cities. I mean, this was light and fresh, belly warming, mouth-watering, non-oil slick covered, 'I can actually taste all the items in this dish' Chinese food. I had no idea this happens in nature. This is where I suggest that absurd idea that, "Maybe this is why the place has been around so long".
Okay, okay...onto the selections that are making my mouth water just thinking about re-consumption. (Please do not judge me, I was mildly to moderately hungover and STARVING!)
I started with a warm soft, doughy and steamy pork bun that was as good as any I have had in SF's Chinatown. The next three things I inhaled was a blur of egg roll, fried 5 spice "ming" wings and TomYum soup. Then came the Panang Curry with tofu and  brown fried rice. I need to stop here and let you know this was by far, the hottest, creamiest, most flavorful Panang Curry I have ever ingested. I seriously love this shit and eat it all the time. It's NEVER ever going to be the same after Plum Tree's version. Okay, now that I got that out.....there was more. It was my husbands dinner, but I didn't care. It was the Mandarin Fried Rice and it had every meat and seafood known to man in it. By the look the hubby gave me when I asked for some of it, he felt the same way about it as I did. Actually, to quote my husband, "I bet this is what 'real' fried rice tastes like." So adorable.
Just go there! The food is going to blow your mind through the back of your head, and all over the wall, then leave you in a cozy sodium bliss. Plum Tree has it all figured out.! Must be 'ancient Chinese secret'. (No, i'm not talking about pee-pee in your Coke.)
Find them and their menu here.
You're welcome.
Colleen's yummy food rating: 450,000/5.