After spending four months in the depths of Thailand, some may assert me as some sort of Thai food connoisseur. Truth be told, before leaving for Thailand, I had only dined Thai twice in my whole life—I had never even tried the American Thai staple of Pad Thai. That all changed quickly, as I was immersed in the world of Thai culture and food for a good chunk of 2017.
Returning directly from the world of sticky rice and meat skewers, I am embarking on a quest to find the closest thing to the authenticity of Thailand here in Denver. Something that can compare to the incredible food I had while abroad. The first stop was Taste of Thailand, on the corner of Evans and Broadway.
Immediately, the restaurant has a community feel. Not an overly large space, nearly all the tables were full of families and friends chatting away over their meals. The six people in my party were seated right in the midst of the action.
To kick off the meal, the table ordered steamed chicken dumplings ($5.95 for five) and Thai egg rolls ($5.95 for six). Dumplings were some of my favorite street food purchases to make, so my mouth was watering when they arrived to the table. They were certainly tasty, but were missing the subtle sweetness the best market in Chiang Mai had. Dipping in the soy sauce is certainly recommended, though, and adds lovely flavor of salt to the bite.
This reviewer ordered pad see ew with chicken ($10.95), which is a dish also known for its sweetness. In Thailand, people actually put spoonfuls of brown sugar on to their plates of pad see ew, maybe with some chili sauce, too. At Taste of Thailand, the dish was almost as sweet as a dessert, but the chicken and the broccoli help balance it out for a tasty dish.
Others in the party ordered pad Thai ($10.95), which was also savory and came in a pile that almost rivaled the pad see ew in its size. It is worth commenting, though, that one of the pad Thai recipients had some buyer’s remorse over not ordering the pad see ew herself. While most of the dishes have an option for spice level, the curries do not. Be prepared: if you order the Panang curry ($11.95), it is a very spicy dish.
The table was also served a large silver bowl of rice, mainly to accompany the saucy entrees. While abroad, I often ate rice three meals a day every day of the week, and thus my expectations of rice have really climbed since before I left for abroad. That being said, the rice at Taste of Thailand was a perfect balance of fluff and dryness. The group stocked up on all the leftover rice.
Overall, I had high hopes that the dining experience would be reminiscent of what I savored in Thailand. While the meal was delicious and the group was content as we left, part of me was wishing for something a little more, like it just barely missed the mark of what I was expecting. This may be because there was a definitive lack of grease on these dishes which Thailand seemed to have an abundance. Do not let that deter you, though: this location is not too far from campus, and the food was very satisfying to the group. To add to the authenticity, there was an option to purchase Thai beers with your meal for any potential diners over the age of 21.
For the large portions, the group finished almost all of the food. A great destination for dinner with friends.
