Simika’s eloquence in detailing her Thai food experiences got me thinking. After a pretty long day at work, I was fairly hungry and nothing that I already had at home seemed appealing.
I decided to find something local. I rarely get takeout so this counts (most definitely) as leaving my comfort zone by miles. Yes, I can be an odd cat.
Tommy Thai is new to my neighborhood and I’ve already passed it many times and have been curious. It used to be another Asian cuisine place. Then I caught the sign for ‘grill’ and somewhere along the lines, the word fusion. And then ‘authentic Thai’. So I’ve been intrigued and puzzled all the same time, imagining the creative concoctions where fusion meets authentic on the grill. Don’t ask. I was equally lost.
I called in an order of a couple of appetizers and verified how long it will take them. I ended up here way early and so now I’m waiting for my nicely wrapped dinner to make its way forth from the kitchen so I can drag it home with me.
The ambiance is pretty nice. Low key, pretty empty actually, and good music. A bit dark perhaps, with the lighting just subliminally at odds with the paneling in the dining space. The service is friendly though perhaps not about to win any races for speedy food prep. I was offered either iced water or iced tea while I waited. Instead, here I am writing.
The food itself was quite pleasantly appetizing.The fish cakes tasted quite authentic, with a sharp gingery flavor. I’m never a fan of the sweet dipping sauce but this time it made a nice contrast to the ginger’s sharp bite, and rounded out the flavor profile pretty well. The crispy shrimp wrap was a little bit of a surprise. To be honest, I am not sure what I had expected – something perhaps conceptually close to the chimichanga? It turned out to be several massive shrimps stretched out and then coated (or wrapped, I suppose) in a fairly heavy batter and then fried to a golden crisp. The batter is interesting – it is not crumbly or flaky, just quite crispy, almost similar to what a wanton wrapper would give you in terms of the texture.
Tommy Thai ended up being part fusion, part authentic, and perhaps even part grill: I’ll have to return to find out!