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A new review of an old favorite.
The Tiger Tear at Thai Orchid.
Michael A. Foley/Rycus Assoc.
Although Thai Orchid has opened a second location in Powell, this “Fresh look” focuses on the original establishment on Sawmill Road.
If only the Chinese dishes on the menu were ordered, one might decide that this was a middling-good Chinese restaurant. That counts as praise, by the way, given the number of Asian-fusion restaurants, where the best advice is: Don’t order the Chinese.
I sampled a number of standards and was never disappointed. The wonton soup was based on a well-flavored broth. Barbecued ribs were too soft, but with nice flavor. Fried dumplings were a little gooey, but highly edible. The tender vegetable egg foo young was crisp (until the sauce worked for a while) and filled with good veggies nicely cooked. The sweet and sour pork was tasty. Perhaps if I had explored the more adventurous corners of the Chinese menu, more exciting fare would have appeared.
The Thai side of the menu was far more lively and engaging, however. Is that because the proprietors care more about Thai, or the cooks are more knowledgably rooted in Thai tradition? Whatever the secret, I’d like to learn it since Thai Orchid’s Thai food was a whole level above its Chinese.
Don’t miss the soups. The names may be unfamiliar, and many of them were labeled as “hot,” but they were great. Tom yum gai (a chicken soup) was flavored with Thai herbs, lemongrass and lime juice for a characteristic savory fine flavor, and there were delicious straw mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, scallions, cilantro and some discernible hot pepper. I swooned even more over tom kha gai, which included coconut milk. There also were seafood and vegetarian versions.
Married shrimp was a luxurious appetizer: minced pork, water chestnuts and shrimp stuffed with crabmeat in a spring roll shell served with sweet chili plum sauce. Shu shee snapper provided decently fresh fingers of deep-fried snapper served in a good spicy red curry sauce and dressed with mushrooms, bell and jalapeño peppers, and sweet basil and lemon leaves.
Another fine dish was Tiger Tear, a sort of salad featuring broiled slices of tasty marinated steak. And the pad Thai was the real thing, beautifully balanced in textures and flavor: The basic was thin rice noodles, flavored in that authentic way and garnished with shrimp, bean curd, radishes, bean sprouts, egg and scallions—then topped with ground peanuts.
Incidentally, the Thai beer served, Singha, was perfectly competent and went especially well with the food.
THAI ORCHID
7654 Sawmill Rd., Dublin
(also 8736 Moreland St., Powell)
792-1112
Price range: Appetizers $2.25-$7.95; soups $2.50-$6.25; entrees $8.95-$14.95.
Hours: Monday through Friday 11 am to 2:30 pm and 4:30 to 10 pm; Saturday 4:30 to 10 pm; Sunday 4:30 to 9 pm.
Reservations: Accepted.
Rating: ***
