8.10.2008

Thai House

Did not expect to be eating out tonight; I thought we were just going to be rummaging through the streets of Khobar looking for nothing in particular. My dad called however, said that he would be coming home fairly early and that we could possibly eat at Thai House, a popular corner restaurant where ironically, a lot of Filipinos venture to.

And I smiled mischievously because I knew I brought my camera today.


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The waiter approached us without menus; this was not out of disrespect, rather, he knew we were regulars and could probably pinpoint three quarters of what our order was going to be. A lot of families that Thai House attracts are regulars or soon to be regulars, so the waitstaff recognize familiar faces and match them to their respective orders.


For starters, we had the tom yam soup, otherwise known as poh tak, otherwise known as seafood soup. It's sour and spicy at the same time, with more spice than sour. From the consistency of the soup, it seems as though it contains the same ingredients used in miso soup, plus ginger, squid, shrimp, fish, mushrooms, lemongrass, cilantro, and all sorts of spices added in. When you order a medium/large size of this soup it comes in a charcoal pot that looks so interesting, I think we might have to order a medium next time just so I can show it. It hits the right spots in your body, especially if you have a sore throat. So good I'm going to give it an 8.5/10.
Poh tak (seafood soup)

Our next order has been a new addition to our normal Thai House order since last summer. My dad saw it on someone's table and decided he wanted to order the same thing. It's a squid salad with romaine lettuce, cooked squid, red onions, green onions, cilantro, white vinegar, and a good amount of chilli flakes to make it spicy and tart. It always has me puckering my lips with delight. Definitely a 9/10.

Squid salad...scrumptuous!


This order is somewhat Filipino influenced. We've always ordered it as pancit canton, but I wonder what the real name on the menu is. This pancit (noodles) is curly and has a bunch of vegetables similar to what they use in stir fry recipes - carrots, cabbage, string beans, onions, you name it. It's also got a variety of meat and seafood in it as well. I really like the way these noodles are cooked, the sauce it comes with is always so distinct and really good. I believe they use oyster sauce and other spices to bring out the flavor. Easily a 9/10.




Pancit canton with a bunch of vegetables

Sweet and sour fish. Yeah, I know I've been eating a lot of seafood and fish lately, but it's a lot healthier for you! I'm trying this new thing where I eat fish four times a week, white meat twice a week, keeping red meat sparse at one day out of the week. So far I haven't been disappointed, especially since the fish I've been eating are all cooked marvelously, with different types of flavors and cooking styles. This one below is a sweet and sour hamour, a local fish here in Saudi. They fry it and spoon over their great sauce with chopped vegetables and it's pretty damn good. 9/10, for knowing how to make a good sweet and sour, and not just as a dipping sauce.

Sweet and sour hamour


We also had some fried chicken, fried rice, and plain steamed white rice, which I ate nothing of. Except a little piece of fried chicken. Okay, so I cheated a bit...bite me. But one of my favorite things about Thai House - their killer iced tea. I've never tasted sweet tea from the South in the States, but I imagine this is what it's like. It cleanly washed everything down, and cooled off the heat from walking around. 10/10. Definitely.

Iced tea, lovely.


'Tis all for now, next blog will be about good old Fuddrucker's. Oh and maybe, just maybe, a little peek at the famous "broasted" chicken. Goodnight!

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