Heavenly Thai

I discovered Thai food many years ago when I got a job waiting tables at a Thai restaurant in my early 20’s. I’d never waited tables before and I’d never tasted Thai food either. I have no idea why they hired me – they must have been desperate – but they did, and it was quite the experience for all involved.
 

I soon discovered I was not cut out to be a waitress. I was that waitress who forgot to bring your drinks, who mixed up your order, and who got it all wrong when you asked what’s in the soup. I spilled drinks all over myself (but, fortunately, never anyone else), and once, I even set my own arm on fire while serving a flaming pot of soup. I was appallingly bad.

The restaurant owners treated me kindly nonetheless, and occasionally, when my shift was over, I got to hang out in the kitchen and enjoy a meal with the Thai natives who cooked and ran the place. They were pretty impressed with the amount of heat I could take (I always liked spicy food), and I absolutely fell in love with the amazing flavors.

When I realized I was just never going to become a good waitress, I quit my job at the restaurant (I’m sure they were greatly relieved they didn’t have to fire me) and set out to find delicious Thai food elsewhere. I found that I liked different dishes at different places: panang curry at one place, green curry at another (far away in San Marcos, California – darn it!); pad Thai here, Thai string beans there. Today, I went to a place called Heavenly Thai for takeout. I got the spicy mango stir-fry with bell pepper, cabbage, onions, sweet basil, and fresh mango in a spicy sauce. It was fantastic – even better than usual.

I thought I’d learn to cook Thai food too. I mean, I love to cook and I love Thai food, so it seemed like I should be able to put the two together. But it didn’t really work out. Experimenting on my own got me nowhere. I just couldn’t begin to guess the ingredients or techniques used to achieve the authentic Thai flavors I was going for. Someone finally gave me a cookbook that was quite helpful and I’ve managed to make a few maybe-not-amazing, but decent dishes. Many of the recipes I’ve made over the years, however, have been total flops and, though I still take a stab at it now and then, I’ve had to admit that I’m much better off going out for Thai than trying to prepare it myself.

So, back to Heavenly Thai I go, and Thai Orchid, Lemongrass, Siam Society, Sweet Basil, Beau Thai, Typhoon, Thai Noon…