The newest dinning package from VANEATS.ca is Oh My Sala Thai. The great VANEATS.ca crew have teamed up with Sala Thai and are bringing you a taste of Thailand with this package and for $18 it’s a great way to get a taste of the menu if your new to Thai food it’s a nice introduction to a wonderful country’s cuisine.
The menu they have put together is as follows:
- Som Tom, shredded green papaya, tomatoes, green beans, ground peanuts, fresh chilies & lime juice
- Gai Hor Bai Toey, tender pieces of chicken marinated in a chef sauce wrapped and cooked in pandanus leaves
- Thai Crispy Squid, lightly battered and tossed with mixed Thai herbs and spices
- Royal Pad Thai Chao Wang, our most popular Thai rice noodle dish with shrimp, egg, tofu, bean sprouts & ground peanut
- Gaeng Keaw Whan, sliced chicken, simmered in coconut milk, Thai green curry with bamboo shoots, eggplant, bell peppers & sweet basil leaves
- Klauy Tod, deep fried banana served with home made coconut ice cream
When you walk in off the hustle and bustle of Burrard Street your surrounded by warmth from all the rich wood. The rest of the interior is traditionally decorated with authentic Thai pieces that have been brought over from Thailand.
Being one of the featured reviewers I was lucky enough to eat this package twice in a week. On my 1st visit I brought @MaryInVancity with me and on my 2nd visit I was with another featured reviewer-Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach. We started with a couple of non-alcoholic drinks-the Mango Slushi ($6.50) and the Miss Thailand ($12.50). My slushi was blended well but I really liked Mary’s drink more, it was rich and creamy without being heavy and the pieces of fresh coconut meat were nice and refreshing.
On my second dinner here I wanted to try some of the chicken satay, it’s priced at $8.95 for 4 satay’s and is served with a nice peanut sauce and a tangy Thai vinaigrette. The chicken was nicely marinated with great flavor. The one thing that would have made these outstanding is if the chicken portion was larger.
The first item up in the Oh My Sala Thai dining package is a trio of appys, calamari, green papaya salad and a delish marinated chicken cooked in pandanus leaves.
First we have Som Tom-shredded green papaya, tomatoes, green beans, ground peanuts, fresh chilies & lime juice. The papaya salad was spicy but not blow your head off hot, we found a lot of the spice is in the dressing and as we got to the bottom of the salad it got hotter. The papaya was crunchy and refreshing especially when mixed with the peanuts.
Calamari isn’t something I associate with dinners at a Thai restaurant. This calamari was lightly breaded and was nice and tender but I would have loved to see another choice of a traditional Thai dish for a appy choice.
This was my favorite item in the dining package. Gai Hor Bai Toey is something that I have never had before. The chicken was tender and flavorful yet had a sweet taste to it. It wasn’t spicy at all so it’s something that would appeal to a lot of diners. I’d totally order this again from the menu.
This package has 2 entrée’s included in it. First up we have a traditional Thai coconut milk green curry or as it’s traditionally called-Gaeng Keaw Whan. It is a mix of sliced chicken, simmered in coconut milk, Thai green curry with bamboo shoots, eggplant, bell peppers & sweet basil leaves and served with a side of jasmine rice and a bundle of rice flour noodles. I preferred the rice over the noodles-they were nicely flavored but were too sticky for my taste. The curry was flavorful and not overly spiced from a heat perspective, one thing that I noticed on both visits was the need for a bit more coconut milk-the curry was on the thin side. The other ingredients were on point, the chicken was tender and flavor full and the other veggies were good.
The other entrée you get is Pan Thai or Royal Pad Thai Chao Wang. A classic that contains rice noodles, prawns, egg, tofu, bean sprouts and peanuts in a savory sauce. This was a good pad Thai from the aspect of the sauce-I’ve had it places where the sauce reminds me of something made with sweet ketchup but this one is made the traditional way with tamarind. One thing that we would have liked to have with both of our entrée’s is to be asked how spicy we wanted our dishes-not done by staff on both of my visits so if you like things to be spiced up please don’t hesitate to ask them to jack it up!
Lastly is dessert, Klauy Tod-a delish deep-fried banana with homemade coconut ice cream. This was a winner on both of my visits. The ice cream is dairy free so it can be enjoyed by all and the banana was crispy on the outside and warm and creamy on the inside. The toasted coconut sprinkled on top added a nice flavor contrast to the ice cream.
Apart from the minor issues I had with the food and not being asked about spice level this dining package is worth the $18 for the 2 mains alone. Oh My Sala Thai goes on sale starting on April 18,2012 at 7AM, to get yours please click here.
**Disclosure-as a featured reviewer I didn’t pay for my dining package but did pay for all drinks and extra items ordered in my post. All opinions are completely my own and not influenced by VANEATS.ca**
for this visit I stuck to the Vietnamese side of the menu.
now on to the food:
Vietnamese Spring Rolls $3.95. I started with the Vietnamese Spring Rolls after reading reader reviews recommending them, they were super crispy on the outside without being greasy and the filling was nice and flavorful and the dipping sauce wasn’t too sweet or to sour.
Rare Beef and Beef Ball Pho $7.25. The pho here is quite good and really affordable, the broth is flavorful and very herbaceous. The beef was melt in your mouth tender and the beef ball was tasty, I’m a fan of leaving the lime wedge in my soup after squeezing it so I get a nice citrus punch.
