I'm not crazy about Thai food. Too many overwhelming flavors. A nice chicken breast dominated by overpowering curries; fragile noodles smothered with chilis and spices. All too often I've ordered fresh grilled fish, only to find it's been annihilated by the cloying sweetness of coconut milk. And slathering peanut sauce on a piece of food virtually guarantees that you won't taste anything else but peanut sauce.
I'm sure a lot of Thai cuisine is quite good. It's just that Thai food as I've known it--the kind offered in American cities and featured on casual Thai menus--continues to disappoint me. Well, this year, I'm going to learn about this cuisine. I chose Thaiku, formerly the Fremont Noodle House, to help me work through my Thai issues.
It took me forever to order. Although Thaiku's offerings are indeed lovely--noodle favorites (a huge selection of noodle soups and stir-fries), grilled marinated meats with jasmine rice, and dainty starters (the gorgeous platter of mieng kahm, $8.50, is perfect for sharing: a self-serve spread of toasted coconut, lime wedges, fresh ginger, grated peanuts, and Thai chilis that you wrap in fragrant, chewy bai cha plu leaves)--I was still uptight about the palm sugar sauce and other intimidating Thai items on the menu. Gay Husband gave me one of his stern looks. Translation: "Get over yourself and pick something already."
We started off gently, with the delicate por pia sod appetizer ($5.95)--cold rice-paper rolls containing cucumbers, blanched spinach leaves, tofu, bean sprouts, and hunks of salty-sweet Chinese sausage, topped with a dollop of thick hoisin sauce. I loved that despite the tightly bound roll and the hoisin's aggressiveness, I could distinctly taste each item: savory cured sausage brightened with a clean wash of spinach, and tender cubes of tofu mingling with the cooling, watery crunch of raw sprouts.
Our som tahm ($6.50) was not as subtle. Green beans, peanuts, garlic, and wedges of tomato and cucumber rested on a bed of shredded green papaya and carrots, all tossed with a chili-lime dressing. I was excited to try this dish, because I've never tried green papaya. (And I still don't really know what it tastes like. This is what I'm talking about! Why stifle all these beautiful ingredients and their great natural flavors with spicy overkill? How about a slow, steady burn that complements the flavors, instead of an intense, abrupt zinger that clobbers even the astringent properties of lime?) Although I enjoyed all the different textures rolling around in my mouth--silky slivers of papaya, crisp string beans, flinty peanuts--I longed for a taste, any taste, of something other than the stubborn heat of chilis. (I love chilis--but when they accompany my food, not suffocate it.)
I was nervous about guay tiow bed ($7.95), noodle soup with duck, when I read that the broth was "dark" with anise, cinnamon, and sweet soy sauce. I expected sugar-spice excess. I was wrong. The broth was soothing and mild, but still complex with meat stock, shy hints of anise and sweetness, and aromatic wisps of cilantro, which floated among rice noodles and thin slices of gently poached, spoon-tender duck.
Rahd nah ($6.95, choice of meat or tofu)--usually my "safety dish" when I'm stuck at a Thai restaurant with friends--is enhanced here with tasty fermented beans and softly bitter sautéed Chinese broccoli. Wide, flat rice noodles are stir-fried in that delicious rahd nah gravy I'm obsessed with duplicating at home--cloudy and thick, buttery almost, soy-heavy with a tart finish (is that lime juice?). Thaiku's rahd nah is the best I've had to date.
Clearly there's more to learn than one restaurant can teach me. Can someone please tell me where else I should go?
Thaiku 5410 Ballard Ave NW, 706-7807. Open daily 11:30 am-9:30 pm (Fri-Sat 10:30 pm).
