Hungry Mouth

Lotus of Siam Restaurant: Vegas Winner

Las Vegas was low on my list of places to visit until I discovered Lotus of Siam which serves the best Thai food I have eaten outside of a private home. Now I make excuses to head for the hedonistic city in the desert.

Lotus of Siam offers a full Thai menu but specializes in authentic Issan (northern) Thai food. Located in a run-down strip mall in an out of the way neighborhood in Las Vegas, the restaurant surprises diners by serving delicious dishes prepared with quality ingredients.  Don't let the outward appearance scare you off!  This is fabulous food at amazingly reasonable prices.

It's important to order properly to get the most from the dining experience.  I first always ask if the owner, Bill, is present.  He is a charming gentleman who will gladly pull up a chair and chat with you about the food which he is deservingly proud of. If Bill isn't present we ask for Tony, our favorite waiter.   We just ask for them to bring us what is best that day, always including some of the Issan specialties.  What follows is a fabulous feast.

Some of the "don't miss" dishes:

Nam Kao Tod consists of minced sour sausage mixed with green onion, chile, ginger, peanuts, crispy rice, lime, nasturtium and mint.  This is one of the best dishes I have ever tasted anywhere.  The crispy rice, which is deep-fried, has an incredible texture and nutty taste that stands up well to the strong spicing.  The combination of flavors is awesome.  The last time we ate there we actually ordered two plates for 3 of us so we wouldn't have to fight over it.  That is how good it is!

Nua Dad Deaw is another must have.  Described on the menu as Beef Jerky Issan Style it consists of deep fried marinated slices of beef with a home-made sauce.  The texture of the meat is much more tender than actual beef jerky but it does possess a certain reminiscent chewiness.  The sauce is deep and smoky in flavor.  Together they make for a very unique dining experience.

Those are the two dishes we always order though everything else we have tried has been excellent.

Pork satay was tender and luscious.

Chicken curry.

Koon Tenn consists of grilled shrimp with spicy sauce served on a bed of cabbage.  Delicious and fiery hot!

Fried Chicken Dumplings with sweet and sour sauce.

Dessert at Lotus of Siam is a treat.  The house made coconut ice cream with warm sticky rice and fresh mango is lovely and addictive. No picture.

Pictured above, the coconut ice cream with fried banana roll.  Yum.

Another bit of advice: most of the entrees are under $10 except for the Charbroiled Fresh Water Prawns.  The prawns are offered in 3 different sauces, each costs $28.95.  During our first meal at LOS we gave them free rein and they served us the Prawns in a spicy sauce.  The menu specifies 2 prawns but they served us 3 (there were 3 of us) for the same price.  We were quite shocked when we saw the bill but if price is no object for you, I encourage you to order them. This was an outstanding dish.  The prawns are actually flown in from a river in Thailand and they are huge, the size of a small lobster tail.  I love lobster but I have to admit these were sweeter than any lobster I have eaten and more tender. The sauce was marvelous and I ate every last bit of it with a spoon directly from the serving dish. But it's very expensive compared to the rest of the menu.

The restaurant has a very nice, well-priced wine list specializing in German wines that go well with the spicy food.  Speaking of spicy, diners can specify the heat level they prefer on a scale of one to ten.  We usually go for 6. 

I just can't rave enough about Lotus of Siam, both the food and service.  We have eaten there 4 times now, most recently in late October, and only once were we disappointed and that was on 4th of July when they were clearly short-staffed.  A multi-coursed dinner for two with a bottle of wine runs less than $100.   

Happy New Year!

I keep telling myself it's a new year but somehow I can't shake off the depression that descended on election day. Still, I feel I must make resolutions and one of them is to be more attentive to this place, Hungry Mouth.  In order to do so, I must commit myself to more original cooking...like sous-vide which fascinates me...and food items I just never cook or eat.  I am very curious about polenta right now and have been researching to discover the difference between polenta, grits and corn meal. (Not clear cut). 

Anyway, as I peek over the edge of the abyss that is 2004, my wish for the world is peace and my wish for you is delicious foods enjoyed with gusto wherever you may find yourself. 

Manresa Restaurant, Part 2, Entrees

On to the entrees.  The appetizers were delicious but this is where the restaurant truly excelled. 

First, my favorite course of the evening, a shivery "Foie gras and cumin caramel".  Imagine the most delicate creme brulee with the sinfully rich taste of foie.  I wanted to lick the bowl.

The Caramel was served with a "twice cooked foie gras with spiced quince on brioche".  The two together were dynamite.

"Scallop tartare with osetra caviar, watercress".  An interesting contrast of flavors.  The third tartare of the night.

"Horse mackerel with steelhead roe".  I guess I'm still a kid at heart because I loved how the roe popped in my mouth. 

"Brandade of cod surrounded by mashed potatoes with a potato chip in new oil".  The mashers had a lovely taste but the texture was somewhat gluey.  I've never been a fan of salt cod, so this was not one of my favorite dishes of the evening.

"Garbure of duck foie gras".   Here the foie was served seared and still warm.  I took a bite and knew it was delicious but it was just too late in the meal for me to enjoy such a rich dish.  When I think back on it, I could make a meal of the three foie offerings doubled in size.  And a lovely meal it would be.

My next course (not pictured) was "Monterey abalone with braised veal cheeks".  The abalone was tough as it has been every time I have eaten it...I never need to eat abalone again. The veal cheeks were braised to perfect succulence and full of flavor. 

The pic above was the Judge's "make-up" course.  Since he, poor man, refuses to eat cheese or fish, he missed many courses.  Just when he was starting to feel frustrated they brought him a prime filet with mashers and spinach.  He was well appeased.

"Confit of suckling pig, cardooons, boudin noir".  The picture shows the dish as it was presented to each diner prior to being served.  A knock out dish.

" '36 hour' lamb shoulder with sweet garlic".  I loved the way the garlic, which was very strong on its own, complimented the very tender lamb when tasted together.  Two of my favorite things. I need to start experimenting with sous-vide cooking given it can produce dishes as flavorful as this.

So ended the savory dishes...desserts still to come.  What an evening.

Manresa, Part One: Amuse-Bouches

The SF Bay Area chapter of an international internet dining group, Opinionated About, had its collective mind blown by a spectacular holiday feast at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos on Saturday night.  Many kudos to Chef David Kinch who is clearly in the very top echelon of SF area chefs.  I was so focused on the superb food,  I didn't recognize Isabella Rosellini when she entered the restaurant! (No, she wasn't part of our group).

The dinner lasted from 7:30pm--2:00am.  I am serious.  Twenty-four courses not counting the many substitutions for the people who have food "fetishes"*.  All told, our group probably received well over 30 distinct preparations.

Given the number of dishes I'll break this review up into several parts.  This post will cover the amuse bouches (pre-bites, appetizers) only.

"Parmesan churros"  were crispy and light as air yet dense with flavor.

The "Carrot-orange cocktail with hibiscus" intrigued with a sequential layer of tastes.  First the sweetness of carrot juice, followed by the unfamiliar hint of hibiscus (gelee), then the sweet/tart valencia orange sorbet.  Once on the tongue they combined to produce a taste that was greater than the parts.  Excellent combination.

"Oyster with sea urchin, in its' own jelly"  This was my first significant taste of sea urchin.  I loved how it complimented the fresh, very cold oyster. 

To my never ending chagrin, the Judge doesn't eat seafood or cheese.  As a sub for the oyster course, he was served "Orange salad with fennel sorbet".  Heh, they didn't know he refuses to eat fennel.  He enjoyed it and I took advantage of the moment to tell him I was adding fennel back into the household menu.

I have no pictures for the next three amuse bouches:

"Sayori, shiso and bacon": sayori is a type of fish.  I thought the server said "chayote" so I assured the Judge he could eat it.  Ooops!  He didn't die.

"Fatty bluefin belly, meyer lemon":  a rich tuna tartare

"Chestnut croquettes": my notes say chestnut cream with sake, truffles and ?yams?  Whatever, this little deep-fried morsel was delicious.

"Beef and oyster tartare"  While I am a fan of Beef carpaccio, this was my first taste of ground beef tartare.  I was amazed at the depth of flavor and the fact I could distinguish the oyster from the beef.

"Potato leek soup with egg and Manchego".  This was a frightening dish for me.  My only food "fetish" is eggs.  I have no problem with eggs when they are disguised in other foods like baked goods or batters but I absolutely do not eat eggs when they are obvious: even quiches and omelets are precluded.  However, given the controversy surrounding one of the egg dishes at Manresa (see Chez Pim), I knew in advance I'd probably be facing an egg and decided I would brave it for the sake of  challenged foodies everywhere.  I am proud to say that I broke the yolk and ate  quite a bit of the egg.  It helped that the soup was luscious and redolent with the taste of leek and Manchego.

Well, that is the end of the amuse bouche portion of our holiday feast.  Believe it or not, sixteen courses still to come! 

* By the phrase food "fetishes" I mean foods we aren't physically allergic to but don't eat.  There is no purely rational reason for not eating them...just intense dislike that in some extreme cases convinces us we are actually allergic.  For me it's eggs.  For the Judge it's fish and cheese.  For others it's olives or meat or broccoli.  I mean no disrespect of anyone's fetishes or dislikes.