Foothill Flavors 812 words

Thai Siam: Pepper and Spice and Everything Nice

By Antoinette May Herndon

Something new has been added to the Sierra foothills dining scene and it’s definitively not a one taste fits all kind of place. To me, Thai Siam seems far more like a Goldilocks -Three Bears arrangement.

Remember Goldi? One fine morning she stumbled into the bears’ snug cottage. Did I hear someone say breaking and entering? Well, Goldi was obviously a blond and we all know they get away with plenty.

Anyway, there before Goldi’s eyes were three bowls of porridge just sitting there way too tempting to be ignored. As you may recall, the porridge in the first bowl was too cold and then she went on to burn her tongue on the next try. Pushy babe! It served her right.

Success came with the third bowl. Finally! This porridge was “just right.”

Happily, the exciting—and flexible --menu at Thai Siam eliminates that frustrating trial and error approach. Selections are accompanied by a sketch of a pepper, a graphic indicator that takes the guess work out of ordering.

So here’s a warning: at Thai Siam hot really does mean hot. This is authentic Thai food, not dumbed down adaptations for American wimps. Order carefully because Jenny Thammanwong and other staff members are going to take you at your word. Say, for instance, “I like things spicy,” and that’s exactly what you’re going to get. I guarantee it.

Jenny says that almost all Thai recipes start with sliced garlic frying in oil and go on from there. “It would be hard to eat a Thai meal without having garlic in one form or another,” she explained. (I was glad that Charles, my husband-companion, and I would

just be kissing each other.)

Jenny could also not imagine food without chile. Thais sometimes even eat chiles as a snack. Coconut milk is another mainstay—a more benevolent one that provides the rich base for many curries and sweet dishes. Coconut milk is made by mixing the grated meat of a ripe coconut with warm water and then squeezing out the juice.

Thai Siam is the new kid on the block—scarcely six weeks old—in Jackson. A store front tucked into a shopping center, one would hardly take it for a pearl of the orient. Guess again.

Once inside, the picture changes completely. The eatery’s exotic ambience is spot on. In seconds you’ll forget the garish mall signs outside, the gray cement, the cars. You’ll think Bangkok: meandering canals, pagodas, the historic Press Club, the elegant Oriental Hotel. Mystery, intrigue, excitement.

Really, you will. Some of the romance may have to do with the lighting—dim. The semi darkness lends itself to day dreams. The soft music playing in the background, the gentle, diffident manner of Jenny and the other wait people, all contribute to Thai Siam’s exotic, slightly mysterious ambience.

Yes, I hear you. One can’t eat atmosphere, so what’s on the menu?

Charles and I began with the traditional boat noodle soup—beef balls with rice stick noodles. ($8.95) Very nice.

We split a seafood salad which was potentially wonderful but way too spicy for either of us. Our own fault, too. This was our first visit and we hadn’t properly heeded the menu’s pepper warning. I like food a little spicy and conjectured (wrongly) how fiery can a salad get? Pretttttty zesty! Think: fresh, tender shrimp tossed with spicy lime

sauce, onions and chilies (lots of chilies) tossed on a bed of lettuce. ($12.95)

For a main course, I ordered duck curry and loved it. (This time I heeded the pepper chart and asked for “medium.”) Curried duck is roasted boneless with tomato, pineapple, bell pepper and sweet basil, then simmered in coconut milk and red curry. ($11.95) Charles’s choice was eggplant and beef cooked with chilies and Thai basil then seasoned with a yellow bean sauce. ($9.95) Another winner.

Thai Siam is so new that the owners hadn’t yet obtained their liquor license when we ate there. By the time you read this it will no doubt be in place. Though the menu promises a variety of wines, my own feeling is that Thai spices drown out a good wine. (Why both with any other?) Instead, try the Thai beer, Singha. It tastes just right with the restaurant’s peppery foods.

Also offered are Thai iced tea or coffee at $2.25 and hot jasmine tea or hot coffee for $1.75.

Thai Siam is a delightful addition to the local scene. Charles and I felt a little like Goldilocks when we wandered in—it’s dark in there, everything soft and muted. Feels like an adventure and, once we got the hang of it, everything was “just right.”

VITALS: Thai Siam. 12240 Industry Blvd., Ste. 72, Jackson. Phone: 223-2373, Open seven days a week. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Credit cards excepted.

amherndon@sierralodestar.com

Jenny Thammanwong helps navigate the exotic inticacies of Thai Siam in Jackson

The interior of Jackson’s new restaurant, Thai Siam, is appropriate exotic—but also inviting.