Relish: Tamarind Tree

Tamarind Tree had a large list of specialty cocktails which sounded more interesting than good, but we ordered a couple anyway. We had the Tamarintini ($6) made with vodka, lime and tamarind juice. It was way too tart and had an odd texture. And generally, we don't believe drinks should have texture. We also tried the Lychee Martini ($6) with vodka, lychee juice and a big fat lychee fruit, skewered like an olive. Seattlest had a hard time with this drink because it looked like there was a peeled eyeball floating in it, but at least it tasted better than the Tamarintini.

The dinner menu was varied, long and delicious sounding, so we had a difficult time narrowing down what we wanted. The special Seven Courses of Beef tempted us in a major way, but in the end we opted for variety and ordered four different dishes from the regular menu--despite a warning from our waiter that we were ordering way too much food.

Our first plate was the Duck Cabbage Salad or Goi Vit ($6.50). The duck was steamed until tender and rendered of fat, then served on a bed of crisp cabbage and carrots. The dressing was surprisingly agreeable, sweet and tangy with vinegar. Seattlest loved the added crunch and sweet-saltiness of the chopped peanut and frizzled shallot garnish. The only (and minor) downside to this dish was that not all of the duck skin had been removed. Yes, normally Seattlest loves the duck skin, but when it's flaccid and pale from steaming it's not so appetizing.

Our second plate was the Grilled Beef Roll or Bo La Lot ($6.00). The rolls were stunning, piled on the plate with the dark green of the leaf wrapper contrasting against the reddish-brown of the beef. The waiter told us that they use a high-fat ground beef (the only way to go), and that some of the fat soaks into the leaf creating a crisp, almost fried texture--despite being grilled. The tender, tender beef inside was highly seasoned and pleasantly salty. The rolls were served with a strong anchovy sauce that some of us liked and some of us found to be way too fishy. This dish made Seattlest very happy.

Our next dish was the Thang-Long Yellow Fish or Cha Ca Thang Long ($10.95--one of the most expensive items on the menu). The fish had a similar taste and texture to catfish and was lightly dusted with sweet curry powder (we think) and then pan fried until golden. The Thang-Long was an assemble-it-yourself dish, so the fish came with an assortment of sautéed green onions, dill, cilantro, mint, vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts and carrots, with romaine lettuce leaves to use like a wrap. The wraps were bursting with fresh flavor and tasted healthy, yet delicious. They, again, came with a sauce that some of us wanted to drink straight from the bowl and some of us found unpleasant from the pungent fermented fish flavor. This dish also came with rice crackers, which our waiter explained were for cleansing the palate after the strong sauce. They looked like fried shrimp chips but were lighter in flavor, heavier in texture and studded with black sesame seeds.

At this point Seattlest was thoroughly satisfied and stuffed, but there was one last course of Special Steamed Roll or Bahn Cuon Dac Biet ($7.45). The menu description of this dish was confusing, listing pork about three different times, so we weren't sure what to expect. It turned out to be a combo plate, with lots of different little items. We started with the ground pork and mushroom roll, which was little more than loosely wrapped pork mixture in a soft, thick rice noodle (think free-form ravioli). Next was the grilled pork, which Seattlest went bonkers over; we could eat platters and platters of this grilled pork. It was simply skewers of pork satay, but they had been grilled to perfection and coated with a scrumptious, salty-sweet marinade. They used thin cuts of pork which became crispy and charred from grilling and had a texture similar to a soft beef jerky. Next was crispy shrimp and fried sweet potatoes (Con Gu). There was only one, somewhat bland shrimp, but the sweet potato fries were thoroughly addictive. The only thing on the combo plate that Seattlest didn't care for was the pork roll, which was a scary, thick hunk of mystery-meat.

Our enthusiastic waiter was impressed with how much food we put away and was extremely pleased that we enjoyed the meal so much (enough to take pictures!). He took the time to answer all of our questions about how things were prepared and with a wink, told us next time we had to order the Seven Courses of Beef. And after that delicious Beef La Lot, we believe him.

Tamarind Tree
1036 S Jackson Street
206.860.1404