Dishin': Thai Simple Curry's Simple Curry

One: We read this pretty awesome review of Thai Simple Curry and decided we had to check it out for ourselves. Then we decided we had to share our review in the same format.

The problem was that a lot of people decided to check out Thai Simple Curry after the review. We were part of an initial surge of people arriving just before noon, and while the restaurant had supposed been open since 10am, we were all informed that only massamun curry was ready. What? That's not a problem due to crowds, but a problem of being unprepared.

Two: We waited, because we wanted the Panang curry. We make a lot of curry at home, and can tell you that this curry flavor was fabulous. Very clean-tasting, with spices shining through. But this plate was just chicken and rice. Oh, some kaffir lime leaf remnants, but nothing in the curry save for the chicken (which was nice and tender).

Three: Maybe the picture on the wall menu should have tipped us off that the curry was chicken-only, but that wall menu also shows the pad thai as being a full plate of noodles. It's not. It's half noodles, and half rice. We asked about the rice, and they said it's like a bonus. Not at the expense of more noodles, we say. Starch with starch? That said, the pad thai is pretty good, with tamarind instead of ketchup, but again simple: just chicken, some bean sprouts, green onion, and egg. We prefer ours with the added complexity of salted radish (for texture), dried shrimp (for texture and taste), lime (for acidity), and peanuts (for the added danger of toxicity).

Four: These dishes are all five dollars. Okay, that's a bargain. It's not a huge portion; our petite dining companion says one dish isn't enough for a physical worker, but it's a fair price for what you get.

Five: Hot sauce. Yes, it says "no kidding" on the container, and it's super-hot. Ask for it, as it might be hiding at another table.

Six: The older Thai lady. She's there. Hanging about, organizing things, occasionally filling water glasses. Smile, and you might get her to smile back.

Seven: Shampoo. Yes, there are sample packs of shampoo there. I did notice that the business card says the restaurant's also a general store.

Eight: Dessert and other dishes. We saw someone eating som tum (green papaya salad), so there's apparently a secret menu available. Need to work on that, or get them to explain more. Also, there's a menu board full of dessert roti (and a couple of savory options, too). We were hungry enough to try them, but we were late enough (it took nearly an hour to get our food, partly due to a delay in ordering) to have to skip them.

Nine: The bathroom. Does it exist, or does it not? Depends on who you ask. We asked the husband, and he (at first fairly reluctantly) said it was in the back before guiding us through the kitchen to use it. We saw others later ask but be told that there's no bathroom. No bathroom in a restaurant?

Ten: It's cute. Thai Simple Curry has a coffeehouse-feel. We'd like to go back there and hang out if they get their act together. It's that simple.