Taste of Thailand - Fridley

Me and Mr. Eng were way past due for a dinner outing. So being the opportunist I am, I chose the place right next door to my job that I've wanted to try for awhile. So after getting off of work, I ran 100 feet to my car in the pouring rain, drove the 1/2 block over to the place, ran 100 feet from the car into the restaurant and arrived completely soaking wet!

Mr. Eng arrived awhile later, and I was still soaking wet (can you tell this bothered me.). He sat down and we chatted and perused the menu. I ordered a diet coke and he stuck with water. Chad didn't even order any Dew. He must be getting soft on me. Finally after about a year, we decided on our food:

Curry Puffs
I've been wanting to try these for awhile. Taste of Thailand doesn't have a website, but I described these as Asian Empanadas! The dough on the edge was "braided"in the same manner. The inside was a mushy awesome yellow curry filling. I'm not positive what it was, but I think there were potatoes and some veggies in there. They were served with slices of sweet cucumber, and I have no idea why.

Special Spring RollsThey have 2 different versions of spring rolls. I believe these have more herbs in them. Again, no website, and I have a shitty memory. However, these were one of the best spring rolls I've had. The wrapper was not gummy at all, and the filing wasn't too sparse or overflowing. The peanut sauce had a big kick of lime to it...or was it the spring roll? Chad and I both couldn't decide if the lime kick was from the sauce, or the spring roll itself. My final verdict after trying it both ways is the sauce. The spring roll also had some pronounced cilantro and mint going on. The meat filling was lacking (i think it was just shrimp in there) but it was a tasty spring roll overall.

Chad's Red Curry with Green Beans

The waiter asked us what spice level we wanted, and Chad decided that since his girlfriend was out of town (heheheheee) he would go hot. This arrived, and doesn't it just LOOK fiery? I tasted a bite of it and it was indeed fiery. Not in an immediate way, but as we know, Thai spice builds, and from the look of Chads empty water glass and face-wiping action at the end, it did indeed build.

Massaman CurryI've never had massaman before, so I figured I'd try it. I got my spice level "medium well"and chose chicken as my meat. As I understand from research. the massaman curry is sweetly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the like. I found none of those elements to it. The potatoes were in large chunks, and the meat was kind of skimpy. The curry sauce itself was nice and runny as it should be, but it was overall quite sweet. The peanuts helped add some savory to it, and the spice level was good. But I found it overall lacking in balance that Thai cuisine aims for. There wasn't much savory or salty - just a lot of curry and sweet. It wasn't bad...because is there really ever a BAD curry????

Overall, the dishes were just so-so. They were a little one dimensional (maybe a few more veggies in Chads curry, or more in mine) but I'm sure that's just how the cuisine is meant to be. I would have liked a bit more complexity, personally.

Greats
-Curry Puffs
-Spring Rolls
-Talking Chads ear off for like an hour and a half
-There isn't a 4th.

Not so greats
-The atmosphere is nothing special
-Sweet Curry
-One dimensional stuff
-It was freezing in there (but I was also wet.)