Ottawa Foodies

I ate here for lunch and was shocked by how salty my meal was! I got one of their lunch specials which included the saltiest veggie soup in the world, a spring roll (quite good, if a little overcooked) and red curry with vegetables. I think I ordered poorly. I have a feeling that I would have been happier had I ordered one of the "non-special" selections on the menu. My lunch companion ordered a delicious red curry chicken with peanuts, which was very nice, if a little salty. The crunchiness of the peanuts was a nice contrast to the creaminess of the red curry sauce.

I think I would eat here again if given the opportunity, but I won't go out of my way to seek it out.

I've enjoyed the food at Royal Thai before, but tonight had an experience that blew me away. My hubby and I arrived not long before closing on a Saturday night and decided to give it a shot anyway. We were asked to order quickly, so to avoid having to make too many choices we decided to just go with one of their set dinners for two (B) with cocktails. First of all, the cocktails were nothing magical, but good anyway and under $4 each. The meal consisted of shrimp salad, hot and sour shrimp soup, spring rolls for two, chicken satays, a chicken rice dish, red beef curry and two squares of a light coconut jello. It was all excellent, and hilarious because they brought everything but dessert out at the same time, to our two-seater table. Total bill: $55, and we were out, full and happy, in about half an hour.

Tried this place on Sunday night. I seem to be on a Thai Restaurants of Ottawa tour or something.

I ordered vegetable spring rolls to start and I was happy with the contents. Not too much vermicelli! I found the sauce to be a bit too sweet for my taste though. I like a bit more heat.

I ordered the panaeg curry with chicken. This was the first time I have ordered this dish and had peanut in it. I found this dish to be extremely sweet with no heat at all. It was basically like eating dessert with chicken in it.

I love the tofu coconut milk curry (sorry, I'm not sure if that's the real name of it but it definitely had tofu and coconut milk).

While I find that Royal Thai tends to lack the subtlety and authenticity of restaurants like Sweet Basil, I must say that their spring rolls are by far the very best that I've ever eaten. They're perfectly prepared and served with a sauce that's simply out of this world. If anyone knows the secret of their sauce, please let me know what it is!

The pad ki mow at Royal Thai is a hearty, pleasantly sauced and spiced affair that's absolutely delicious. Highly recommended.