Thai Mekong (St. Albert) Yum!

I am loving Thai Food lately, but I know so little about it. Since that is the case, my favorite is to have it with lots of people so that I can try many dishes. We had some friends and family over one evening recently, and my wish came true.

Oh picking the dishes took some time (and some bossiness on my part), but in the end we got spring rolls, tom yum soup, pad thai with shrimp, a pork and a chicken pad cashew, sweet and sour pork, gaeng matsamun (a curry) with beef, and a whole wack of coconut rice.

As I often do in a buffet type situation, I ate until it hurt.... hurt bad, but that's a good sign. I started with a spring roll, and it was a bit disappointing, but it was not indicative of how the rest would taste. Although I can't get asian food without having spring rolls, I am very picky about them. The tom yum was much better as a starter.

The pad cashew was the highlight for me. It was the perfect mix of sticky and sweet that I look for in take out. I soak the coconut rice in the extra sauce just so that everything will taste more like it. The sweet and sour was also good, but just got eclipsed by the pad cashew. If you are more of a sweet and sour fan it might be the opposite for you. I do like the pineapple chunks.

The gaeng matsamun was delicious, but it separated in transit. I think that in the restaurant it would be magnificent, but the oil on top of the takeout package detracted from it a bit. It wasn't a traditional thai curry as I generally think about it. It wasn't green or red curry, it was a very mild and comforting dish that had a sweetness that had a bit of a cinnamon flavor. It wasn't terribly coconuty, but it was filled with beef, potato and peanuts. I would highly recommend it if you are eating in, but it doesn't work as well for take out.

The pad thai and coconut rice were the perfect accompaniments. I frequently get pad thai from Thai Mekong for dinner because I just love it. I never stop for burgers or fried chicken on the way home, but pad thai is my take out weakness. I judge all other pad thais by this one.

I am so happy that Thai Mekong opened up out in St. Albert. After moving out of down town, I really missed having ethnic food readily available. It is everything I could want in a take out restaurant, and every once in a while I will even get my butt off my couch and eat at the restaurant.