Thai Hot

Dawn and I visited the Thai Hut restaurant on Saturday to celebrate a new personal best distance.

I felt curious about how hot Thai Hot tasted (the restaurants rates their dishes as Mild, Medium, Hot, and Thai Hot), so I requested this of the waitress. I've eaten at Mexican restaurants a number of times and never communicated successfully that I like it really hot. Tuk (pronounced like took) paused, then smiled nervously, replying, Little boy is going to cry! After triple-checking with me, she accepts my request. When she returned with the appetizer, she repeated the above warning. I smiled in a tired sort of way. I didn't have much energy to interact with her.

The meal arrives, and I begin eating small bites. I felt surprise when it tasted hot, but bearable. It tasted wonderful. Tuk approached me after I finished and inquired how I found the spiciness level. I shared my mild disappointment and she informed me at that point that what I had was not Thai Hot, but Hot. Tuk invited me back soon to try Thai Hot for real--I had passed her test, it seemed. I felt a mixture of relief and disappointment--I had paid for Thai Hot, so disappointment I didn't get what I ordered--and relief because I'm happy to know that Thai Hot is hotter than what I had.

For an appetizer we ordered #2, Mun-Tod (Fried Sweet Potatoes), which consists of deep fried sweet potatoes dipped in coconut butter, served with sweet & sour and ground peanuts. Yum!

For the main courses, I ordered #27, Kaeng Panang, which comes with bell pepper, carrots, green beans, shredded kefir leaves simmered in coconut milk and panang curry (and meat if so inclined--chicken, pork, or beef). Dawn ordered #52, Pad See-Ew (Big Noodles) which comes with pan-fried rice noodles, garlic, broccoli, egg & black soy sauce (and chicken).