Foodie Friday - Lotus of Siam

RJ and I have been reading about this restaurant and decided today was the day to try it.  We plugged the address into Miss Garmin and away we went.     What we find is a block long building with a few unmarked doors.    Bummer.   One article we read said it was hard to find and was in a non-descript strip mall.    This area is off The Vegas Strip about a mile and in a somewhat run down part of town.  Before giving up, we decide to go around the block and try again.    That long building is actually the back side of the strip mall.      Weird, but at least we have found the restaurant.

The inside of this restaurant is in sharp contrast to its location.     Upscale but casual.    Immaculately clean and the staff are friendly but professional.     We decide to order a couple Thai beers, which I'm pretty sure I had on my 2006 trip to Bangkok.

Saipin Chutima is the owner and Chef.        Before the 2011 James Beard Award for Top Chef in the Southwest and the Gourmet Magazine review, Lotus of Siam was a small little hole in the wall located in the commercial center in Las Vegas.    In November 1999 Chef Saipin and her husband Bill took over Lotus of Siam.    Since then, Thai food has become an adventure for those willing to step out of their comfort zones for Asian Cuisine.

Chef Saipin's distinct cooking has been passed down from generation after generation, from both her grandmothers and her husband's grandmothers.    Her northern style cooking has opened America to the "Northern" world of Thailand, away from the Bangkok style of sweet and tang.   The northern menu consists of hearty herbs and spices, along with Thai style stews and coconut-less curries.    Through her menus, guests can dine and enjoy recipes from over 100 years in the Chutima family.

You could sit for an hour looking over the menu.    Everything looked intriguing.

RJ found an entry that had the words "Not Spicy" in parenthesis, so he knew what he was getting.   It was called Thai Style Spaghetti - pan fried egg noodles in a special sauce with eggs, chicken, shrimp and tomatoes.   He enjoyed it, but I forgot to get a picture.  (sorry).

I'm not one to shy away from spices, so I chose:

KANG KA NOON   (Spicy Young Jack Fruit Curry).      Here's the description:     For those of you who love the texture of the heart of artichoke and spicy food, have we got a dish for you.    This northern style curry is made of young jack fruit chunks.  The dish is cooked in a northern style curry base, fresh and dried spices with pork, chicken and smoked sheet-fish flakes.

An order of sticky rice and I thought I was set until the waiter asked how hot I wanted it on a scale of 1-10.    I settled on 7-8.    Sure glad I didn't say 10 !!!    Actually, it was perfect for me, although my eyes did water a little.

This was our second beer - we shared, although I preferred the Chang.....

You very seldom get to enjoy the food of a James Beard awarded chef and certainly not at such a very reasonable price.   I am so glad we tried it.     Can't wait to try something else!

I don't have the external hard drive with me for my Bangkok pictures, but I will share them at a later date.    What an incredible trip that was .......