Dom's Chopping Block: Restaurant Thailande

So, it's been a couple weeks now that my girlfriend Zoe (one of my many fellow foodies) has been begging me to go out for dinner. We had decided to do this cook off thang at my place every two weeks in order to save money and share each other's secrets, but let's be honest...so far we have had one. We had a wonderful Friday full of pumpkin naan bread, asparagus cream steamed muscles, and an amazing sesame spinach salad. The "every second friday" tradition will probably have a better kick off in 2011. In the meantime we rejoiced for Thai at a recommended restaurant from one of my co-workers, Restaurant Thailande (514.271.6733, 88 Bernard Ouest, Mile- End, Montreal).

The Thai experience started off on an extremely snowy day, so the outside of the resto was a blur to us all...but upon entering their warm and welcoming doors, we were overwhelmed by so many smells and flavours. The layout included a section on the left for people who preferred to sit on cushions, and tables with regular chairs on the right side (where we decided to sit for the night). The menu was quite extensive and the options ranged in spices, meats, veggies and sauces. I was excited to try their Kiao Satay (dumplings with peanut sauce) as I'd heard so much about them. Verdict: Yes, they were as delicious as promised. The dumplings were perfect in size, a bit smaller than a walnut shell, soaked in a delightful creamy peanut butter sauce. I was now worked up for my main dish: Kaeng Masman with chicken; which is masman curry with coconut milk, peanuts, potatoes, pineapples and carrots. I also ordered a side of sticky rice. When the waiter arrived with our food, I was overwhelmed with the heavenly smell, but the taste was somewhat dissapointing. I was turned off by the undercooked sticky rice and the abundance of coconut milk in my main dish, which made it too rich. It made the dish too sweet to taste the curry. I ate about half (which is embarassing for me) and packed the rest to go. I chugged back my wine and booted it out of there, Dexter was waiting for me at home!

DOM'S CHOPPING BLOCK RATING: 

Presentation: 3/5
Service: 4/5 (water was consistently filled!! +)
Quality: 3/5

Atmosphere: 3.5/5

OVERALL: 13.5/20

67.5 % CHOPPED! Seconds? NO THANKS!