Tom Yum Thai Cuisine on Foster (?)

Has anyone been?

If so, do you have any impressions that you can share?

A friend of mine saw it listed in this week's Reader and asked me about it.

The Reader has given this restaurant an exceedingly high rating [F9.3/S10.0/A8.8], which certainly has me curious.

Regards,
Erik M.

Tom Yum Thai Cuisine
3232 W. Foster
773.442.8100

I have not been. It's former incarnation as an ice cream parlor has somehow prevented me from going there, but I will stop in very soon to check it out, since it comes so highly touted. It would be great to have another decent Thai option in the neighborhood.

It's the place in the old ice cream parlor? How funny if that turned out to be a great Thai place. But those numbers seem suspiciously high, at the very least they are surely produced by a very small number of voters.

Mike G wrote:But those numbers seem suspiciously high, at the very least they are surely produced by a very small number of voters.

Five.

And the comments refer to it as Tom Yum Thai & Sushi Bar.

Aaron Deacon wrote:

Mike G wrote:But those numbers seem suspiciously high, at the very least they are surely produced by a very small number of voters.

Five.

And the comments refer to it as Tom Yum Thai & Sushi Bar.

I was going to mention the sushi bar combo. That is mostly the fact that has kept me from trying the restaurant. That seemed to be a pretty big strike against it. So who wants to meet me there for lunch today?

It's been through a couple incarnations since the since the ice cream parlor (which was called loree's I think). It changed its name to malai thai for a while (I went there in that period and it was not terrible, but not spectacular either). I don't know if the owners are the same since then

man, am i glad i live in a country where an ice cream parlor becomes a restaurant serving thai and japanese food.

btw, i live not too far from this place (have not had the pleasure of dining there, tho), and i think the sushi part of the menu came well after tom yum initially opened.

I went there for lunch today with GWiv. The waiter claimed that the current owners have run the restaurant for approx. 1.5 years (since its latest remodeling). The food was not objectionable, but no better than average. We didn't try any of the Japanese offerings. I think we came to the conclusion that if we didn't know any better, we would say it was good. Anyone who is somewhat initiated to real Thai cooking probably wouldn't think so, though.

stevez wrote:I went there for lunch today with GWiv. [...] The food was not objectionable, but no better than average. [...] I think we came to the conclusion that if we didn't know any better, we would say it was good. Anyone who is somewhat initiated to real Thai cooking probably wouldn't think so, though.

On a day like today, I don't even have to warm up the car.

E.M.

man, am i glad i live in a country where an ice cream parlor becomes a restaurant serving thai and japanese food

You forgot that it was Mexican in between, and is next door to a Swedish place....

Mike G wrote:You forgot that it was Mexican in between, and is next door to a Swedish place....

The Mexican place is across the street and is still there. Someone else can give that a try and report back. This place is in the former Loree's (home of multi colored whipped cream). The Mexican place is in the other ice cream parlor that was located on the NE corner, formerly knows as George's Ice Cream.

LTH,

As Steve said, Tom Yum Thai was ok, not bad, better than many, but nothing to get enthused about. For example, the ground pork in the larb had an overly neutral flavor and the dressing was somewhat one-dimensional, with a subtext of sweet. But, on the other hand, there was a little hit of chile, we asked for it very hot, and the faintest texture from toasted ground rice.

House-made green curry with catfish was one note with a slightly overpowering flavor of, and this is a guess, dried galangal. Red duck curry was more about the sweet profile than the layering of flavor and spice. One-dimensional comes to mind here as well.

Like Steve said, nothing objectionable, just not much Thai in the Thai, almost as if the restaurant owner/cook had simply resigned themselves to mediocrity. We asked about a Thai language menu, but were told no. Tom Yum Thai simply seemed one of those places, of which there are many, that's going through the motions. Not much love, food or customer wise, going on here.

Now, contrast lunch with the dinner MsWiv and I had at Elephant Thai. The place was packed, 3-forks in the Tribune will do that to a place, Ann, the owner, was constantly in motion, serving, smiling, chatting. Wall board of interesting specials and they are happy to amp up the chile if one is so inclined, and not just for regulars.

We started with Moo Ping, juicy marinated pork grilled on skewers served with a chili laden dipping sauce, followed with Crab fried rice, real crab. I ordered the Crab fried rice Thai style, a trick Erik M told me a few years ago in reference to Siam's House version. Thai style, in this case, means with a sunny side up egg, lime and chili on the side.

The dish that most glaringly contrasted Steve's and my lunch was a wall board special of Tilapia Pad Cha, deep fried Tilapia in fresh pepper sauce w/Thai eggplant. The Tilapia dish was bursting with flavor, little branches of fresh pepper with tiny pepper buds, strings of fresh galangal, basil, red/yellow pepper all complimenting fresh tilapia. This was a dish made with enthusiasm, by someone who likes to cook, likes people and is not weary of the whole process.

I also like the fact that Ann cooks what, for the most part, she likes. One of the first times I was there I asked about Thai fried chicken, which I love, and she said she did not make it because she did not especially like fried foods. Ann is a very healthy eater and much of her menu reflects that fact.

A few previous Elephant Thai threads here and here.


[Edit] Now that I think of it, the pepper was on the vine, but Ann said it was in brine. She added fresh was very hard, if not impossible, to get in Chicago. The pepper vine looked like the one here, but smaller.

Enjoy,
Gary

Elephant Thai
5348 W Devon
Chicago, IL
773-467-1168

G Wiv wrote:The dish that most glaringly contrasted Steve's and my lunch was a wall board special of Tilapia Pad Cha, deep fried Tilapia in fresh pepper sauce w/Thai eggplant. The Tilapia dish was bursting with flavor, little branches of fresh pepper with tiny pepper buds, strings of fresh galangal, basil, red/yellow pepper all complimenting fresh tilapia.

LTH,

Short follow-up. Had Elephant Thai's Tilapia Pad Cha again, this time I had my camera with me. Tilapia Pad Cha is a terrific dish, two kinds of Thai eggplant, both pea and globe, and fresh pepper on the vine. Though, as noted in my edit above, they are not dead fresh off the vine, but come packed in brine.

Tilapia Pad Cha [Elephant Thai]



Elephant Thai Specials Menu 7.5.05



Enjoy,
Gary

I made some comments on Tom Yum Thai in Elephant Thai's Great Neighborhood Restaurants nomination thread here.

Tom Yum Thai has shuttered their Foster Avenue location and is relocating (perhaps have already relocated?) to 2964 N. Lincoln.

And thus endeth my report on eateries in the 3200-3300 blocks of West Foster Avenue.

Shasson wrote:Tom Yum Thai has shuttered their Foster Avenue location

There is a God.