Siam Marina - Cal City

Once upon a time, when I was a baby poster on this Board, someone was asking for suggestions in the Cal City area. I timidly suggested Siam Marina, a family favorite of ours. Another poster suggested that most LTH members would not want to travel that far for what they felt was non-authentic Thai food. Because of road construction our family has not dined there in well over a year, but last night someone suggested it for dinner and off we went.

Siam Marina may not be the most authentic Thai restaurant in Chicagoland, but there is no arguing that the food is delicious. They have two locations, one in the office center at River Oaks Shopping Center and the other in a tiny strip mall on Sibley. We have never been to the mall location. The storefront is a cozy, clean, welcoming place and we have never been disappointed by the food. The ingredients are very fresh and the service was excellent. It was a leisurely meal. Don't expect your food to come out of the kitchen in five minutes -- the small staff works hard to make sure everything comes out looking and tasting divine.

Last night we ordered an appetizer of avocado rolls and tempura calamari. Both were excellent -- a very crispy outside on the avocado rolls with a spicy dipping sauce and the calamari was very good. My older daughter ordered the crazy sizzling chicken, which proved to be too spicy for her. I switched my plate of Ginger Chicken for hers. Both were excellent. My husband always looks at everything on the menu and ends up ordering their Mussaman Curry with beef and I always steal from his bowl because it's so delicious. The younger daughter opted for Red Curry with chicken, also excellent. We left happy and satisfied with our dinner and promised to return again soon.

I found out last night they have a website. Look for yourself and decide if it is worth the drive.

www.siammarina.com

Suzy

I checked out the website. It looks like a lot of the dishes are really Chinese, no doubt an homage to their customers' demographic. I did notice there were 5 different duck dishes on the menu. Regardless of their national origin, next time I find myself in the wilderness of Southest Chicago , I'd like to check those out. You know me. I can't say no to duck.

I just ate at Siam Marina (the River Oaks location) on Saturday with my mother (who lives in Lansing) and my husband. I've been there about 8 times now and I've been very pleased every time. It was my husband's second time there and he thinks it's excellent as well. It's definitely not super authentic. They have a huge menu with lots of interesting seafood dishes. They have quite a few curries as well and several duck preparations as stevez points out. We started with the lobster and mango spring rolls which are always delicious and have a decent amount of lobster in them. We also tried the shrimp paste on sugar cane which was good. I had the steamed sea bass in ginger sauce which I ordered spicy. It was cooked perfectly and came with what appeared to be reconstituted dried shitake mushrooms which gave it a nice meaty bite. It can be ordered spicy or mild. My mother had bangkok salmon in a teriyaki type glaze. It was also cooked perfectly. Both entrees came with a pile of fresh vegetables which were cooked tender crisp. My husband ordered cashew chicken which he really liked except it should have been spicier as indicated on the menu. They have a large dessert menu with a few Thai desserts and several american desserts. We had the pineapple mousse cake which is my mother's favorite.

The River Oaks location also has a very nice atmosphere and the presentation of the dishes is beautiful. Some of them have fresh flower garnishes and are on beautiful colored glass plates. I find that unusual for the typical Thai restaurant. I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

My wife and I have gotten carry out from both locations on our way to visit family in Munster IN. We have always been pleased with our food, granted it might not be authentic but it is always good.