New Thai spot in Buffalo Grove [OISHII THAI]

Right next to Wiener Take All, on the NE corner of Weiland and Deerfield. Anyone tried it yet? I don't know the name, if this has already been posted please ignore me. LOL

OISHII THAI
1113 Weiland Road
Buffalo Grove
847.537.8889
http://oishii-thai.com/

Them's TAC prices there. That's a LOT to live up to. A WHOLE lot IMO. I don't know if I could handle going there, and it just being "ok" - but, I'll eventually give it a go.

I'm not sure how to take this:

"OISHII THAI’s beautiful surroundings showcase a collection of seven rich, colorful paintings by
Chicago artist Anawat Sampanthavivat, depicting the story of “The Reincarnation of Buddha”;
antique Chinese furniture; as well as granite tables, and originally-designed wall upholstery,
booths and chairs (featured in ostrich skin in celery green and chocolate brown color tones) by
Chef Owner Sinee Techa, who is also the seven-time award-winning designer (honored by
“Window Fashions Magazine”) of an existing business, Lily’s Window Fashions, located in
Wheeling, Illinois.
Enjoy"

Maybe she strives for perfection in everything (including her cooking?)
Or, maybe it's standard Thai food in a really nice spot.

seebee wrote:Them's TAC prices there. That's a LOT to live up to. A WHOLE lot IMO. I don't know if I could handle going there, and it just being "ok" - but, I'll eventually give it a go.

I'm not sure how to take this:

"OISHII THAI’s beautiful surroundings showcase a collection of seven rich, colorful paintings by
Chicago artist Anawat Sampanthavivat, depicting the story of “The Reincarnation of Buddha”;
antique Chinese furniture; as well as granite tables, and originally-designed wall upholstery,
booths and chairs (featured in ostrich skin in celery green and chocolate brown color tones) by
Chef Owner Sinee Techa, who is also the seven-time award-winning designer (honored by
“Window Fashions Magazine”) of an existing business, Lily’s Window Fashions, located in
Wheeling, Illinois.
Enjoy"

Maybe she strives for perfection in everything (including her cooking?)
Or, maybe it's standard Thai food in a really nice spot.

If one could eat the interior, this place would sound really promising.

Based on this description alone, I know one poster here who would probably really like this place.

=R=

seebee wrote:Them's TAC prices there. That's a LOT to live up to.

TAC?

sandman wrote:

seebee wrote:Them's TAC prices there. That's a LOT to live up to.

TAC?

TAC Quick...generally regarded around here as one of the finest Thai restaurants in Chicago.

=R=

TAC Quick
3930 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 327-5253

seebee wrote:Them's TAC prices there.

I hope that's sarcasm b/c those prices are steep vs. TAC. $10 for noodles? I am used to see $6-8 for those noodle dishes at almost any other Thai restaurant, including TAC.

You know what? You got a point there. My bad. I was basing that on the curry prices (what I normally look at first.)

9.95 for Pad Thai?

Yeah - my bad - for real. My apologies to TAC for the comparison, but I'm on record as saying that I'd happily pay even more for Tac's food than what they charge.

We went within a week or two after they first opened. Service was very s-l-o-o-w-w but apologetic. Since it was right after they opened, I don't necessarily hold this against them on a first visit.

The food was good and presented more beautifully than in a typical Thai restaurant (sorry, I haven't been an LTH poster enough yet to know to always take my camera to dinner). But I wouldn't say it was significantly more delicious than your average suburban Thai place.

Buffalo Grove hasn't had a Thai restaurant for several years and this one is close enough to home that we can walk there, so we'll probably return. But, they will have to compete with options in Vernon Hills (in fact, I would say Oiishi has a lot in common with Green Basil) and in Arlington Hts. (Gumrai Thai comes to mind).

Haven't been there yet but I've heard really good things from friends. It's on my to do list of restaurants to try. Unfortunately, many businesses have gone in and out there so hopefully the location isn't a bad omen.

If you are willing drive a little bit more north, you should really go check out Thai Gourmet in Libertyville. This place is a gem.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=22354&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=thai+gourmet

Went tonight for dinner! DELISH!!! One of the best Thai restaurants in the area! We started with spring rolls with a peanut dipping sauce that was so good! My husband and I played it pretty safe and split a pad see-eiw and pad thai. The ingredients were extremely fresh and the portions very generous! The interior is beautiful and the staff friendly. We will be back for sure!

Finally tried it last night for a quick dinner with my not-adventurous husband. Ordered some "usuals," my husband loves crab rangoon and thought their version was excellent. The springrolls were dry so we unrolled them and ate the fillings with their sauce which was great.

Pad thai was fine, pad kee mao was ok, not very spicy but then realized the hot stuff was at the bottom of the plate. We thought the portions a little small for the prices.

Ultimately, we decided we wouldn't rush back, and prefer I Am Siam on Dundee Rd.

What do you get at I am Siam. We ate there once and were not that impressed. We got there just before they were about to close and noone was in the place. Perhaps that is why.

lilmomma wrote:What do you get at I am Siam. We ate there once and were not that impressed. We got there just before they were about to close and noone was in the place. Perhaps that is why.

Well my husband isn't terribly adventurous so he usually goes with shrimp pad thai. We like their spring rolls and peanut sauce, I really like the tom kha soup, and most of the entrees we've tried have been really good. I don't always love the beef dishes, not saying there's anything wrong with the meat, just don't like them much. Their mango sticky rice for dessert is a nice portion, we usually bring home leftovers.

Try it once more, we haven't been eating out as much lately but there's been a decent crowd each time we've been there.

lilmomma wrote:What do you get at I am Siam. We ate there once and were not that impressed. We got there just before they were about to close and noone was in the place. Perhaps that is why.

I do I Am Siam for lunch every few months. I'd say it's pretty good for the area.
Pretty sure there's a thread somewhere that chronicles some of the options that might be worthwhile, but later in the thread, reports were not so favorable anymore. Did a quick search, and found it. Start halfway down the page, and you'll see a post with some pics. I would not consider I Am Siam destination dining at ALL, but for the area, it ain't bad. IF you are close to the place, I bet you could find something there that they do well, OR, develop a repoire with the staff to get food tweaked how you like it.

seebee wrote:I do I Am Siam for lunch every few months. I'd say it's pretty good for the area.
Pretty sure there's a thread somewhere that chronicles some of the options that might be worthwhile, but later in the thread, reports were not so favorable anymore. Did a quick search, and found it. Start halfway down the page, and you'll see a post with some pics. I would not consider I Am Siam destination dining at ALL, but for the area, it ain't bad. IF you are close to the place, I bet you could find something there that they do well, OR, develop a repoire with the staff to get food tweaked how you like it.

I agree . . . well, kind of. A while back, I had a great run at I Am Siam during which the place consistently exceeded my expectations but then I had a few consecutive meals there that weren't at the same level and I began to lose confidence in the place. At this point, I haven't been back there in about a year, so maybe they're back on track now. But from my house, it's only about a 10-minute longer drive to Elephant Thai, which I think is worlds better and, in my experience, far more consistent.

=R=

Elephant Thai
5348 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60646
(773) 467-1168

Well, we gave this place a whirl today and the niceness of the people with whom we interacted at the restaurant was pretty much the highlight for me. I think this place represents a big problem in (north) suburban dining because they're stuck between trying to please the local contingent and serving lousy versions of the dishes because of it.

A case in point was the papaya salad. I ordered it and said I wanted it spicy. Our server immediately said 'medium.' I repeated myself. She then said 'medium' again. Then I looked her directly in the eye and said, 'not medium, spicy.' She smiled, as if delighted by my choice. When the dish arrived, it was definitely spicy but very one-dimensional in flavor. I asked her if they used fish sauce in the dish, because it seemed to be missing. She said that they sometimes do but not in this case. I asked why they didn't use it. She replied they make it for themselves with fish sauce but that most people who come in don't like it that way. I said that I really prefer it with fish sauce and that they should always put fish sauce in it since that's really how the dish is supposed to be made. But rather than offer to re-make it for us, she said, next time you come in, we'll make it for you with fish sauce, if you ask. I don't think that getting a dish prepared in the proper manner should be a special request. Also, the dish was served with a couple of cold-boiled shrimp atop it, instead of salt-dried shrimp. It was pretty much a faux version of the dish and the fact that even after expressing my preference, I was not offered a re-do, was disappointing.

Tom Kha was pretty decent -- nothing earth-shattering but good. Thai Wings (fried) were crispy and piping hot but a bit overcooked to the point of dryness and they tasted unseasoned and unmarinated. Tiger Cry was abysmal. It was dry, flavorless and riddled with bits of inedible gristle. I cannot say that it was re-heated and it very well may not have been but it certainly tasted like it had been re-heated.

Entrees were on the same level. Son ordered his standard pork pad see ewe and it was decent. I was pleased and surprised by the fact that it wasn't cloyingly sweet. Noodles were not browned very much at all but they were chewy and dense in a good way. Duck curry was a mixed bag. I really liked the red curry, which was nicely-flavored and rich, even if a bit tame on the heat level but the duck had an unpalateable quality that, again, said ' reheated' to me. The one-note Spicy Basil chicken (pad kra prow) tasted more like black pepper than anything else. This too, was missing fish sauce but that instance was more irritating than the previous one, since I'd already expressed my preference to have it included. We said no more to the staff about our disappointment but maybe the fact that we finished none of the dishes sent the message.

In addition to my personal disappoinment, I also felt bad for these guys because during our lunch someone whom I imagine was a fairly typical customer came in to order a Mango Fresh Fruit Freeze and she was so obnoxious I wanted to belt her. She must have asked 20 questions about the contents of the beverage, which does actually include fresh fruit, cut to order. At one point she requested a run-down of all the ingredients in the drink and basically wanted to sign off on each one as they were about to be added to it. It was an hysterical 10 minutes, listening to this person cherry pick (pun slightly intended) the contents of her Freeze, which ended up containing only a portion of the ingredients normally used in it. She omitted the half & half, tea and a few others, too. I thought she was going to freak out when they started to add the half & half, "WAIT! What's THAT? Half & half?!?!" But the ultimate kicker was when she argued that the fresh mango they were going to cut up and put in the freeze was not actually a mango. I saw it. It was definitely a mango and I think she eventually relented and agreed to have it included. I guess that since it wasn't cut up in frozen chunks and removed from a plastic bag, the customer couldn't identify it as mango. Pathetic, totally, but at least it helps to explain why they were so reticent to add the fish sauce to the savory dishes.

If this person was, in fact, representative of the typical customer, this place has a tough row to hoe. There's no way to keep everyone happy. If you pander to and dumb down for the locals, you may end up with a base of loyal customers but you're going to end up with mutated and mutilated versions of the dishes you're serving. And when those folks tire of your food, you're basically done. Otoh, if you make the dishes properly, you could potentially lose those local customers who are scared of fish sauce and half & half, and there's no guarantee that you will eventually build a larger following by doing so. Who's going to trek out to Buffalo Grove for Thai when the city is host to several great spots? The bottom line is that if this is what it takes for a Thai restaurant to stay afloat in the far northern suburbs, then the far northern suburbs are simply not ready for Thai food.

Friendly as they were, based on my experience today, I cannot imagine ever returning to Oishii Thai.

=R=

I'm thinking, "I'm sorry but you are too discerning for us. We regret that out small family run business is not able to please someone with extraordinary "taste" such as yours. I hope you are able to find a place that can make a smoothie to the high standards to which you are entitled. Have a good day..." While motioning for the door...

Stagger wrote:I'm thinking, "I'm sorry but you are too discerning for us. We regret that out small family run business is not able to please someone with extraordinary "taste" such as yours. I hope you are able to find a place that can make a smoothie to the high standards to which you are entitled. Have a good day..." While motioning for the door...

Yeah, I guess you could just as easily be referring to me and my comments about yesterday's lunch. Perhaps I was being too harsh. That said, the outcome is the same, regardless. I wish them well but know that I won't be back. Maybe there are droves of people that consider this food to be great but for me personally, it was way off the mark.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yeah, I guess you could just as easily be referring to me and my comments about yesterday's lunch. Perhaps I was being too harsh. That said, the outcome is the same, regardless. I wish them well but know that I won't be back. Maybe there are droves of people that consider this food to be great but for me personally, it was way off the mark.

=R=

Not at all... Bland food is bland food. Dissecting a smoothie like you are performing a triple bypass is just messed up. Had I never worked with customers my statement would have been more like "Go to Jamba juice and leave us alone!"