Spent the day over at GF's place and it turned out her folks weren't going to get back from Xinchu in time to bring dinner so we were on our own. Didn't feel like running off somewhere fancy so we decided to try one of the many new places that have sprouted up in the neighborhood. The Thai place seemed the most popular so we decided to give it a shot. Managed to squeeze into a table just before the place filled up not to mention the stream of takeout orders.
Had to order the 椒麻雞 of course, it being the name sake of the restaurant and all. It's basically a chicken katsu, complete with pile of shredded cabbage, but instead of the Japanese mayo/ketchup dipping options, the fried cutlet sat on a lighter thai-style sauce. A strong lime juice base with soy, cilantro, chilies, and probably a dash of fish sauce for a refreshing dressing that made for a great mix of flavors which accompanied rice nicely.
It's a bit tough to order dishes like steamed fish when it's just the two of us, but I saw a fish coming out and it wasn't that big so it seemed like a good opportunity. Sure our fish was a bit small and on the bony side, but it was fresh enough and perfect for the two. Finally figured out the smell that permeated the restaurant was the smell of steaming lime juice that made up the base for many of the dishes including the flavoring for the fish. Scallions and some chilies added the to the clean and simple flavors.
The flat shrimp pancakes was okay. Which was fine because we ordered it, cancelled it, got it anyway, but didn't get charged for it. However the pad thai, which is my yardstick for Thai restaurants, was flat out terrible, with no thai flavorings at all. It was just a bad chicken chow-mein made with rice noodles. And no Thai iced tea on the menu. What the heck? Nevertheless, the main dishes were quite tasty, it was cheap, and the location is convenient. Good enough for me.
椒麻雞
新店市民權路 (捷運大坪林站)