Bangkok Grill Orem Utah

Dropped by Zurchers today and as it was lunch time we decided to give the little Thai restaurant (Bangkok Grill) next door a try for lunch.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that a little hole in the wall place in a strip mall would have such delicious food.

First off the decor is very lacking, I wouldn't even call it minimalist, just almost non existent.  The only other customers were a small family of four and the place felt a bit dark.  The ceiling is industrial with pipe work and girders exposed, and the lighting was definitely more modern than Thai or even Asian for that matter.  Everything about the place just screams of a restaurant that is struggling to stay open.

We sat in a booth, and were immediately attended to by a very friendly server.  For drinks we ordered watermelon lemonade, which was nice, refreshing, not heavy at all, and not too sweet.  We started with Thom Ka Gai (coconut soup) which was amazing, I couldn't stop eating it.  It comes in a turnine shaped like a bundt pan with a flame in a spoon underneath.  We scooped up bowl after bowl.

We ordered separately for entrees, my daughter ordered Pineapple Curry and I ordered the Pad Priaw Waan (sweet and sour stir fry)  Both dishes were served with rice, and both were so delicious.

Thai Drift Restaurant in Orem

http://www.thaidrift.com/

Follow the link to the Thai Drift website.

This restaurant was recommended to us by our daughter's friend who lived for two years in Thailand and said this was the most authentic Thai food she has found in Utah.  I whole-heartedly agree.

The food is amazing, delicious, and very refreshing especially when compared to other Americanized versions of Asian cuisine.  Instead of the heavy, starchy, gloppy food often promoted as Asian, the ingredients are respected and the recipes are reasonable.

The menu itself is large, and varied.  Each of our eight person party ordered something different, so we had a pretty good cross sampling of the menu's offerings. We also shared a large bowl of the Galanga Coconut soup, usually called Tom Kai Gai.

The prices are reasonable, the service attentive without being intrusive.  My one suggestion would be to silence the doorbell they have going off in the back.  It's annoying and distracting.

Wild Ginger

The name intrigued me, but, I didn't take the time to try this place until this past week.  We took the whole family to Wild Ginger for some Chinese food and some sushi.  The restaurant is in a great location, right on University Avenue in Provo, and has plenty of parking in the back.

Inside the restaurant is clean and looks new.  We went on a Wednesday, so, there weren't a ton of people, which suits me fine when I take the younger kids with us.  We were seated immediately by, I believe, the owner, a really nice Chinese man.  While he has a thick Chinese accent, he is easily understood, which is so nice since most people will avoid an ethnic restaurant if they feel they may embarrass themselves or the wait staff if there is a miscommunication.  No problems here.

We were waited on very quickly, and actually needed a bit more time to decide than we were given, the servers kept coming over and asking if we were ready.  It's not a huge deal, we just felt a bit rushed after the third or fourth time.

Evidence of their customer service is in their honest appraisals of the menu offerings.  The owner volunteered that we should order a single order for our two little girls and have them split it.  That was a nice bit of customer service.

The menu is plentiful, and has an authentic Chinese section, that we may try next time around, but, we were really not up for anything adventurous this visit.  We had several sushi rolls, different kinds of soups, and six different entrees, plus drinks.  Be aware, the cups are huge, and they do not have children's size cups.

The soups were good, not crazy amazing, but, tasty.  I would have liked more than one wonton in my soup, but, truthfully it was fine.  Everything was very good, and the entire meal is served family style, so we all were able to share each other's entrees.  For two children and four adults, we had dinner and soups, plus the four sushi rolls for just over $100.   I felt the prices were in line with the quality and quantity.  The owners are very friendly and easy to talk to.

I give this place 3 points for atmosphere, 5 points for menu selection, 3 points for service, and 4 points for food quality.

We will be back to this little gem, and this time, we will try that authentic menu. 

Spicy Corea in Provo

(See updated review----)

 

After being convinced by our daughters that this was authentic Korean food, we decided to give it a try.  Right up front the restaurant is very unimpressive and seems more like a run down cafe.  The front door step had a loose board, and the front desk had advertising and local newspapers, which did not make us feel that we were in an establishment that was focused on a quality dining experience.

We stood for a bit, passed by the server several times as she was the only one working the front, and was also waiting tables.  Finally we were given a table and had a look at the menu.  The titles of the dishes were in translated Korean with English descriptions.  We ordered the Bulgogi per our daughter's recommendation.  I also ordered the ginger tea.  The waiter appeared to also be the owner, and spoke very broken English.  Much of what we asked about the food he couldn't answer because he didn't understand the question.  This would not ordinarily put us off, but, it was not easy figuring out what to order when we are not familiar with Korean food to start with.  In the end, we muddled through and thought we did a good job.



The food took a very long time to come out, and our drinks took nearly as long.  We were very hungry and thirsty, with nothing on our table for probably a half hour.

Once the tea arrived I was very pleased, it was wonderful, fresh ginger steeped and then sweetened.

The food took around 45 minutes or more, and we were less than impressed.  It was okay, but, not the amazing food we were expecting, and not at all spicy.  We were never checked on, never offered refills, and had to go to the kitchen to ask for our check which took quite a while to get.  Once we had it, we went to the counter to pay.

All I can say is, we were both wishing we had gotten Indian food instead.  I cannot recommend this place, but, as I have not eaten at a Korean restaurant before or since, I can't say that it was or was not authentic or even a good representation of Korean cuisine.  My daughters still love it, so, I guess to each his own.  We won't be going back.

(updated)
I gave this place a second chance, and was pleasantly surprised in some areas, but just as disappointed in others.  The service is still very slow, and the language barrier can still be a problem when asking questions.  The food is much better, even superior to what it was on our first visit.  The prices are still a bit high in my opinion for what you get, but, it's location probably drives the price.

India Palace

I know, I've posted about this place before, but, we just can't get enough of this place, so, here it is again.  Hands down the best Indian food in Provo.  We just love the lamb dishes and the tomato coconut soup.  The lassi's are yummy, and the iced tea has indian spices in it.  You can taste the cardamom.

You can't beat the price, and the quality of the food is excellent.  They are continuing to upgrade the decor, and it's really looking nice.  As this place sits so close to the Nuskin development, the new Provo convention center, and the soon to be Provo Downtown LDS Temple, it is primed to be a busy establishment, so, go while you can get a table without a long wait.  Once all those places are running at the same time, the owners of India Palace might want to consider expanding, perhaps upstairs.  Either way, it's a great location, and a great value without feeling cheap at all.  Love it love it love it.  I give this place a 3 for atmosphere (lose the fake flowers and add in more authentic decor or just leave it without to give it more of an open feel), a 4 for service (sometimes the language barrier can be difficult with the servers), 5 for food quality and menu selection.  This is one of our favorite restaurants, hands down.