Thai Fighters: Population Crisis

I'm slowly beginning to realize that, as Guelph continues to grow, my goal of finding the best Thai restaurant in the city is becoming more difficult and deliciously challenging. It stands to good reason that, as a population increases, so to does the number of dining establishments, and the Thai market proves as no exception to this. At every corner I turn there seems to be something new and inviting to try out; the main problem with this being my pocket book can't always handle it; the silver lining, however, is that my belly certainly can...

Episode 4: Thai Villa Cuisine

So, as the above paragraph surely illustrated, it will be hard for me to touch down in every dining room that opens up, but I will do my very best in reporting back on those in which I do; the most recent of experiences being with Thai Villa Cuisine. As with all recent Thai experiences and experiments, I have held true to my promise of selecting dishes easily comparable and recognizable within this competition; and so Pad Thai had to be ordered.

To keep things a little more interesting, we decided to go for one pork and one chicken variety, the dishes showing themselves within a very agreeable time frame and, even though we opted for the take out, they were presented as though we would be dining in. In addition to the entree choices, we also ordered up a couple of fresh spring rolls, a staple to any Thai meal in my opinion. Now, it is a very rare thing for you to hear me complain that a portion be too large, but when it comes to food, bigger is not always better. I mean this spring roll was the circumference of a pop can, stuffed to the brim with iceberg lettuce and a standard list of other fresh veggies. Perhaps this size offering is what most patrons want for their buck, but, truth be told, I would sacrifice size for flavour and proper proportion any day of the week.

Okay, spring rolls lost some points, it would seem that I'm not starting out on the best foot here; let's move on to the mains...

Dish one: Pork pad Thai

Appearance: looks like pad Thai = Great.

Aroma: smells like pad Thai = Also great.

Portion: lots of noodles, good serving of pork, lots of peanuts, but not many vegetables = Good.

Flavour: tastes a lot like pad Thai but extremely "zesty" for lack of a better word, and far too "North American" for the purposes of this experiment = Pretty good, but not quite great

Dish Two: Chicken Pad Thai*

*see Dish One: Pork Pad Thai, sub the word chicken for pork in the category of portion and you have your description

As I type this out and read back the words that flow, it seems I wasn't all that impressed with what I ordered. Well, truth be told and to give my final verdict: Thai Villa Cuisine gained an overall rating of "good" in my books. I would likely eat there again; there was nothing bad by any means and I would certainly rank it higher than Ben Thanh in the category of authenticity. Where it lost my vote as being great was in the portion control and overall flavour of the dishes; there just wasn't enough of the pad Thai goodness I was expecting, and there certainly wasn't any variation in the profiles of either dishes. Very safe, but, again, certainly not bad.

And so forth I will go, in search of that prefect palate cleansing pad Thai feast I so crave and yearn for. Perhaps one of the future establishments that Guelph surely promises to construct will satiate my craving and put this seemingly never ending battle to rest. Until then, enjoy the finer things, eat and drink the things that make you happy, and always remember to recommend those places you love so dear.

Cheers.

Phil

Thai Villa Cuisine
666 Woolwich Ave.
Guelph, ON N1H 7G5
(519) 822-5346