Simul Parikh Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 On 8/6/2014 at 4:00 PM, jca76 said: I had a really disappointing meal with three friends at Thai X-ing last night. I'd been a fan from multiple previous meals, but hadn't been back in over a year. It's nice that the reservation system has evolved from leaving a voicemail to online reservations, and BYOB is great, but I didn't find much else to recommend. I was fine dealing with inattentive service and cramped dining rooms -- our drop leaf table for four was so small that we were all sitting with a table leg between our legs -- when the food was excellent, but this meal didn't provide sufficient consolation. Everything was much more bland and less spicy than I remembered. The vegetable soup starter barely tasted Thai; it mostly tasted of mushy celery and potatoes, with some ginger. Salmon was somewhat dry and coated in a very sweet sauce. The pumpkin in the curry that I'd loved on every prior visit was just okay, and the pumpkin itself wasn't cooked at soft as I would have preferred. The green papaya salad and pad see ew were the best dishes, but even they didn't taste out of the ordinary, like what you could get delivered from a decent local Thai place. I don't know if this was an off night or it's really gone downhill, but I'm unlikely to go back to find out. I'd rather keep returning to Little Serow, which provides excellent service, a great beverage program, and fantastic, more interesting food at a price comparable to Thai X-ing's large group/weekend pricing. Totally agree. The first time I went it was amazing, and then a few years later it didn't hold a candle to Little Serow. Which is actually equivalent to a little place in the burbs called Bangkok Golden at a lower price and you can pick the items you want... Sorry, I love both. But little Serow is talked about in mythic ways in the media and I don't know anyone that has tried both and felt that Bangkok golden wasn't equivalent ... --- [The following posts have been split into separate threads: Khao Soi (Issan-Style) (anhdeluxe)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 Totally agree. The first time I went it was amazing, and then a few years later it didn't hold a candle to Little Serow. Which is actually equivalent to a little place in the burbs called Bangkok Golden at a lower price and you can pick the items you want... Sorry, I love both. But little Serow is talked about in mythic ways in the media and I don't know anyone that has tried both and felt that Bangkok golden wasn't equivalent ... It's *very* hard to compare Little Serow and Bangkok Golden, and you almost have to set out to do it, in order to do it. Maybe I'll do a multi-night back-and-forth one of these weeks, and really dig deeply into this important issue. (Well, it's important to me!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jca76 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 I was just talking to friends last night about how we want to go back to Bangkok Golden! I've only been once, but we really enjoyed it. (Although to our utter shame we had to ask them to scale back the spice on our second round of dishes, and we'd only originally requested the mid-level "Thai spicy." I shudder to think of what Lao spicy is like.) It hadn't occured to me to think of them as direct comparators -- there just wasn't nearly enough overlap between LS's menus and the dishes that we tried at BG, and atmospherically they are so different. LS's (and Komi's -- Bill is a great asset) excellent pairings (house-made vermouth, beer, interesting wines, etc.) are in a league of their own and a big part of my enjoyment of meals there; a bottle of beer or a Thai iced tea isn't even playing the same sport. However, I like the idea now of trying to pick out the equivalent dishes to test them more directly against each other. (And is it just me, or is Little Serow a bit less spicy these days? Not particularly complaining, just noting.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simul Parikh Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Yeah - the beer/wine selection is no contest. And the atmosphere is better at LS. But, I think the food is almost equivalent. Really hard to do comparison because you don't get to make a selection at LS, which is fine, b/c the menu is always fantastic. LS last time I went (last month) was pretty spicy for the first few dishes and then it mellowed. That's how I tend to order at BG, b/c the hot is so hot, and then afterwards I need it medium/Thai. For food costs alone, a group of 4 would have $190 to spend at BG. You could have so many dishes there, and the quality is high... It's a tough call. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSRoute1 Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 We were just at BG last night. We ordered 6 dishes for 3 people and our bill came to $66 before tip and drinks. I know both restaurants are doing extremely well. It was full by 7:30PM on a Monday night at BG. I wouldn't say they are competitors as competitors suggest they are competing for the same customers. All of my Thai and Lao friends love BG and go there quite frequently. Most have been to LS once. It's not that the food is not authentic. It's everything else. The 6-7 course fixed menu, price tag, long line, and parking in DC. I love BG because it's a restaurant that I can eat more frequently. The food is excellent. Opinions will differ, but I do like the food at BG a little more than LS. The price is great, and they are taking reservations again. With LS, I feel a little more stressed with the long lines and the price tag. I know $45 for food before tax and tip and drinks is a bargain for a night out in DC, but it's not something I can do casually and frequently. Last I was at LS, my part came to about $75 with two drinks and tax before tip with a 90 minute wait for a table. Last night, I spent $35 for six courses to share and two beers with a reservation at 7PM. We even had food to take home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithA Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Where is Bangkok Garden? How different is it than your typical Thai place - different regional food? better quality? or just more heat? I'm all for better quality and different/less common international cuisine, but I could care less if I get the "authentic" level of heat. So many chiliheads out there are desperate for super heat that I find just burns and masks all of the other flavors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenticket Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Bangkok Golden is in Seven Corners. All (or most) of the answers to your questions can be found in the Bangkok Golden thread. It has a typical Thai menu, as well as one that is dedicated to Laotian/Northern Thai dishes, and a 'secret' menu that Fishinnards was kind enough to translate, though I think the restaurant now has an English version available. --- Cambodian Cuisine (kitkatpaddywak) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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