Tasty Thursdays: Swimming Rama

I love Thai food. It’s my go-to when I don’t feel like cooking and just want a delicious meal. My litmus test for a good Thai restaurant is yellow curry, and duck curry if it’s available. However, another dish to judge a place by is the quality of their peanut sauce.

David and I just moved to a new neighborhood, and we finally have the time and energy to explore. The other night we decided to check out Lucky Thai. There’s construction around there right now so business seemed a bit slow. Undaunted, we entered a cute little restaurant, got seated at a booth by the window, and checked out the menu.

Typical Thai fare is available, and David of course went for the yellow curry. I was about to get the duck curry but decided to explore, and I’m glad I did. I ordered the swimming rama and phad kee-moa. We got 2 stars for spice level on everything (on a scale of 1-5) and it was perfect; good amount of heat without needing to ask for ice!

Lucky Thai’s Phad Kee-moa

Lucky Thai’s swimming rama and yellow curry

Swimming rama is basically meat on a bed of spinach, with the whole thing covered in peanut sauce. I usually order chicken because the sauce can get heavy. Lucky Thai’s peanut sauce was smooth and thick, not runny or grainy like you get at some other places. It also had just the right blend of sweet and salty. Best peanut sauce I’ve had anywhere — yes, including Thailand!

Phad kee-moa consisted of wide rice noodles with vegetables, mushrooms, choice of meat (beef in our case), and egg. I had never tried the dish before, but I enjoyed Lucky Thai’s version of it. The sauce wasn’t overpowering and it was a dish that almost got better as we ate. The rice noodles were pretty light, and there was a good amount of vegetables and meat.

Unfortunately, Lucky Thai’s yellow curry was blah. The curry was much too runny and the taste wasn’t quite right; it seemed like they hadn’t used enough coconut cream. I do want to note that the carrots in it were nice and crunchy, not mushy — so they put them in right at the perfect time. Still, I’m glad I thought to try other dishes because while I might not try yellow curry there again, I will definitely have their stir fry and noodles, and perhaps the satay if I want more peanut sauce and feel like taking a break from the swimming rama.

How was your week in food? Share your most delicious dining experience on Tasty Thursdays!