Mmm...Typhoon

I've always been somewhat ambivalent about Thai food. I've generally found their Tom Yum (I believe this is their lemongrass soup) a bit too sour and not hot enough. The dishes are decent, but not great. Even Pad Thai, the national dish is all right. I'll eat Thai food, enjoy it, but generally not be wow'ed by it like I am with Indian or even Korean from time to time.

That changed yesterday. I was visiting Chadd who lives in the Portland area and teaches at a university nearby. Laura, who also graduated from Maryland with a Ph.D., also came out to this area some years before. She now lives in Portland and recommended a Thai place. We tried a place called Typhoon.

Let me say that it was fantastic. I started off with a lemongrass clam chowder, which is a bit of a fusion thing, and that was quite a good combination of the ordinary (clam chowder) with a twist of really different (the lemongrass).

Then, we ordered three dishes, none of which are really typical Thai dishes. One was called Death by Asparagus which was spicy chicken with asparagus. They claim it took top prize in some asparagus competition. I can't really begin to fathom who the competitors were, and who thought this contest was worth setting up. And, of the three dishes, it was the weakest, but still pretty good.

Then, we had something called Curry Roma which sounds like a fusion thing too, some combination of Italy and Thailand. Indeed, it was basically a ravioli like wrapper with shrimp and stuff inside, with a light green curry on top. Wonderful!

Finally, we wanted to get a noodle dish and opted for the King's Noodle dish. Though not spicy, it had a fantastic flavor. Now, I don't know how authentic any of it is, but even if it's not, I certainly liked everything a lot. Indeed, the appetizers were kinda the weak point and they were tasty too.

Thank goodness they decided not to go for the more punny Thaiphoon which is something other Thai restaurants have done.

On top of that, I had Mirror Pond beer, a local Portland (or Oregon) brew. I am told Portlanders like their beer and wine. It was decently good, as beer goes.

So next time you are in Portland, give it a taste. You won't regret it!