I had lunch at Soi 38 with my friend/survey research idol Nancy on 4-21-2017. I don’t know how I’d never been here before given its proximity to both my old and new offices. Between the beautiful decor and delicious food, though, I will certainly make up for that in the future.
Atmosphere: 5 out of 5
Food & Drink: 4 out of 5
The space is stunning. There are big, beautiful murals, sumptuous velvet and leather seating, and the most amazing light fixtures in the bar area (below).
And here is the main dining room. That is not a happy elephant.
The menu was extensive and the dishes rather large. We ordered a salad plus two entrees and took some of each home.
Let me tell you, the leftovers did not last long.
Yum goong fu (fried chopped shrimp, roasted cashews, red onions, lime, chili, julienned mango). How bright and rereshing does this look? It tasted great as well. The shrimp may have been chopped but the batter resulted in pretty big crispy chunks. The dressing had a strong lime and vinegar flavor, with a hint of fish sauce, and finished with a nice spicy bite. The cashews were a fun touch with a great flavor.
Kua kling (southern style dried curry of Thailand, ground pork, fresh chili, lemongrass, garlic). I had never had dry curry before and it was SO good. You could definitely taste cumin and lemongrass but it was really well balanced. It was also quite spicy: Nancy even described it as “kickin'” with which I completely agree with.
Kanom jeen (steamed noodles, spicy chicken green curry, bamboo shoots, eggplant, chili). This was basically the best green curry I’ve ever had. I sometimes order it elsewhere with noodles instead of rice so the automatic inclusion of the former was a treat. It was spicy, though much less so than the kua kling. I would definitely recommend this to everyone, especially to folks who like to compare Thai restaurants based on a standard dish.
Overall this was a tasty, pleasant meal. Given it’s location downtown I’m curious what kind of dinner crowd it gets but at lunchtime the restaurant filled up fast. It’s easy to see why.
MissionMichelin 