When it comes to ethnic cuisines, I usually like trying new things from around the world. Of course, most are “Americanized” to some degree, but as long as it retains some ethnic qualities, tastes good, and I actually know what’s in it (I don’t have the stomach of Andrew Zimmerman, after all), I’m usually game for trying something new.
So was the case last week when I got my first sampling of Thai cuisine. Having heard that Thai is similar to Chinese (of which I’m a big fan), I was glad to give Thai Orchid Café in Williamsville a try.
The Café is in the Evanstown Plaza on Evans Street, not far from Main Street (NY RTE. 5). Evanstown really is a fitting plaza for this café, as it sports a variety of other international eateries including Chinese, pizza (American? Italian?), Indian, and Canadian (Tim Horton’s—ok, so I’m semi-joking on that one).
The Café is small, but very clean and elegantly appointed with Oriental décor and plenty of real (yes, I checked them) purple orchid blooms. The lunchtime crowd was of a good size for a smaller place, but we didn’t wait at all for table. The lunch menu was reasonably priced, with an average cost of $8.00 per entrée.
Service was very prompt, and water glasses were given to us automatically, before we even ordered beverages—find a restaurant that still does that. Throughout the meal, an Oriental gentleman (who I believe is the owner) personally refilled our water glasses on several occasions, and even bowed to us (keeping with Thai tradition, no doubt) upon our exit.
An appetizer is included with each lunch. The day we visited there was a choice between tom yum soup with lemongrass or a spring roll. I opted for the later, the companion chose soup. My spring roll was stuffed with vegetables and was served very hot with sweet and sour sauce for dipping. Unfortunately, it was dripping, and I mean dripping, with oil. The soup was a little better, garnished with mushrooms and scallions and served in authentic Oriental tableware. It was hot, mildly spicy, and had the distinct sweet, herbal taste of lemongrass. All in all, this was a nice way to start the meal.
We both chose vegetable stir fry for the main entrée. As with most lunches, it comes with your choice of several meats, shrimp, scallops, or tofu. I got the scallops, the companion chicken. The stir fry arrived loaded with vegetables including bok choy, celery, shitake (I believe) mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, and peppers—all fresh, and cooked to crisp-tender. Sea scallops are something that I cannot do right at home. I’ve tried, and I’d be better off just barbequing a Pink Pearl eraser. However, at Thai Orchid, the cook knows how to do scallops right. The jumbo shellfish in my stir fry were not at all rubbery, and had a buttery flavor. A mountain of sweet, nutty jasmine rice adorned the north corner of the plate, and all was drizzled in a sweet and savory, but not overpowering, stir-fry sauce. Judging from his response, I’d say my dining companion enjoyed the dish served with chicken just as well.
Thai Orchid Café also offers Vietnamese dishes and an extensive dinner menu. Dinner prices are also quite reasonable. The café is open at 11am daily and has a website with directions at www.thaiorchidbuffalo.com. While the eye candy is appealing, the website needs to have more information; a menu would be a good place to start.
Overall, I would definitely do Thai again; Thai Orchid was an enjoyable lunchtime experience.
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