benchmark dishes

[KJS]

For Thai I recommend Tom Yum soup. You can tell quite a bit just by what mushrooms they put it. Crappy canned button mushrooms: boo hoo. It is a simple dish that any Thai chef should have mastered. If it sucks, most everything probably will.

Second: Phad Krapao, which is the fried meat with basil dish. This is the signature wok dish for Thai cooking. It is also very simple and should be made with a minimum of ingredients besides the meat and basil (in Thailand, it is just that plus peppers). If it is good, most things will be, IMO.

I always order these to test the goodness of a Thai place. I also check what veggies they use in general. Places that use a lot of bell peppers and green beans don't do much for me. These ingredients are not used in Thailand and their flavors are not a good match, IMO. Of course, everyone changes their cuisine for the American ingredients and palate but I feel like Thai cooking is so simple and delicious as is that I am very judgmental when a Thai cook chooses to make substitutions or additions of veggies that don't match the sauces they use.

KJS