Spice Up Your Life with Thai Food in Metro D

By: Toni Cunningham | June 14, 2013
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I’m not sure what I was doing for the first two decades of my existence, but finally at the age of 22, I wised up and tried Thai food for the first time. Had I made this discovery earlier in life, I guarantee there would’ve been a few brighter days.

Learn from my error, folks. If you’ve yet to submit your tastebuds to Thai food, stop whatever you’re doing and book it to one of several delicious Thai restaurants Metro Detroit has to offer. All of the following serve Thai staples like Pad Thai, fried rice, noodles, etc., but they’ve each got some tasty and delicious specialties as well:

Sy Thai Café, 315 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, serves all of its dishes according to the following spice scale: no spice, mild, medium, hot and extra hot. Personally, I order one level down from what I think I can handle, which is generally a good rule of thumb. Sy’s house specialties include Beef a la Thai, which is topped with dry chili pepper and bell pepper and prepared in a teriyaki sauce with tomatoes.

Siam Square, 3750 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, is located inside the Victory Inn Hotel and is open everyday except Mondays. The menu features over 20 house specialties, including Siam Shrimp (wrapped in potatoes and deep fried in ginger sauce), Chili Crab (stir fried in chili sauce with ginger, cashew nuts and dry chilis), and Sizzling Beef (marinated in a specialty sauce). All house specialty dishes are served with steamed white rice.

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Café Thai, 28647 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield, serves all specialty entrees with your choice of chicken, beef, pork, tofu, vegetables, shrimp, scallops, squid or crabmeat. Add any to Pad Normai (bamboo shoots, green onion and mushroom), Kow Pode (baby corn, green onion, mushroom, napa cabbage and pea pods) or Kra Pow (basil, bell peppers and onion). Before you dine in or carry out, be sure to visit the website to snag a 10 percent off coupon!

Bangkok 96, 2450 S. Telegraph Rd., Dearborn, features a menu full of Bangkok Specialties, including Three’s Company (bamboo shoots, carrots, pea pods, baby corn, mushrooms, and your choice of chicken, beef or shrimp), Bangkok 96 BBQ Wings, and Gang Pha (curry soup with string beans, baby corn, bamboo shoots and eggplant with chicken, beef, pork or shrimp). Keep in mind; the restaurant is closed on Sundays.

Thai Bistro, 45620 Ford Rd., Canton, has several Chef’s Specials on its menu, including Thai Barbecued Chicken, Spicy Crispy Fish (with your choice of halibut or red snapper), Barbecued Whiskey Beef, Stir-Fried Roasted Duck and more. Heed the warning printed on the menu: extra hot is really for “seasoned professionals only!”

Bangkok Crossing, 620 Woodward Ave., Detroit, features several Thai specialties, including Pad Kee Mao (chicken stir-fried with fresh basil and bell pepper), Thai Steak (grilled marinated beef served over stir-fried veggies), and Bangkok Chicken (lightly breaded chicken coated with sweet and sour sauce). There’s a secondary location in Lake Orion, too.

If you’re new to Thai food, I recommend opting for something mild with familiar ingredients. Once you get an idea of what you’re in for, feel free to get more adventurous. Enjoy!

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