abby Posted October 7, 2011 Report Posted October 7, 2011 Ate at Simply Thai today. With some apprehension I might say. As a longtime visitor to Lake Chapala I have seen restaurants come and go, and typically, any changes are usually not for the best. Honestly, I do not know what is wrong with this community. We finally get good restaurants and for whatever reason we eventually stop supporting them and wonder why they close! Anyway, the focus of this article is Simply Thai, not the hard to please, ne'er do well portion of our community. The fears I had were not founded in Simply Thai's case. Jim & Thip have made a smart move with the selection of their new chef and featured entrees. I had the Massaman curry. Delicious, a must try for any curry lover. My partner tried the new fishcake appetizer. Another winner. Congradulations to one of our favorite Lakeside couples!
jkgourmet Posted October 7, 2011 Report Posted October 7, 2011 We have eaten (dine in and take out) at Simply Thai at least 5 times in the last 3 months. And several times last year, too. Everything we have ever ordered has been okay to excellent. We enjoy Simply Thai, consider it one of the prettiest restaurants in Lakeside, and pretty darn consistent. Knowing there was a new chef, we did take out last night, ordering two dishes we have ordered many times and always enjoyed. For the first time, the dishes were different, with added ingredients (like big chunks of red pepper, zucchini and carrot) that did not benefit the dishes, in our opinion. For the first time, the friend rice was dry and not very flavorful. It wasn't bad, but not close to what we enjoyed before. I noticed that the signage in the restaurant explained that there would be "guest chefs" for the next two months, until a new permanent Thai chef arrives. I hope that when we return next year, this new chef brings back the more authentic tasting and delicious dishes we are so fond of. (I suspect the "guest chefs" are Mexican cooks making a sincere attempt to cook Thai food.) I wish I could say that our experience last night had been the same as Abby's (a first time poster who joined minutes prior to making this post).
HelperGuy Posted October 7, 2011 Report Posted October 7, 2011 I try to confine my comments to helping out with computer problems, but I enjoy the Cocina board. So I must say I was a little disheartened that abby's post began with a brief tirade against "this community", and continued with a double-whammy covering the "hard to please" and "ne'er-do-wells". Only then did we get a name-dropping review. I understand Jeanette's reason for adding the comment: "a first time poster who joined minutes prior...". There are so many ways we could be helping in this world; chiding here seems pointless.
ibbocat Posted October 8, 2011 Report Posted October 8, 2011 we also both had the Massaman curry and fish cakes and thought neither was very good. The curry could have come out of a packet with chicken, "just " cooked potatoes and onion thrown in.
Alegria Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 After enjoying the food at Simply Thai many times in the past, we tried it last night with their current "guest chef" and were not very impressed. I ordered the Emerald Chicken Curry and it was nothing like before. Beside the flavor being not as good as it was, there was very little chicken in it. Two of my dining partners had the Massaman curry and said it was "okay" but not great. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the permanent Thai chef to bring this place back to its former excellence.
maryannborman Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 We are frequent diners at Simply Thai and ate there Friday afternoon. We tried the new fish cakes appetiser along with the Mango Salad also sharing our usual appitizer- the fresh spring rolls. The salad was excelent. The fish cakes were good tasting, could have been a little warmer. Our spring rolls were up to their usual excellence. I had my usual vegetarian Pud Thai; the sauce was very good with the sauce a litlle lighter, less spiicy and more moist than usual. Although I did order mild not knowing how heavy handed the new chef was with the chilies. My dinner partner had the Thai fried rice and found it moist and tasty without any greasy taste. This chef passes our "taste test.." I think it will be fun to try the various chefs to see their take on various items on the menue. But looking forward to trying the cooking of their new permanent chef . Thip, who is closely supervising the kitchen during this transition, came over to see how we liked our dishes and asked for input, which we provided. She is very committed to make this transition time a positive experience for her diners. Share your comments with her; I am sure she will listen and be most grateful.
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