Pad Mee Ka Ti

So nice to go to a restaurant and be able to order anything off the menu. Well, kind of… since I’m trying new things I guess all my favourite dishes are out.

Bummer, I’m really craving thick broad stir-fried rice noodle – like lard na and pad see ew – but all the dishes that are listed as having the broad noodles I’ve tried before. Because I love broad noodles.

The waiter comes. Perhaps they can exchange… “Can you do the pad mee ka ti with broad fat rice noodles?”

He pauses. “Yes…” Screws up his face. “But no good. Taste bad.”

Huh. Can’t argue with that. “Okay, regular pad mee ka ti please.”

Fingers crossed my stomach will enjoy it even if it isn’t pad see ew!

Here’s the food… and it looks good!

Three piles of raw veggies (grated carrot, bean sprouts, purple cabbage) next to a huge pile of rice vermicelli noodles in a creamy orange-tan sauce. In with the noodles are little bits of faux pork mince and tiny pieces of firm tofu. On top, almost like an ironic garnish, are a few large pieces of faux beef, crispy and fried.

It smells… almost like peanuts… or maybe I’m really thinking it smells like pad thai and I know pad thai has peanuts… there’s a sweet scent in the air, perhaps it’s sugar and tamarind I can sense.

Get my fork in… hmm, the sauce is so thick with coconut cream that the noodles group together determinedly. I’ll just have to lift a whole chunk and take a bite.

Wow! It’s richly sweet with the coconut and whatever other magic is in there. The little bits of tofu add some substance while the pretend pork mince needs just a little chew before it releases a great savory counter-note to the sauce. And the ‘beef’ chunks… yum! Great!

It really does remind me or peanuts or cashews or some other nut, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any in the dish. It must just be the coconut cream. I normally cook just with the milk so I may not be accustomed. Or its some mystery herb that I don’t know. But it’s tasty!

Totally different to stir-fried broad noodles, of course. This is sticky, almost cloying in its thickness, where most Thai sauces are light or spicy, the noodles smokey.

No complaints from my stomach though!

Rating:

Specifics: Pad mee ka ti from Green Palace Thai Vegetarian, Newtown