YUM YUM THAI

Want Thai, but you have a class in 30 minutes?

One block from SCC is the Yum Yum Thai restaurant. It won’t knock your socks off with new and surprising flavors, but it will fill your stomach with something more than your Red Bull and Cliff Bar. Upon entering the restaurant, I quickly noted the overwhelming smells of spicy beef and peanut sauce. My stomach was already pleading for a taste.

I started out with calamari. I was unimpressed, to say the least. It was overcooked and took a solid minute to chew. However letting it bathe in the sweet chili sauce made it edible. I topped off my crisp calamari with a Thai iced coffee. If you like sweet coffee, this is a great choice.

Things started to look up when the entrees arrived. The Massaman curry looked like old stew, but tasted like a fresh peanut safari with chunks of perfectly cooked beef flying at you. There was a one-to-five-star spice system, and being a spice fan I went with three. I found the dish not spicy at all.

I was glad to note the curry wasn’t greasy, which is a common issue with

Massaman. The rice with the curry was dry, but mixed into the curry tasted fine.

Next up was chicken pad Thai. This was my favorite dish; it had all the right flavors in all the right places. It was spicy and fresh.

Much to my approval, the chicken was thin but juicy. The peanut crumbs on top gave the dish an amazing crunch that offset the constant mushy noodle texture.

Lastly was the chicken fried rice. This dish had the best display. All the fresh colors of red, green and yellow made the dish glow. The only turnoff here was how the largely cut tomato chunks became soggy, forcing me to pick my way around the dish.

All in all, Yum Yum Thai is the poster child of Americanized Thai restaurants. If you know Thai food, don’t arrive expecting great spice and fish sauce. Instead, prepare for mildly adequate versions of non original dishes.

By Carl Hess,
Staff Writter