Laew phob gan mai kaa (See You Again!), Duangrats
Written: Jul 16 '00 (Updated Jul 16 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: The best I've had in the Washington, DC area to date
Cons: The search is still on.
|
|
|
| forkids's Full Review: Duangrat's |
Year after year this restaurant wins awards and our recent visit to Duangrat’s only confirmed what we’ve already read. This restaurant scores pretty high on my Thai comparison scale. I tend to compare it with a few Thai favorites from overseas and this one is worth a visit.
I picked up my husband at the office and headed down Route 50 toward Bailey’s Crossroads, a melting pot of ethnic cuisine and specialty food markets, we pulled in to the parking lot in back and noted the generous availability of parking. Not a swank part of town but an area surrounded by strip shopping malls and Asian cuisine. Thai food is chosen over Chinese food because it’s lighter and offers more interesting flavors like the basil and lemon grass combinations.
As we made our way past the outdoor front patio, filled with plastic tables, chairs, and green market umbrellas, we shuffled our feet on the long expanse of red carpeting leading up to the door. Our two kids were part of this grand adventure and only confirmed that the restaurant was accommodating but not overly enthusiastic with their attendance. Simply put, it’s not the most child-friendly place I’ve ever been to.
We were quickly seated in the main dining area after making our way past the multitude of framed magazine awards. The walls are covered in pastel purple paint, brightly colored artwork, and dioramas inset into the walls with Thai themes. The tables were covered with white linen tablecloths and cotton napkins and the chairs were padded with floral tapestry fabric. Each table had a vase with a fresh pink orchid inside. We were seated at a velour side booth after contemplating a window banquet table. A view of Leesburg Pike didn’t really thrill me, so our side table seating was nearly perfect.
Our Thai sarong-clad waitress took our drink (sadly, sans alcohol) orders and returned for our enthusiastic appetizer orders. The offerings are quite extensive in the $3.95-$7.95 price range. We agreed to share three things:
• Crispy Crab Wontons – six fried wontons stuffed with crabmeat and shrimp with a sweet chili sauce on the side. ($5.95) Hot and filled with a generous amount of stuffing, I was thrilled though my husband was more enthralled with his soup.
• Tom Yum Soup – though I prefer the Chicken Galangal (chicken in light coconut milk broth with galangal, chili, and a fresh squeeze of lime juice), the chicken in lemon grass broth with roasted chili and lime was full of mushrooms, chicken, and cilantro, too. I would ask for more spice, as I didn’t think the Tom Yum was absolutely perfect. ($3.95)
• Spring Rolls – my kids love these things and they were devoured too quickly. I would order a round for each adult, as the two in the order will disappear immediately. These were served piping hot in a light, crispy wrapper stuffed with pork, bamboo shoots, carrots and Shiitake mushrooms. These could qualify as an all-time favorite. ($3.50)
Service continued to clip along, but not too fast. Our entrée orders came but could have been hotter. I like a steaming hot arrival; my husband had no quibbles. The food was hot but not steaming, big difference. We ventured outside our “Thai Food Favorites” and ordered something from “Our Signatures” a short list of customer favorites.
• Chicken Horapa (a signature dish) was one that would become a favorite if I ordered take-out from here. It just reminded me of a dish that I would develop cravings for. The large slices of chicken breast sauteed in roasted chili paste with horapa basil, served with stir-fried peppered egg noodles were excellent. The egg noodles could be described as vermicelli/angel hair in shape, thinner than spaghetti. The flavors were spicy but worth exploring. ($12.95)
• Panang Chicken one of the dishes we use as a measuring stick. This one lived up to expectations with that teensy bit of sweet. Panang Chicken is chicken with a coconut-peanut curry sauce and tastes best with a side of jasmine rice. I usually ask for two bowls of rice because I really like the sauce and want to accompany every last drip from my other favorite carbohydrate, jasmine rice. ($7.95)
• Pad Thai If a restaurant has excellent Pad Thai, we’ll be back regardless. Duangrat’s has excellent Pad Thai but I’ve one complaint. I abhor dried shrimp. Their Pad Thai has dried shrimp tossed with the mixture of shoestring rice noodles stir-fried with shrimp, egg, ground peanuts, and bean sauce. After finally figuring out where the “fishy” taste was coming from, I removed the remaining dried shrimp and shared this dish with gusto. ($7.95)
While our water was constantly refilled we put in a dessert request for Mango with Sticky Rice. The dreaded shaking of the head followed by, “We don’t have Mango today,” always bums me out. This is one dessert that should not be missed, I only wish I could bring my own mango if they’d supply me with some of that unbelievable sticky rice topped with warm coconut cream, lip-smackin’ good!
This is one of the most extensive menus I’ve ever seen in a Thai restaurant and there are about 12 items offered especially for vegetarians and their seafood entrees could compete with any notable seafood restaurants.
We went without alcohol on this trip but the bar offerings will not disappoint. The bar area is perfect for cocktails and is set up as a separate dining/drinking area in a comfortably eclectic atmosphere. Beer and fruity drinks are my beverages of choice to compliment the spicy food. Wine just doesn’t feel right to quench a thirst from too much of a good thing, chili peppers.
Ah, another good Thai meal. I prefer Thai food to any other Asian cuisine with vegetarian sushi coming in close second. Our tab set us back $50+ with tip but it was surprisingly reasonable for all the food we tried. I’ll be back but my husband is persuading me toward Neisha, just down the street. Maybe it’s because he prefers their Tom Yum soup to Duangrat’s.
Ed and Pookie Duangrat have a good thing going here and have since 1987. Started as a mom and pop Asian grocery it has now turned into an award-winning favorite. Don’t dress up but nice-casual would be a good start. Many business people can be found here at lunch and kids are a rare species, bring crayons, paper, and a snack or two to keep them entertained.
I’m still on my quest for the best Thai restaurant in Washington, but Duangrat’s comes pretty close.
Details
5878 Leesburg Pike, Baileys Crossroads, Virginia 703-820-5775
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Reservations recommended.
Note: Don’t forget to ask for your recipe copies of Duangrat’s Pad Thai and Beef Nam Tok (Thai grilled beef salad) . They’re available inside the menu and as separate copies.
Wow your servers with some Thai phrases:
http://www.thai2.com/basic.html
***********************
Look for other Thai food recommendations across the country in this “Thai Night Dine-Off” brought to you by: Arazim, caconti, Coldsteel7, file13, francesca57, nita, sleestakk, sweeper, and tanster.
The ‘Thai Night Dine-Off can be accessed very simply through the following link:
http://x-off.vjungle.com/.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
forkids
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: The Burbs of Washington, DC
Reviews written: 517
Trusted by: 724 members
About Me:
Taking a long overdue coffee break...back soon.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.