Friday, September 26, 2008

Madam Mam's

Thai and Teddy go together like beans and rice, almond butter b and jelly… Quite some time ago I started my quest for Thai in Austin by trying out the place closet to me- Madam Mam’s. I haven’t heard fantastic reviews to start with but it’s close and I’m lazy.

Most importantly, if you’re vegan or vegetarian you need to talk to them about what has fish sauce and what doesn’t. As with most Thai places, fish sauce is in everything. This isn’t a negative in my book simply because authentic Thai requires those ingredients. It only becomes a problem when you can’t get them removed from your meal.



Moving on, I ordered Panag curry. I don’t want to stay that it was the worst I’ve had but panag curry isn’t usually this soup-like and it lacked the veggies and mounds of basil that I love. The fried tofu was exactly like the pre-fried tofu I could buy in little Saigon back home and I mean exactly. It made me wonder if they get it shipped to the restaurant because they probably don’t make it there. The soup-like curry also tasted too close too the canned version of panag curry I would buy at little Saigon. It was vegan canned curry but it was less than stellar.

Overall, I left feeling like, quite literally, I could have made this myself, which is never how I want to feel leaving a Thai place because I do not consider myself a great Thai chef at all. I’m hoping to try another Thai place soon; one that is rated much better than Madam Mam’s and has been recommended by at least 2 Austinites that I’ve met.

Austin City Limits (ACL) is taking over downtown this weekend. 100’s of fantastic artists will be a stones throw away from my door and I can’t see any of them. Wah wah wah. Haha. Hopefully I can stand in the park and hear some of my favorite bands since I could not afford the tickets this year.

Have a good weekend!
Teddy

1 comment:

urban vegan said...

That fish sauce is annoying, as is shrimp paste in Malaysian food. Lucky for me, most places are happy to leave it out if you ask.