In a very unassuming building on a very unassuming street in New Westminster is Patsara Thai.
Honestly I’m not even sure how I ever found the place. I happen to be walking by on my way to the chocolate shop and found this place completely by accident.
It really doesn’t look like much from the outside does it?
But inside you will find it a comfortable and warm atmosphere that’s very well appointed when you compare it to the outside of the building.
While it is a very nice spot though, we are here for the food.
One thing I have at every Thai restaurant I go to is Crispy Shrimp Wontons. It’s my baseline. Is it weird that every Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to has had crispy shrimp wontons?
These were about as good as they get.
Hot and crispy right out of the fryer, served with a sweet chili sauce. The marinated shrimp had a really beautiful flavor and that crunch is fantastic.
Here we have Tom Yum soup. This is a new dish for me.
When you try new things sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
Well we all lost on this one.
Not only were the prawns overcooked and chewy, the hot and sour soup base didn’t appeal to us at all.
The upfront sour taste was there, but there wasn’t that subtle sweetness you’d expect.
We did win with another new dish to us, Massaman chicken curry.
This curry is a little different than other Thai curries I’ve had.
There’s a warmth from spices in this curry, more similar to Indian curries that the yellow, red and green Thai curries I’m more familiar with. Like the other Thai curries it does have slight sweetness that coconut milk imparts. As is the custom, it is served with Jasmine rice.
Our last dish tonight was Fried rice with chicken.
A very mild flavour, but more flavourful than most Chinese fried rice dishes I’ve had. Lots of yummy vegetables and a good portion of chicken in there. Solid dish. Didn’t blow me away though.
Overall, a very nice meal in a very nice spot, quite unexpected. We will be back for sure.
8/10