Tale of Two Restaurants: "Thai Patio"

It was not a great week for eating out. The second of the two restaurants I tried was Thai Patio, also along the Greenbelt 5 resto strip. I am always up for good Thai food (one of my favorites) so it was with great hope that we made our way to the restaurant. We ordered fresh spring roll, dory in curry sauce, stir fried chicken and basil, tom yum soup with prawn, and pad thai. As you can see, nothing really extraordinarily difficult nor special, just the basics. That made what was served so disappointing. I have had better fresh spring rolls at Pho Hoa, pad thai at Soms, chicken and basil at People Palace.

The bill was also shockingly high (around P2000 for three persons), moreso given the weak dishes. For these prices, one is infinitely better off at People's Palace.

On a lighter side, we moved from tables to a banquette as we thought that the latter would be more comfortable. We had a good laugh as we were literally falling off the seats (they were two narrow; the table was also too narrow; an obvious attempt to fit two banquettes in a limited space). What made matters worse was that the food came in oversized dishes. It was a puzzle how to fit the food on the long, narrow table. Sadly, this was the highlight of the meal.

Thai cuisine is extremely tricky as it seeks to balance several divergent flavors (sweet, salty, spicy, sour, bitter) into a harmonious whole. For much, much better Thai food, please go to Azuthai along Pasay Road, Soms going to Rockwell, and Benjarong in Hotel Nikko.