Bangkok Thai Cuisine

As our favorite Thai restaurant in Cleveland, we've returned several times to Bangkok Thai Cuisine in Lyndhurst since our initial visit in 2008 which was spurred on by a recommendation from a coworker from Thailand.

The lighting was subdued so taking photographs here was a bit tricky. My apologies for the funky looking food that do not do the dishes justice.

Decor

Bug has been battling a bug so he wanted to start off with an order of soup. Their tom yum goong has a wonderful piquancy, perfect for how he was feeling; however, he wanted to try something new.

A bowl of zap beef arrived 10 minutes later. Slivers of tender beef were lurking at the bottom. The soup tasted like tom yum. Not being a fan of cilantro and onions, this wasn't exactly to my liking. Bug liked it.

Zap beef

We decided to veer from our regular dishes, aside from our customary pad thai. This did not go unnoticed when our platters of pad thai, ginger beef, and Mango Paradise with chicken arrived and one of the women asked, "No beef basil and mango curry?" We all cackled.

Bug and I took a serving each of pad thai before I remembered to take a picture. I prefer a little bite to my noodles. The noodles tonight were softer than I prefer. Having worked with rice noodles and making westernized pad thai, I realize how difficult it is to keep firm. I enjoy the pad thai here because it is not sharply sweet but has a nice, deep and rounded flavor. I could eat this every day.

Pad thai

Several months ago, we ordered our pad thai "Thai spicy." What a mistake! It wouldn't have been much of a problem if we hadn't ordered everything else the same way. Each bite of each dish with hot rice was hot, hot, hot.

The ginger beef is one of the best representations of ginger. As the headliner, the ginger was in the forefront, but without the harshness that accompanies sliced ginger. I can't wait to return to order this dish again! There is one, or several, really, problem.

Ginger beef

I adore their mango curry, choo chee, and masaman. While I really enjoy these dishes with duck, I order them with chicken because Bug isn't very fond of the oily dark meat and being served meat bone-in.

When I scanned the menu looking for an entree to order, I skimmed over the description of Mango Paradise. All I read was "mango," and didn't pay attention to what it wasn't and ordered it.

Mango Paradise with chicken

When the platter arrived, I was disappointed when a dark sauce arrived instead of a light curry. My mind had wrapped itself around indulging in milky coconut curry only to be met with a tamarind sauce. The flavor grew on me and part way through the meal, I began enjoying this dish. I like tamarind, but the sweet and sharp flavors were not what I expected to eat that evening.

It's so easy to get into a rut, albeit an enjoyable one, ordering the same dishes each time when there is so much to try. If their ginger beef and mango curry didn't taste so good, it wouldn't be so difficult to be a little adventurous.

- Cassaendra

Bangkok Thai Cuisine
5359 Mayfield Rd
Cleveland, OH 44124-2456
Tel: (440) 684-1982