Sushi Siam - not a Sammy Sushi

Continuing the reviews of restaurants I visited 4 months ago, that may not even be around...

My mom and I tried Sushi Siam, a Thai / Sushi place recently opened next to the Target in the new Washingtonian Plaza. Funnily enough, she had described it to me as a sushi place (well, it does have sushi in the title), but never having been there before, wasn't aware that it also served Thai food. (This is what happens when you don't pay attention in geography class, kids. Maybe I should start speaking broken French when we go get pho next time?)

Anyway, we started out with some deep fried tofu, because my mom likes it, but it was bland for my tastes. (agedashi tofu, this was not) I also didn't particularly care for the sauce, which was some sort of spicy nutty sauce (but very different than a chicken satay dipping sauce.

Not being quite in the mood for sushi, but being somewhat in the mood for greasy Thai noodles, I ordered the pad see ew. Overall, I think this is a safer bet than pad thai, since each restaurant does pad thai a little differently with different toppings. Personally, I'm not a fan of uncooked mung beans, but a bit of chopped peanuts and shredded carrots can really bring out the dish. Regardless, I am always pleased when Thai restaurants do NOT use chinese broccoli, but instead use plain old broccoli. This dish turned out pretty well, if a little greasy. I would say the balance of egg to broccoli to meat to noodle came out very well. I like veggies, but it didn't feel like they were skimping out on meat or anything either. The sweetness was also pretty well-balanced with the saltiness. Overall, I would say this was just a really well-balanced pad see ew.


My mom tried the sashimi sampler. Nothing spectacular there. Plating was also mediocre, but then again, it was pretty cheap, so what do you expect. It's a sign when even the sashimi comes with the pinkish ginger instead of the pale yellow ginger. (which is far superior. Much stronger flavor and crunch. I have a story about the ginger at Sammy's, but that should go in a later revisit post to Sammy Sushi.)


Overall, well-balanced Thai place trying to cash in on the sushi fad, but can you really blame them? Still, miles better than Tara Thai. (not the same as Thai by Tara. I still wouldn't go to either one.)

Sushi Siam
31 Grand Corner Ave
Gaithersburg MD 20878
(301) 417-0005

Yum Yum 3 or (Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum)

These restaurant posts are no longer in chronological order, but what do you care? They're 2 months late anyway!

So I was in NYC and called up some friends to have lunch. Due to various miscommunications, sicknesses, etc., it ended up being a cozy lunch with two Techer friends, E and Y. Luckily, Y. knew his way around and took us to Yum Yum 3.

It made us wonder about the status of Yum Yum 1 and Yum Yum 2. *shrug*

Anyway, we got the lunch special, which consisted of a choice of soup, an entree, and a dessert or drink.

I went with the Thai Iced Tea

the coconut soup (Tom Kha Gai?):

and the Spicy Basil Noodle:

while E had the Pad Thai:

and Y had some sort of spicy stir-fried chicken with green beans (Pad Prik King?):

The food was okay: the Thai Iced Tea was very sweet: much sweeter than I am used to, so it was a bit surprising at first. I gradually got used to it, since I don't have any particular aversion to sweet drinks while dining. (Probably the ice melting helped to dilute the sweetness a bit.)
The coconut soup was rather sour for my tastes. It masked any flavor that might have been apparent in the broth. For this type of light soup, I think there should be a strong broth flavor with subtle hints of other flavorings (maybe lemongrass, leek, etc.), and then any flavorful component should be a solid object, like the mushroom or chicken.
The noodles were good. It wasn't overly greasy, and I am a big fan of spiciness, basil, and broccoli (either separate or combined).

Overall, I would say this is a decent place for a quick and cheap Thai meal, although one would think it rather upscale from the plating. However, the flavors, as a whole seem rather muted; neither the in-your-face goodness of homestyle cooking but not the fanciful combinations of a high-end place. It felt very much like some sort of Americanized Thai food, though the chef apparently was born in Thailand (but emigrated here at 20).

Anyway, I don't remember the exact price of the lunch special, somewhere in the $6.95 ballpark. I think you can get a pretty good indication of the restaurant by the last line in the "Story of us" page on their website: "Our special is a five-course prix-fixe meal for $13.95."

Apparently those five courses (dinner, of course) are:
Soup
Spring Roll
Salad
Entree
Dessert

I wouldn't exactly call that a prix-fixe so much as the dinner special, but hey, whatever floats your boat. I should suggest to Sammy that he call his bento a seven-course prix-fixe:

1. entree
2. california roll
3. miso
4. rice
5. tempura
6. salad
7. ginger

Yum Yum 3 Thai & Vietnamese Restaurant
658 9th Avenue (corner of 9th and 46th)
New York, NY 10036