Thai Gallery 泰廊餐厅, Shanghai
Thai Gallery features gray dark bauhaus decor with Thai influences, like other upscale Shanghai contemporaries; Lan Na Thai, Simply Thai, and Coconut Paradise. Located in the Jingan district, Thai Gallery’s interior out-shined their offering.
Our large group had a semi private space with floor seating. It was a nice set up with lots of big pillows and a wood seat back supporter. I could imagine my harem feeding me grapes, pad thai, and finger foods in this cushy room.
The vegetable stir fry dish with cucumbers and red peppers was tart and sour. It was a good contrast to the bold curry flavors. But the vegetable dish was a bit similar to the coconut soup with shrimp. With flavor profiles with almost the same spices, it didn’t taste any different. Sour is flavor that Americans don’t always crave when having a meal. The taste of sour is usually related to desserts and drinks, rather than entrees. The variety of tastes that Thai cuisine feature, along with the abundance of seafood, makes it quite popular in China. The spicy and sour Thai soups, are some of my favorite dishes.
Next up, we had the slice pork. My only issue was that it came with so few portions – I think double or triple the amount would have been sufficient. The satay chicken on skewers was nice, but a bit dry. Next we had a seafood soup with large shrimp over a hot candle. This mouth watering sour offering, was probably the best of the night. The large shrimp in the spicy sour broth was exceptional. With the texture of the shrimp in the soup, It seemed like a party in my mouth. Next we had minced pork, with lettuce, for a DIY wrap. Like 生菜包, this dish differed with the seasoned and spicy pork. It was one of the better dishes. We had a roasted chicken and steamed ginger fish that was nothing to write home about. They were standard as we they should be.
To finish everything off, as Chinese restaurants do, we were served the fried rice and the pad thai noodles – to fill our bellies. Wrapped in a thin egg pancake skin, the pad thai noodle, were a treat just to look at. The fried rice, presented in a web like covering, tasted pretty good, as well. Restaurants ought to do the simples things great and the great things simple.
Based on the amount of seafood, I would have assume that this was more Southern Thai. But the curries suggest that this might be more of a Northern style. Maybe a little of both. Anyways … I think Thai Gallery is a nice date place as well, with the dark hues and intimate setting.
I need to thank Mr. B for allowing me to use his Leica D-Lux 4.
What to Order: The Seafood Spicy Sour Soup What not to Order: Coconut Curry
Rating 1 Pigs Price Range 2 $/¥/NT
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