Siam Square- Revisit

We have been wanting to go back to Siam Square since our first visit for lunch several months ago.  We headed over there for dinner the other night to explore the menu a little deeper.  For lunch they have nice selections, but the regular menu is much larger than the lunch selections (although you can order off the regular menu anytime I think, it is just more expensive).  And they have beer and wine as well.

We wanted to get an appetizer and I was first drawn to the veggie tempura because it included broccoli and eggplant, two of my favorite veggies to be deep fried, but which you rarely see on a menu as a tempura selection—at least around here.  But then as we looked further, and I saw my favorite eggplant stir fry dish as a dinner option, we veered away from getting eggplant in two courses.  We shifted to the seafood tempura instead which included calamari, shrimp and broccoli.  The shrimp was quite good and I was impressed at the size and quality of it.  They weren’t overcooked and the tempura was light.  I also really liked the broccoli—the florets were cut into just the right size that the broccoli was cooked through, but not too much (although there were only two pieces of broccoli).  The calamari was the most disappointing part of this dish (and was unfortunately the most plentiful as well).  It suffered from the all too frequent problem of being overcooked and thus, rubbery.  I really like the Thai sauce provided with fried food, which I believe is made with vinegar, chili sauce and a bit of sugar. Slightly sweet, slightly tangy and slightly hot.

As I mentioned, for my main dish, I ordered the stir fried eggplant with chicken (you can choose your meat).  It was stir fried with red bell peppers, basil and onions.  As for my spice level, I ordered it medium.  This dish was really good.  The ingredients are super fresh and perfectly cooked.  The eggplant was cut into large slices and the chicken was all white meat, sliced thinly, and not overcooked.  This is one of my favorite dishes and this is one of the best versions of it I have had in Indy (the other probably being Jasmine).  It was nice and spicy and I would say properly “medium” as far as I was concerned.

Hubby ordered the chicken Pad Thai which is thin rice noodles that are quickly fried with egg, scallions, bean sprouts and a little pile of crushed peanuts to the side of the dish.  This is kind of a classic Thai dish, and I really liked this version of it, even though there seemed to be perhaps more noodles than anything else.  The bean sprouts were mixed in with the noodles and gave a nice crunch among the softness of the noodles. I like the way the bean sprouts are similar in size but surprise you with the little fresh crispy bites.  I liked the peanuts sprinkled on top as well for the same reason (texture variation) as well as for a little nutty flavor.  Hubby isn’t as big a fan of the nuts on top (and was happy they were to the side), and overall preferred my dish to his (and preferred his Pad Seuw from the first time as well). 

We also had a dessert which was really good—it was called Roti Rolls and was pastry (they call it flatbread), topped in cream sauce and sugar and rolled up.  It was light and flaky and quite delicious.  Normally I am not a huge fan of desserts at Asian restaurants, but this was yummy—and certainly enough to share.  Hubby claimed it was his favorite part of the meal.

The service started out efficient and friendly, but as the place filled up, it took a bit of a turn.  We waited awhile for drinks and quite awhile for our dessert to be served (it was eventually served by one of the hostesses).  Most of the beer and wine appears to be kept in the basement too, so it meant a bit of a delay when something to drink was ordered. 

Although I still think Siam Square is my favorite Thai place in Indy, I think hubby is slightly less convinced.  And you guys have been giving me some good ideas for new Thai places to try—I am going to have to get out there and see.  And if you haven’t already told me (or even if you have), will you let me know what are your faves? 

Siam Square
936 Virginia Ave
Indy 46203
317/636-8424
http://www.siamsquareindy.com/