What is Thai Food?

"Thai food" represents the majority of the dishes on the menu at Thai Evergreen, but what exactly is Thai food? Here's some info from around the Internet:

From Cuisinenet.com we read:

Americans usually don't realize that rice is the main course, not the side dish -- curries and other hot dishes are eaten by the Thai more as sauces than entrees, flavoring the cool rice. Meat is very expensive, and beef- or pork-based recipes often call for much less meat than would satisfy the average American carnivore. It is worth noting that the Thai eat with a spoon, fork and knife.

How true! When I was in Thailand we ate a lot of "khao" (rice) and only a little "gup" (short for "gup khao", which was the rest of the meal that went on the rice). Also, I was taught to hold a fork in my left and and use the back of the tines to push the food into the spoon (held in my right hand) and to eat in said manner. Chopsticks were rarely used!

About.com has some great info on the background of Thai food that includes the following:

Thai cuisine is also heavily influenced by Indian spices and flavours, which is evident in its famous green, red, and yellow curries. However, it would be nearly impossible to confuse an Indian curry with one from Thailand. Although Thai curry incorporates many Indian spices in its pastes, it still manages to maintain its own unique flavour with the addition of local spices and ingredients, such as Thai holy basil, lemongrass, and galangal (Thai ginger).

Personally, I'm not a fan of Indian curries, while I really enjoy Thai curries! If you haven't tried curry Thai-style, be sure to ask your food server about the spiciness of each dish. No reason to burn the house down with your first taste!

Finally, a word about a dessert treat that I thought I would never taste again outside of Thailand, but can be found seasonally on Thai Evergreen's menu: Mango on Sticky Rice. Sweet sticky rice (credit the coconut milk) and juicy, ripe mango are served primarily in the Thai "hot" season of April and May and is an amazing dish.

Of course, there is a lot more about Thai food that I'll cover in the future, as well as some of the Japanese and Chinese dishes that you can order at Thai Evergreen Oriental Noodle House.

Thai Evergreen Joins The Chamber!

Due to the positive experiences that Thavone Mymala (owner and operator of Thai Evergreen) had with the Provo Orem Chamber of Commerce while he was the owner/operator of another Thai restaurant in the area some years ago, he gladly joined the Chamber again before he even opened his doors for business.

A wonderful Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Celebration was held and a good number of Chamber members attended the event. Thavone laid out a spread of delicious Thai, Japanese, & Chinese dishes for Chamber members to sample and all who attended had a wonderful time.

Anna Rose Johnson, PR Director for the Provo Orem Chamber of Commerce, wrote a nice article about Thai Evergreen that can be found on the Chamber's website. Here's an excerpt from that article in the March 2008 Insider:

The recipes used to create the delicious dishes at Thai Evergreen came from Thavone’s mother, a chef in Laos who passed her talent and passion for cooking onto her son. She loved to share her recipes and her culture. Some of the authentic Thai dishes served at Thai Evergreen include: Massanman Curry, medium spicy massaman curry with coconut milk, onion, potatoes, carrots, peanuts and roasted cashew nuts; Pad Thai, rice noodle stir-friend with meat, egg, green onions, bean sprouts and served with lime and roasted peanuts; and Orange Chicken, a deep-fried chicken meatball crisply topped with orange sauce.

Anna Rose was kind enough to send us some photos she took at the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting celebration:



Thai Evergreen thanks the Provo Orem Chamber of Commerce and is proud to be a member of this fine community organization!

Daily Herald Review March 6, 2008

The Daily Herald published a short review on Thai Evergreen on March 6, 2008:

Thai Evergreen

This small restaurant breaks the cheap-o strip-mall stereotype by serving respectable Thai food. The food is still inexpensive, but we loved the Massanman Curry and the Pad Siew noodles. Our service was speedy and courteous.

Thai Evergreen serves a few noodle dishes and several entrees, most around $7 each. They come with rice and are large enough to stuff almost anyone. As an appetizer, we liked the Vegetable Tempura.

Curious types will enjoy the tamarind-flavored candies that come out with the check. They're sweet and sour -- quite unlike dinner mints or any other candy for that matter.

-- 1360 S. Sandhill Rd., Orem, 221-3765

Click on the thumbnails below to see a couple of photos showing the Orange Chicken and Chef Curry dishes.

An Uncommonly Good Oriental Noodle House

Sawad dee and welcome to the Thai Evergreen's blog! We're located at 1360 S. Sandhill Road in Orem, Utah (across the street from Wal-mart) and we boldly make the claim of being the best Thai Food restaurant in the area!

Ours is a family run business and the third Thai Food restaurant that we've operated. Our food is delicious and affordable and we have a broad variety of tastes and spiciness to please everyone's palate.

Our hours are 11:00 AM to 10 PM Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday. Call us for information or to order take out at 801-221-3765 or fax your order to 801-221-8209.