Amazing Thai

Nanaimo Daily News
August,  2005
By Goody Niosi

I had a lovely chat with Les Barclay of Amazing Thai the other morning -- it was cool insider (what a relief)&nbbsp; and peaceful  -- an hour before opening for the busy lunchtime crowd.  Les talked to me about the restaurant business, particularly as it applied to Amazing Thai.  It became clear to me as we chatted he is absolutely passionate about his work.

He admitted that was true.  Les and his wife, Nampheung, are both teachers and occasionally Les teaches at the Multicultural Society. What he tells immigrants is, "Do what you love."  He says this is especially important if you are starting your own business.  You will find innumerable challenges and unforeseeable occurances.  What will help you stick through them and continue going is the love of what you do.

Les and Nampheung have stuck with it through the years with Amazing Thai because they love this work.  This is clear to me every time I dine there.  You can feel it in the atmosphere and you can certainly taste it in the delicious and lovingly prepared meals.

One of the challenges that faces the restaurant, says Les, is its popularity.  There's a regular crowd that dines at Amazing Thai at least once and often twice a week. Les tries to add something to the menu every six months so that no one gets bored.  But the menu is now so comprehensive that he can't imagine adding anything else.  And he certainly can't take anything away -- there isn't a single item that isn't popular and there would be a huge uproar.  so now Les said he is trying to keep the "newness" by offering simple new novelty items now and then.  Two of these most recent ones are Cyser Cyder from Merridale, an apple cider laced with wildflower honey that is perfect for spicy or exotic cuisine.  Les told me this beverage has gone over very big at the restaurant.  The other item he is selling is a select variety of Shanghai Emporium Teas  -- this is the excellent tea shop on Commmercial Street that sells an outstanding variety of tea.

Another challenge a restaurant faces is maintaining consistency and predictability, Les said.  When you go to your favourite restaurant you want it to be good every time.  If you go once and the food isn't up to scratch, you probably won't go back.  Luckily,  Amazing Thai passes the consistency test every time.  I know that from personal experience.  The head cook from Thailand has been with the restaurant from the beginning and cooks to Namphueng and Les' exacting standards.  As other cooks come on board, they are meticulously trained to meet those standards.

Les told me that he is the guinea pig.  He tests everything and if it doesn't hit at least 8 points out of 10 it doesn't go on the menu -- and he re-tests constantly.  Les told me he is so picky that his 8 mark would be most others' 10.  So what you know is that everything on the menu is probably a 9 or a 10.

Amazing Thai gets feedback, Les said -- and often it's the feedback that makes the hard work and the long hours worthwhile.  Yes people praise the food and the atmosphere, but sometimes it's the wordless praise that means the most.  When a customer comes back, that's the best feedback of all.  Les told me that people came up from the waterfront one evening for dinner -- visitors from out of town.  They came back for lunch the next day -- that's great feedback!

Amazing Thai is a restaurant that prides itself on rising above the norm and achieving excellence.  Les told me that he tells his multicultural students that they have to go beyond doing what they love to succeed.  They have to rise above mediocrity and achieve excellence.  It's hard work but when you rise above, that's when everything happens for you and people  talk about you and you become successful.  That is what Les and Nampheung have done at Amazing Thai -- they have and continue to achieve excellence in everything they do every day.

I have never had a meal here that wasn't above and beyond the ordinary -- and with service to match.  I cann't help thinking how aptly named this restaurant is -- Amazing Thai is indeed, simply amazing!
 

Nanaimo Daily News
May, 2005
By Goody Niosi

Amazing Thai is the sort of restaurant that simply manages to get everything right.  It was great fun to bring my friend, Jim, who had never been there before.  He'd been meaning to go for some time -- now, as he said to Nampheung as he was leaving, he'll be back -- quite a bit.

What is it that makes Amazing Thai so special?  Well, the atmosphere is cozy, welcoming, intimate and decidedly exotic.  Every time Les and Nampheung come back from a trip to Thailand they bring more local artifacts back.  I love the new benches along the walls covered in Thai fabric and the soft cushions of Thai silk.

But atmosphere and charming service aside, the food is really the star of the show here.  It's absolutely authentic.  And what I truly love is that I can eat until I'm stuffed and I still know that everything is healthy, cooked with loving care and with total attention to freshness and good, healthy ingredients.  And then there's the flavour -- spectacular.

Jim and I started by sharing the special that evening -- Amazing Thai salad rolls stuffed with rice noodles, crispy fried shrimp and coconut and served with spicy peanut dipping sauce.

These were superb!  And that word doesn't do them justice.  The rolls were tender -- not fried -- the fat  shrimp were crunchy, the rice noodles silky and the coconut added a slightly crispy texture.  The flavours played off each other like a good string ensemble and then there was the dipping sauce.  Oh my -- there wasn't even a tiny bit left when we were done -- the essence of peanuts with a hint of spice and a soupson of sweetness to offset any heat.

The menu is beautifully laid out with curries, stir fries and so on -- lots of salads and appetizers.  OOn the menu each dish is rated for heat and most dishes are not hot at all -- just a delightful blend of aromatic Thai spices.  I decided I wanted some pretty serious heat in my main dish so I ordered the red curry with pork.  Jim opted for cod filet in spicy sweet and sour sauce.

The dishes are beautifully presented and the servings are definitely generous.  My red curry lived up to its name.  It came in a deep bowl with the sauce the star element.  It was almost a soup -- but thicker perhaps and containing loads of bit sized pieces of tender pork and potato.  Yes, it was spicy but I did not find the heat overpowering at all.  Thai curries are delicate and allow myriads of flavours to come through.  The coconut milk had a mellowing effect on the curry spices and the Thai basil added a wonderful aromatic flavour.  This is absolutely one of the best things I have eaten in months and even though I ladled most of the broth decorously out of the bowl over rice, I freely admit that I also just ate it from my spoon -- so very, very good.

I can rave just as fully about Jim's cod, which was steamed and served in a perfect sweet and sour sauce with the elements absolutely balanced.  Kudos to the kitchen staff.

For dessert Nampheung presented us with the quintessential Thai dessert:  mangos and sticky rice.  The rice was sweet and slightly warm and sprinkled with sweet mung beans.  The mango was perfectly ripe and artistically sliced -- the cool sweet fruit, contrasting beautifully with the warm, glutinous rice.

Even the dessert made me feel healthy and refreshed.  We ended with green tea and left knowing we had just had a very special meal.  As Jim said, we'll be back.
 
 
 
 

My friend Cindy and I had a marvellous dinner (as usual) at Amazing Thai the other evening.  I don't know how they do it -- this place is always so consistently good!

It's little wonder that Les Barclay is reworking the place to fit in a couple more tables.  He told us he hated turning people away at the door and it happens far too frequently.  One of the things he is doing is putting in benches (sort of like booths) that are enormously comfortable.  I had the distinct pleasure of occupying the first bench he has put in -- covered in beautiful Thai fabric -- classy and comfy!

Amazing Thai now has local Fat Cat beer on tap -- but Cindy and I opted for wine instead even though I know beer goes very well with Thai food.  Selecting from the menu here is always a challenge.  Everything sounds so darn delicious.  We decided to start with Thai spring rolls and garlic prawns.  The spring rolls are one of my all-time favourites.  They come with a delightful chili dipping sauce but Les also brought out some of his famous peanut sauce because its just so good.  In fact, people have been telling him for a while that he should bottle and sell it.  I think they're right.  This sauce is addictive!

The garlic prawns were some of the best prawns I have had  -- nesting on a bed of heaping slivered vegetables!  This was almost too much to be an appetizer but happily we shared.  Cindy remarked that one of the things she loves about Amazing Thai is the abundance of vegetables -- something that makes Thai food so heallthy.  It seems that no matter how much you eat here (and Cindy and I ate a lot)  you come away feeling healthy.

For our main course we chose to share two dishes and a big bowl of rice.  Both dishes were listed as "hot" on the menu -- but hey -- we threw caution to the winds.  We wanted to try something new and who's afraid of hot?

First, because I adore Thai curries, we ordered the Gaeng Normai, which is a stir-fried red curry with bamboo shoots and coconut milk.  Of the meat options, we chose pork.  Our second dish was the Phad Krapao, a Thai basil hot stir-fry with chicken, chili sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and a heap of vegetables including baby corn, broccoli, onions and carrots.  This dish was magnificent  -- delicate nuances of flavours, which despite the "hot" designation, came through beautifully.

Despite the hot caution,  I have to tell you that neither dish was overwhelmingly spiced.  The flavours were fabulous.  The curry with the bamboo was sheer heaven.  In fact, the delicate bamboo could easily be the dieter's substitute for noodles -- much of the same rich flavour and consistency.

We cleaned off both plates without any trouble at all.  I easily rated these dishes a 10 out of 10.  When we were done and Les cleared away our plates, he mentioned that he hoped we had left room for dessert.  Well, of course!

We tried a new (for me) dessert item -- fried ice cream!  Les told me it takes quite a bit of time to prepare this dish.  The ice cream has to freeze very hard, then it is rolled in coconut cookie crumbles, deep frozen again, rolled in coconut cookie crumbles again and after a third freezing it is ready to be deep fried.  This makes the outer coating crisp and hot while leaving the interior creamy and cold.

Definitely try this the next time you are at Amazing Thai.  I can only tell you that the flavour and texture are indeed amazing!

Once again Amazing Thai came through -- on atmosphere, comfort and, of course, totally fabulous food!