Thai to Die For

Words and Photographs by Amelia Heymann

I was lucky enough to eat at the very popular Ginger Thai, located in the heart of Carytown. Ever since I came to Richmond, Ginger Thai has been one of the restaurants I have been repeatedly told had amazing food and I absolutely justhadto eat there.

Walking in, the layout of the restaurant is simple enough. Both a slightly larger than small interior and patio make up the restraints’ seating. The patio has a plastic sheet surrounding it, which means you can eat outside even on rainy days or when the bugs come out for summer.

Inside is the generic Thai restaurant motif with lots of reds adorning the furniture and walls, and a couple obligatory Phra Buddha statues for good measure. There is a single TV, but it does not have sound and no one was paying much attention to it.

You are, in fact, allowed to seat yourself. I found this out the hard way after standing in the doorway like an idiot for a minute or so.

Ginger Thai has a rating system for how spicy you would like them to season your food ranging from “mild” to “makes me cry.”

As soon as I sat down I ordered yellow curry with shrimp and a Thai tea.

The first thing I was brought was the Thai tea. It was the sweetest tea I have ever had, rivaling even that of truck stop sweet tea. I think they maybe do this to help balance out the spiciness of their food, but even with the curry I found the sweet flavor to be overwhelming.

I found the yellow curry to be much better in flavoring than the Thai tea. The curry itself was full of thick chunks of potato, carrot and a few other vegetables.

The shrimp in the curry were very large and served plentifully. The dish also came with a large side of rice. While the curry was hotter than I usually eat it, it was still super flavorful. The coconut milk helped tie in all the spices, and gave it a slightly softer tone. The texture of the curry was on the liquid side, but this did not take away from the dish overall.

Pricing is on the moderate side with dinner dishes around fifteen dollars or so. With the way the food tastes and the large portion sizing, I believe the price is well worth the food. For $15.00 I got a bowl of curry, and a generous scoop of rice. Initially the portion does not seem like much food, but I only managed to make it through half the meal before requesting a box.

The service was good, and the wait staff is pretty physically attractive, which also helps. More importantly, though, they are great at their job. When I sat down, the server was quick to take my drink order and made sure my cup was never empty. My favorite part of the service, however, was that the server brought out my food as soon as it had finished cooking. This was evident by the short wait time and the steam rising off the food. Also at the end of your meal, they give you a little candy with your check, which always impresses me because I’m twelve.

If you want quality Thai food in Carytown, Ginger Thai is definitely the place to go. Between the taste, amount of meat in the curry, the quickness of the service and the reasonable pricing, it is a place I am now dying to go back to. I can see why so many people recommended it to me, and now I’m recommending to all my friends.