Sap's New Menu Additions! 5.10.2112

 So Art and I needed a meet to chat about the books (finishing one, starting another), and the logical choice was at Sap’s Fine Thai Cuisine on Westgate. It’s close to his house and on my way home from work.  We had heard rumblings of new menu items and Sap has hinted that one was going to be unveiled. It turned out to be his sister Prawnee’s amazing mee krob boran. “Boran” means old school, or traditional, and this version of mee krob fits the bill. I have been eating this same mee  krob for a number of years now, always telling Sap that if he went home to Thailand, to be sure and bring back some of his sister’s mee krob. Usually when you get mee krob at a Thai restaurant over here here, it is soaked in syrupy red sauce, like a sticky mountain. This one, on the new specials menu as S-A11, is bursting with flavor from a light syrup made with tamarind and pickled garlic, with very lightly coated crunchy noodles, and crunchy bits of fried dry tofu, and fried dried shrimp for that hint of the sea. Superlative.

We followed that with Num Tok Nuea (S-S3), that Isaan-influenced salad loaded with salty-sour flavor, accented with a kiss of mint and cilantro, and scallion. It’s robust, spicy, and satisfying.





We had to get some Tom Kha Gai soup (S-P11). Sap’s makes the best tom kha soup in town. They don’t scrimp on coconut milk, so it has the richness it requires. It is spicy and tart, rich and luscious, and you can really taste the galangal, like you’re supposed to (“kha” means galangal).





We wanted a noodle, so we opted for an old fave, Guay Teaw Gua Moo (S-F11). It comes with ground pork when I order it, and has that perfect taste from the wok-charred sen yai flat noodles, sprouts, egg, pickled radish, and soy-based sauce. It also comes with a salad, and a sweet sauce for a topping. Then we add a dab of fish sauce with minced Thai chile and lime. Perfect.





Then we ordered a curry, one that had been off the radar and the menu for a while, Keow Wan Pla Grai (S-P27), or green curry with fish balls (balls made of fresh fish paste, not fish testicles). It is rich and spicy like a green curry is want to be, and the fish balls melt in your mouth, with a perfect texture. Delish, and another power-packed meal at Sap’s.

For Sap’s fans, here’s a preview of the NEW MENU ITEMS. (My comments are in parenthesis, mick) I'm not sure when they are appearing, but look for them soon. 

S-A11    Mee Krob Boran
Crispy rice noodle cooked in sweet tangy tamarind & palm sugar sauce with small fried tofu & fried dried shrimp. (The best mee krob I’ve ever eaten...bar none)

S-A12   Gai Yang Som Tum
Papaya salad served w/ Thai BBQ chicken wings and drumsticks (2 wings/2 drumsticks) and sticky rice. (I’ve had this at Thai Day before…fantastic version of grilled chicken!)

S-P52     Kai Pa-Loh
Thai traditional homemade food, a chunk of tender pork and fried tofu with boiled egg cooked in a light brown five spice soup. (Sometimes called parlow, this is rich and silky, and the pork melts in your mouth.)

S-P53     Cie Khrong Moo Ob
Slowly cooked pork spare ribs in Sap’s special sauce w/ yellow onions, tomatoes, black pepper and palm sugar served with rice and spicy chili & garlic sauce (Quite simply some of the best ribs I have ever eaten that weren’t barbecued.For fans of ribs, nirvana.)

DESSERTS
S-D5       Real Thai coconut ice cream
S-D6       Thai Roasted Peanut Ice Cream
S-D7       Strawberry Sorbet
S-D8       Pineapple Sorbet
(The ice creams and sorbets are wonderful. They are using an Emery Thompson batch freezer to make them, which is the best batch freezer machine on the market. This company designed the first batch freezer ever, back in the 1890's, and they produce them in the good ole US of A. It's the only infinite torque, variable speed, adjustable over-run machine on the market, and it makes highly superior ice cream, gelato, and sorbet. The recipes are tested, and the product is homemade and spot-on).
S-D9       Thai Coconut Crème Brulee
(This coconut crème brulee rocks my world. I got to taste some at a party last month, and everyone loved it. Silky, smooth, coconutty, and rich.)

Mick Vann ©