I'm not a fan of Chinese food because its dishes are often deep-fried, greasy, and/or use exorbitant amount of MSG. Although some may argue that Thai food is similar to Chinese food, I disagree because the former has special spice and flavors not found in the latter cuisine.
On Monday I had lunch with another fellow intern from Chosun Ilbo. She was my "partner-in-crime" while scavenging around Seoul for the best shaved ice cafes, so we shared a lot of conversations about food. We went to Saint Augustin, an Asian/Thai cuisine restaurant in Apgu. The restaurant's name certainly doesn't suit its cuisine...
The menu ranged from lunch special and appetizer salad to...
rice and noodle to...
main dishes.
The first dish that came to the table was Yam Wunsen, Thai-styled glass noodle salad. The huge red mussel (it's a female!) on top enhanced the visual presentation of the dish.
The salad had onions, basil, tomatoes, celery, and other vegetables on top. It was mixed in vinegar dressing so the vegetables almost tasted slightly pickled.
Underneath the vegetables was glass noodle. Of all different types of noodles, glass noodle is my least favorite because 1) I don't really like the jerky texture, 2) it's too slimy, and 3) it doesn't have any flavor.
The mussel was warm, so I thought the dish was a warm salad. However, the other components of the dish were all cold.
The Tom Yarn Goong was red, slightly spicy Thai soup with mushroom, shrimp, onions, tomatoes, and basil.
I hated that there were oil drops floating on top. The after-taste of the broth also tasted a bit chalky on my tongue.
The long-awaited king prawn pad thai!
The eyes of the king prawn were so fierce. I could relate to his/her pain while he/she was being cooked...
The bean sprouts and the peanuts were served next to the stir-fried noodle to be mixed by the diners. There was also a side of chili pepper for those who like really savory pad thai.
The noodle was WAY TOO overcooked because it just broke and disappeared in my mouth. Also I couldn't taste that special "Thai" spice in the dish either.
I liked being able to taste different Thai dishes I usually don't eat, but perhaps Thai food tastes a lot better in the U.S. even though Thailand is closer to Korea in distance.
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