The Queen of all Curries

I have friends who rely on the Internet for all their information, but they tell me it is very hard to find anything about how sweet green Thai curry came to be known as the Queen of all Curries. I found this very hard to believe but when I did a Google search True Thai came up near the top! I also learned there are many Sri Lankan and Indian women who claim to be the Queen of Curries.

I think the Internet has much to learn about Thai cooking. Wikipedia has a section on Thai curries, but their page on sweet green curry doesn't mention that it is the Queen of all Curries. But if you ask a Thai which curry is known as the Queen of all Curries, they will say sweet green curry (แกงเขียวหวาน), of course!


At True Thai we always include Thai eggplant as that is an important ingredient. Thai eggplant were very hard to find in Minnesota when True Thai opened, but now you can find Thai eggplant in most Asian grocery stores. Other curry ingredients like kaffir lime leaves may be harder to find or difficult to buy in the right quantities, and that is why we started selling our curry stock in pint and quart-sized containers. Just add your own vegetables and protein and we'll provide the flavor!

I did find one other authentic Thai restaurant that acknowledges the special status of sweet green curry in Thai cuisine. If I am ever in the United Kingdom, I will be sure to visit Lanthai restaurant to sample their Queen of all Curries.

Because Thai green curry is the best green curry no matter where you eat it!

[photo credit: Dick Sonnen!]

Twitter TrueThai

I love it! True Thai has been on Twitter less than two weeks and already we have 56 63 80 92 "followers."

At Twitter it's not just about followers, but about messages and your messages about us have meant a lot to me. From this tweet about our being open on Sundays to others tweeting about their "perfect" Mothers Day at True Thai, you're the greatest customers ever!

I see that some of you have posted pictures of your True Thai experience on Flickr as well! Email us and we'll be glad to link to your pictures (we've found quite a few of them already, but we'd prefer to have your permission before using them on our site). Who knows? Maybe we'll buy the rights to your True Thai picture!?

Sorry, no True Thai on MySpace or Facebook yet. (Do you think we should?)

Our best Sunday ever!

True, yesterday was also the first Sunday we've ever been open, but thanks to all of you it was a success! A friend who dropped by shortly after 1 p.m. was amazed at how many customers were in the restaurant.

"There are plenty of parking spaces in back and on the street" he exclaimed.

"Well," I replied, "True Thai has a lot of friends who live within walking distance."

And it's true: the people of Seward are our biggest fans and supporters. Maybe that's why we've developed so many traditions at True Thai over the years. Did you know:

True Thai customers get free ice cream on their birthday?

You can bring in a birthday cake and we'll serve it to your party at no extra charge?

You can bring in your own sauces or oils for us to use in fixing your meal?

That you can bring in your own music if you're using the party room?

At True Thai it's all about the food and you, our customers.

OPEN SUNDAYS!!!

Make your reservations now because as of May 10 — Mother’s Day — True Thai will be open on Sundays!

Over the past few years I have been asked almost daily, when will True Thai be open on Sundays? I finally can answer that question with an exact date: May 10, 2009!

Doors will open at 11 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., and we will be open every Sunday after that except for when Christmas, New Year’s Day or the 4th of July falls on a Sunday.

I hope this news excites you as much as it does me. True Thai on Sunday is an idea whose time has come!

Dear Anna!

As part of my Thai New Year’s resolution to blog more often, I’d like to encourage True Thai customers to e-mail me their questions about our menu.

As a Public Health nurse I realize that eating out can be a problem for people with diabetes or food allergies. It’s tricky to figure out what’s in restaurant food if you’re on a special diet for any reason.

One very common concern is monosodium glutamate, or M.S.G. In True Thai’s kitchen M.S.G. is just one of the three sisters of Asian cooking (salt, sugar, M.S.G.). So yes there is M.S.G. in Thai food, but all you have to do is ask and we’ll be glad to prepare your meal without M.S.G.

In fact, you should always feel free to ask your server questions. Each entree at True Thai is prepared after you order it, so making changes is no problem. And while we have lots of vegetarian items on our menu, we understand that not all vegetarians play by the same rules!

Thai food is healthy food because we do our best to make healthy food taste good.

Lose weight the Thai way!

Everyone knows about Jared Fogel, the guy who lost 245 lbs. by eating Subway sandwiches. Not so many people seem to know that Jared also did a lot of walking!

As a nurse I know that exercise is the most important part of any diet plan. Even though I eat mostly Thai food (which is much much healthier than Subway sandwiches) and was physically active, I was still overweight.

Then last November I started working out with Carla at Los Campeones Gym just a block east of True Thai. I have lost 33 lbs. since then even though I’m eating as much food as before.

Here is your True Thai diet:

Eat whatever you like on our menu except the Sebastian Joe’s ice cream! No pop unless it’s diet pop. That’s it!

That and after you’re done eating you have to walk east to the Mississippi River, cross the bridge and then walk back. It’s a very nice walk and the Mississippi River is lovely no matter what time of year it is.

P.S. And a special thanks to the True Thai chefs for helping me to watch my portions! Are True Thai entrees too big? Not if you ask for a takeout box!

Party Room

Now that I'm finally blogging again I'm trying to remember all the questions I've been asked about the new addition. So far there is no charge to reserve the party room.

So if you have a large group and you'd like to reserve the party room, just call the restaurant and let us know when you want the room.

THANK YOU TRUE THAI FANS!

It's that time of year again. Local publications are handing out their "Best Of" awards and thanks to True Thai's loyal fans we've received Reader's Choice Awards from both Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine and City Pages, as well as some other awards we'll tell you about later (after they're official).

But for now, thank you all for taking the time to vote and let everyone know how much you love True Thai!

Free Singha glass!

To help our friends celebrate Songkran, the Thai New Year, if you buy a Singha beer you get to keep the glass! This is a special promotion from Singha and is good through Wednesday, April 15th, or until we run out of glasses.

Happy Songkran!

Happy Thai New Year's! Everybody will be celebrating Songkran, not just in Thailand but in Laos and Cambodia as well.

My Songkran resolution is to try to post to this blog at least once four times a week!

BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER!!!

True Thai has finally finished our remodeling/expansion project. We’re still in the same location, but we now can seat up to 200 customers. Expect the lines to move much more quickly!

We also have a party room available for private parties and groups. Call us at 612 375-9942 to make a reservation for your special gathering of friends or family. We are available for club meetings, business groups, and gatherings of all kinds.

New restaurant hours are 11 am to 10 pm, Monday through Thursday, 11 am to 11 pm Friday and Saturday (closed on Sundays and major holidays). Eventually we plan to be open on Sundays, but not yet!

Closed Monday August 25th!

Please note that True Thai Restaurant will be closed on Monday, August 25, as we complete our year-long remodeling project. We are exanding into the space next door, and our table count will increase from 18 to 39! We will also have a room for private parties/banquets.

Key to this expansion will be our new, larger kitchen, allowing us to serve more customers in a timely manner.

We are very excited by the completion of this expansion, and look forward to reopening on Tuesday, August 26, bigger and better than ever.

Be sure to check this blog for further updates and maybe even some pictures!