Dinner at Charm - appies and more!

I've been to Charm many times for their great lunch specials, but rarely make it there for dinner. Here is a post of the time I went this past summer. There were 4 of us, and none of us were really hungry, but definitely wanted to try a things. 

I've always loved the appetizers at Charm (perfect for grazing with friends over cocktails), so we decided to order the Appy Platter for 4.You get five different items in total. Top shelf were the Rock Pepper Garlic Prawns with a bit of papaya salad n the side. Second shelf were the Crispy Prawn Wontons with a plum dipping sauce. Also, we have their  drool-worthy Duck Sticks (no, not duck on a stick, they are duck confit spring rolls! Really tasty with the chilli sauce. On the bottom shelf, there are the Thai Spring rolls, vegetarian with a homemade carrot dipping sauce. The Chicken Satays aren't visible in this picture, but they are chicken breast marinated with lemongrass. They serve these with a cucumber & red onion chutney and also a peanut sauce.

The first of the main course was a seafood dish...it's their Chiang Mai Bouillabaisse. There are mussels, prawns, fish and some squid served with a refreshing cilantro and lime infused broth. The seafood was cooked just right, and the prawns were nice and firm.

My mom is a huge fan of their Pad Thai - it's the only thing she orders whenever she comes. They make this in the traditional way, with fresh tamarind juice! We had it with chicken this time, but you can choose to have it made with prawns instead too! 

And this is probably my favourite dish of the night (next to the Rock Pepper Garlic Prawns), their Thai Pappardelle. It's served with braised short ribs, in a Thai basil red curry. It's definitely got some heat to it, but the noodles work really well here with the beef and sauce. A very asian spin with the pappardelle. All in all, this was a well-balanced meal for 4 people, a little bit of deep-fried goodness, some seafood, some meats and lots of noodles!

Dineout Preview for VancityBuzz

As seen on...

Yay, we were invited to the Dineout Preview for Charm Modern Thai! Got to sample everything on their dineout menu and we even mad the event trending on Twitter!
Here are the food shots, but as usual...for the review, please click to the post on VancityBuzz.

The appetizer selection - Tiger Prawn Satays with Garlic Bread (two-year anny special), Duck Sticks and Rock Salt Prawns

Yummy Salmon Linguine...in green curry (two-year anny special).

Coconum Jumbo Scallops

Green Tea Chicken

Thai Tea ice cream, vanilla tapioco and chili choco torte

Ice cream!

Charming my Sister

While my sister was visiting from Hong Kong, we went to one of my favourite Thai restaurants down in Yaletown. It has a really cool vibe and a really nice patio. They have a lot of lunch specials, which we were dying to try! 

Each of their lunch specials comes with a bowl of Tom Yum soup, and a pair of deep fried shrimp wontons. The soup isn't just brothy...there are noticeable chunks of chicken and mushrooms too. A nice tang cuts the spicy-ness nicely! The wontons are fried to a crisp, and then tossed very lightly with a sweet and sour sauce. Really good and meaty! 

My entree was the first to arrive...it's called the Spicy Larb Gai Lettuce Wrap...minced chicken mixed in a refreshing mixture of Thai herbs and spices, combined with fish sauce and chillies. The dressing suited the minced chicken very well. And I love any food that I can play with...

My mom got her usual Pad Thai...with chicken. I think she's been her about five times, and I really think she has ordered the same thing everytime! It's a safe choice for her...perfectly done noodles with chicken tossed in a mildly spicy and sweet pad thai sauce. The fresh bean sprouts and grated carrot gives the dish a nice crunchy texture to contrast the noodles. 

My sister got the Red Curry with beef, which came with a healthy serving of rice as well as some steamed greens. A nice balanced lunch...veggies, carbs and protein. There was so much curry that...way more than we could finish for lunch. Got some of that to-go, but we polished off the veggies and rice though!

B's dish was the last to arrive, but it was well worth the wait...Thai Papparadelle. It's my hands-down favourite from here, right next to the Duck Sticks (amazing duck confit spring rolls)! The noodles were al dente, with some beef (some even with bones, my favourite), and sweet red peppers. The sauce is a little spicy, not killer hot, but just enough to make you pause after taking a big bite. Pick apart the basil that sits atop the dish, toss it in, and you've got yourself pasta done right...Thai Style.  

CHARMing my Mom

My mom rarely comes downtown, but she ventured down with some of her friends, I decided to join them for lunch. She had gotten the Groupon from Charm Modern Thai last Thursday and was itching to use it.
There were four of us in total, and we each ordered one Lunch Plate with the intention of sharing. We ordered a rice, two noodle dishes and also a curry. This way we could all try something different. All their $10 lunch plates come with Deep Fried Prawn Wontons, as well as a bowl of Tom Yum Soup. Those came promptly once we placed our order.

The wontons were deep fried and served with a slightly sweet and sour sauce, not coated in it, but just mildly tossed. The Tom Yum soup was good, with chunks of chicken and mushrooms…pretty spicy stuff. Good to warm up after a walk in the cool Vancouver weather.

First up after that was the Pad Thai with Chicken – exactly like it is pictured on the front of their menu. The noodles were cooked perfectly, not overdone at all. Accompanying the noodles was a good medley sliced chicken and tofu, along with the usual bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. The sauce was slightly sweeter than expected, the dish was fragrant and steaming hot. This dish is prepared mild, without a “spicy chili” next to it in the menu, so if you like more kick in your pad thai, then ask for it to be made hotter.

Hot on the heels of the PT was the Thai Style Fried Rice with Chicken. Presentation was pretty, and the vertical shape showed off the vibrant colours of the red, green and yellow peppers in the dish. This was a very big portion, much more than one person could eat. The rice had one chili on the menu, and was very light on the spicy scale.

The other spicy dish was the Spicy Linguine. Again, perfectly cooked noodles tossed with bamboo shoots, peppers and basil. Much of the sauce was down at the bottom, but that is where the flavour also is…make sure to mix and coat thoroughly! If you don’t find it spicy enough, (I’m a heat fanatic) ask for a little hot sauce on the side and toss it all around. All of our dishes had chicken in it, and all the chicken was cooked well, not dry or rubbery at all.

The last dish to arrive was the Red Curry with Chicken that I ordered. I tried this first and was thrilled with the spiciness of it. It was a generous bowl of chicken curry, with a serving of rice and steamed veggies on the side. The curry was piping hot with an even hotter kick. The rice was welcomed. Along with the soup and the fried wontons, you definitely get good bang for the 10-bucks!
Most of the earlier comments around the table regarding the first three concentrated on the mildness of the spiciness. But once they tried mine, they realized that it was indeed the dishes they ordered and not the kitchen being light-handed with the spices! My mom prefers foods that are less spicy, so the first three were perfect for her.

Four women...Four huge plates of food...three lunch leftovers. One note…for the onions that were in both the Fried Rice and the Spicy Linguine, they seemed a little undercooked…perhaps thinner slices would allow it the cook through more?