Silencing the Critics

I just got back from seeing Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, and dinner at the Palms Thai restaurant in Hollywood with a few friends which included my friend Irena, the Russian blonde who loves to eat and cook Thai food I mentioned in earlier blog entry. Of course, they let me do the ordering and conversing with Kat, our waitress, in Thai. A few folks did want something specific.

Travis, a friend of Irena, wanted chicken panang curry. So far all the food I ordered was Pedd Noi, a little bit spicy. Kat asked if the panang would also be Pedd Noi. I relayed the question to Travis.

He shook his head.

“You want it spicy? Like American spicy, or Thai spicy?”
“Thai spicy.”
“Are you sure you can handle that?”
“Yes.”

I looked up at Kat. A grin on her lips. I nodded. She raised her eyebrows. Let him find out for himself, I told Kat. She gave a chuckle and took the order.

Wouldn’t you know, Irea has a vat of chicken panang to take home with.

Today’s lessons:

1. Never underestimate the power of Thai chili.
2. Spicy, ordered by a Thai, is several notches above spicy ordered by a non-Thai.
3. If you’re in a Thai restaurant with your Thai friend, you may want to listen to her suggestion. Duh. 🙂

On a tangent: Star Wars III rocks, y’all. I went in with low expectation since I was burned from the last 2 installments, and I came out pretty jazzed. Not the best movie ever made, but I was thoroughly entertained. Just try not to laugh out loud during the “dramatic” and “romantic” scenes.

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