The Wild Thaiger

 There are truly diamonds in the desert.  If you are not careful, you might pass right by and never even notice them.  This week's Fun Frank Friday is at The Wild Thaiger located in Central Phoenix (Thomas and Central).   One of the things that really caught my eye was the word play with the name of the restaurant.  Who can resist a fun pun?
As you arrive at the address, keep an eye out for the alley north of the restaurant and turn in there.  As parking is limited in downtown phoenix, it is a pleasant surprise to find ample free parking behind their restaurant.  When you arrive at the front door you will notice that you have a choice between sitting out in the front patio or eating indoors.  We chose to sit inside at a booth, even though there were a few diners out on the patio enjoying the nice spring weather.

We had placed our drink order for Cokes and a glass of water each.  I know Thai food can be a bit spicy so I knew I might need a back up fire extinguisher.  Our drinks were brought to our table quickly.  The soda was excellent of course, Coke always is.  Unfortunately, the water seemed to have an overwhelming hard water taste.   It could just be that Patti is spoiled rotten and used to filtered water but she could not stomach the weird water taste.  Luckily the staff kept refilling our sodas before we thought to ask for refills.  This restaurant uses a rating guide for how spicy the food could be.  No chili icon represents "mild", a one chili icon is "medium", two chile icons are "hot" and three chili icons are "Thai hot".  And when they say "Thai hot", you will feel the burn not only on your tongue but anywhere the food touches!

For appetizers, we started with the Dragon Eggz and the Satay Sampler.  The Dragon Eggz are dumplings stuffed with pork and crab, served with tangy dipping sauce.  You have a choice of steamed or fried.  We opted for half and half.  The steamed dumpling had a soft wonton wrapped around a large ball of meat, that was thoroughly cooked and juicy on the inside.  The fried one was the same but with a crispier outside which complimented the soft center and gave a contrast of textures for the eating experience.  The tangy dipping sauce was a sweet soy sauce that enhanced the flavor of the meat rather than overpowering it.  It was topped with slices of green chilis and cilantro (I was not brave enough to eat them).

The Satay Sampler comes with a selection of chicken, beef, AND shrimp, marinated in a savory yellow curry, served with peanut sauce and a side of cucumber chutney.  This is one of their mildly spiced dishes.  The beef and chicken were tender and juicy.  The shrimp was surprisingly large, firm but not overcooked at all.  This was topped with a sweet peanut sauce that complimented the curry marinade.  But do not overlook the cucumber chutney as just a garnish.  It is part of the dish and extremely delicious.  For the foodie fans, try a bite of cucumber with the meat in the peanut sauce for an interesting blend of flavors and textures.

(Sorry for the blurry picture, something went wrong with the camera apparently).  Patti ordered the Pad Thai which comes as a "one chile" spice rating.  Thin rice noodles in a plethora of intense flavors with chicken, shrimp, and fried tofu.   A side of fresh sprouts and crushed peanuts surround the noodles and it is all topped with fresh cilantro and a splash of stringed beet for color contrast.  The textures of this entree are so diverse that it is hard to keep track of everything that is happening in your mouth.  The plate presentation actually separates several of the items, but Patti prefers to mix it up before taking a bite.  This is one of our most favorite dishes.  Anyone who enters a Thai restaurant must have the Pad Thai at least once.  Here at the Wild Thaiger, we have found one of the best Pad Thai we have ever tasted.


For the truly brave foodie, this restaurant offers "Decha Boar".
Welcome to the jungle… featuring traditional thin sliced wild boar, green beans, bamboo shoots all in a hot red chili sauce.  It is rated as a "Thai hot" entree.  The wild boar meat was not as gamey as I expected.  Though, keep in mind that it is a little more tough than your regular marinated beef.  All the vegetables were fresh, cooked yet still crisp.  The red garlic chili sauce gave an almost addicting flavor that kept me coming back for more despite the heat.  Once in a while, I had to wipe the sweat off my forehead and I was grateful that my server kept my Coke glass filled.  Despite the spicy sauce, I was still able to taste every distinct flavor of the meat and vegetables.  This restaurant realizes the importance of dish presentation.  The garnish helps make each dish appeal to the eye as well as the palate.  They do not skimp on the garnish presentation at all.  One fun experience we had was the orange pepper cut to look like a blossoming flower.  This obviously took skill and practice to make this beautifully elaborate garnish.  It would seem to me to be a waste if I didn't enjoy eating it to the equal amount of the effort put into creating it.  I had no idea what type of pepper it was.  Knowing that my dish included bell peppers, I was kind of expecting a miniature bell pepper taste.  Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a habanero pepper.  HOT HOT HOT HOT!!!! Lips on fire hot!  Good thing I had the extra fire extinguisher and didn't mind the taste of the water.  I don't recommend that you follow my example.  You might want to just leave that garnish as a garnish.

Now it is time for dessert.  I know we said we were going to try and not order more desserts but you can't pass up the Wild Thaiger's choices.  Have you ever heard of the Durian fruit? Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the “king of fruits”.  The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks. The odour has led to the fruit’s banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia. Sounds delicious doesn't it?  This is where we separate the foodie from the adventurer.  The Wild Thaiger offers a "Dynamite Durian Ice Cream".  I knew I was going to order it, but I was very concerned that I was going to get something that tasted like frozen feet.  After I took my first bite, I would describe it as rich and creamy but with an indescribably distinct taste.  It was very rich and seemed to have a filmy texture coating my mouth after each bite.  We searched for the words to describe the flavor but could not come up with any thing to compare it to in our western culture.  It didn't taste like feet though.  It was nice and sweet and not overpowering at all.  When compared to the coconut ice cream that I tried right after this, there was no comparison.  The coconut came up bland and with little flavor to it, as if there was nothing there.  This is not a dessert for the faint of palate.  I tip my hat to Andrew Zimmern who introduced me to the fruit on his show "Bizarre Foods".

A lot of Asian cultures, have the concept of contrast when it comes to their dining experiences.  Sweet AND sour.  Soft AND crunchy.  Hot AND cold.  This is well represented in my favorite dessert, the Fried Banana.  Crispy coconut covered banana, homemade coconut ice cream with chocolate and caramel sauces. 
This is the dessert that will leave you craving more and more.  This is the dessert you will dream of and wake up wishing you had it in front of you.
The bananas are fried which make them tender and sweet but with a crunchy toasted coconut covering and served warm.  For the contrast, you have the cool of the homemade coconut ice cream.  This is topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce.  The best experience of eating this is when you take a small scoop of warm banana paired with cool ice cream and introduce them together in your mouth at the same time.  This will make your taste buds dance!  Patti said she was only going to take one or two bites but I noticed the plate inching closer and closer to her side of the table as the food quickly disappeared.
This is truly one of our diamonds in the desert.  A hidden gem of a restaurant.  If you are a foodie or just a casual diner, this is one place you should not miss.
And if you haven't tried wild boar or durian before, try it now.