Thai Basil

For this Fun Frank Friday, I was craving some Thai food and realized we hadn't been to one in a long time.  So we decided to try Thai Basil in Ahwatukee on Chandler Blvd.  We started with our usual Cokes and an appetizer combination plate.  It consisted of 2 pieces of Satay Chicken, deep fried Sweet Potato, Fried Tofu, Spring Rolls,  and Thai Toast, served with sweet and sour sauce, Thai plum sauce and peanut sauce.  What is Thai toast, you ask?  Well it is flash fried toast filled with garlic and ground chicken and served with spicy cucumber sauce.
On the table were four containers filled with a variety of spices.  Each one ranged from a mild kick to a raging burn.  These spices are used to increase the heat of any dish if you so desired.

Patti went with her all-time favorite, chicken Pad Thai.  It consists of chicken in pan-fried rice noodles with eggs, bean sprouts, green onions, tofu and ground peanuts.   Our server gave us an option of how spicy we would like our entree.  These included mild, medium, hot and Thai hot.  I of course went with medium spice and to my surprise, Patti did as well.  Despite the extra heat, the pad thai was addictively delicious.  She couldn't stop eating it despite the burn.  Next time she said she would go mild and add her own spices if necessary.

I decided to go with the signature dish, Thai Basil.  This consisted of sauteed Thai basil with spicy garlic sauce, bamboo shoots, carrots, broccoli, onions and zucchini.  You then had a choice of meat to add if you wanted.  The choices included chicken, beef, pork, tofu, shrimp, calamari, or fish.  I went with the chicken and medium spice.  The distinct flavor that really comes out is the basil and it went really well with the melody of the other vegetables.  This also comes with a side of white rice which was a nice touch especially if you accidently order it too spicy for your taste.
For dessert we decided to go with the fried bananas with ice cream.  I think this is becoming one of my favorite desserts.  Anything deep fried is good but the gooshiness of the banana is a great complement to the crunch of the fried batter and the temperature warmth complements the cold ice cream.  Thai basil also tops theirs with honey.  This was an interesting choice that really stood out in my mind.

So if you get a hankering for Thai food and you have never tried Thai toast before, you can go to Thai Basil and try it now!