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The Thai Basil Stir Fry is one of the many entrées available at Thai Cuisine Express in the Northeast Heights. (Pat Vasquez-Cunningham/Journal)
For a city of Albuquerque’s size, 18 Thai restaurants is not all that impressive. Other places might have close to 30 examples of the fiery-fresh cuisine on their business roster, but we keep our Thai restaurants at a high level of quality, quickly ejecting those that are mediocre. This is evident in the pocket-sized Thai Cuisine Express on San Pedro, a bastion of rich curries and potent chile sauces.
Before a kitchen overhaul about a year ago its reviews were middling at best, but something changed for the better (it might have even been a full ownership reboot, but details are unclear) – that’s what drew my attention. Despite the name, I could find no relation to the other two similarly named Thai spots in town – making Thai Cuisine Express ripe fodder for evaluation. One quickly gets used to the cozy space, painted a deep coppery hue with a smattering of tables filling up even early on a weeknight. Many customers arrive for their takeout packages, tightly bound and layered like nested dolls for the journey home to a spice-loving crowd. Much of the staff was working furiously in the kitchen – likely due to all those takeout orders – yet the table service still kept up with orders and drinks with friendly smiles all around.
The dine-in customers are happy; glancing around the room we noticed a lot of Spring Rolls ($5.25) and Chicken Satay ($6.25) consumed with gusto. Who could argue with that – the peanut sauce used for satay is one of the most delectable dipping condiments ever invented. I started with a shareable-sized Ocean Salad ($11.95), a tumble of shrimp, squid and mussels over cucumbers and tomatoes in fiery lime dressing. This is one of my favorite Thai salads.
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Thai Cuisine Express LOCATION: 2626 San Pedro NE (north of Menaul), 505-872-2296 HOURS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; noon-8 p.m. Saturdays; closed Sundays NO ALCOHOL |
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Our entrées, however, were foremost in mind – would it be curry? Perhaps a stir-fried dish? We made our choices and leaned back in our chairs to soak up the cooking aroma and listen to the low buzz of activity. Many customers seemed to be regulars, habitually ordering then continuing their conversation with scarcely a pause. Soon the plates started to arrive at the table. First, the Thai Basil Chicken ($8.95), with dark basil leaves interspersed among mushrooms and bamboo shoots, was perfect at the “hot” spice level.
Really, the Thai Basil was quite good, but it did not compare to the excellent Pumpkin Curry ($8.95), ordered as “Thai hot” and studded with bell peppers, zucchini and squash in an angry orange-hued curry. The serving sizes proved ample enough for leftovers; at these prices that’s a rarity. On another occasion I tried the Thai Beef Salad ($8.95); while sharing some flavor elements with the seafood salad this grilled and meaty dish passes muster as a delicious entrée.
