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Serving: Lunch, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner, Monday-Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5-10 p.m.; closed Sunday. Cuisine: Thai Prices: Dinner entrees average $10. Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant on a scale of 1 to 10 in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Ambiance: 15/20
Our Gourmet: Lakorn Thai is located in a strip mall on South Main Street, next to a bar, laundromat and several other tenants. It’s not the most glamorous location, with several people sitting outside the bar and laundromat smoking cigarettes one recent summer evening, but the restaurant’s interior is small, cozy and unpretentious. It was a pleasant place to eat and the numerous awards on the wall made us feel like we’d chosen well. Score: 8
The Dining Companion: Lakorn Thai has been a fixture on the West Side of Manchester for years. The problem is that when you’ve been there as long as they have, the place starts looking a bit dated — not to an extreme, but it looks like it did years ago and could use an update. Score: 7.
Appetizers: 18.5/20
OG: The Tom Kha Gai ($3) was a perfect start to the meal. The hot soup is a coconut cream with chicken, lemon grass, lime juice, mushroom and galangal, a rhizome similar to ginger with an entirely different taste (it’s sweetish, spicy and slightly citrusy all at the same time).
The soup was perfect. It was a thin cream with coconut flavor, but also a pleasant tangy, citrus flavor that’s light and delicious. Score: 10.
TDC: I decided to try the beef Thai Satay ($5.50) It’s a seasoned beef-on-a-stick dish with a nice peanut sauce on the side. The beef, ultra tender and falling off the stick, was flavored with nice mild spices. Score: 8.5
Entrées: 12/20
OG: Being a great fan of duck – and having had some outstanding duck dishes at Thai restaurants – I didn’t hesitate to order the duck and shrimp in chili sauce ($10.95) served with jasmine rice.
The shrimp were medium-sized and nice and fresh. The duck’s texture was a bit soggy and stringy and was unexceptional. The sauce, consisting of ginger, mushrooms, hot pepper, red pepper and garlic, was flavorful, but while it was advertised as hot and spicy, it wasn’t particularly so. Score: 7.
TDC: I decided to have the chicken Pad Thai ($7) and what a major disappointment. I have eaten at Lakorn Thai many times over the years and have never been disappointed in the past with their Pad Thai, but on this night they let me down. The noodles were overcooked and a gelatinous pile of goo, the chicken was rubbery and overcooked. Definitely not my favorite Pad Thai anymore. Score: 5.
Desserts: 15/20
OG: Lakorn Thai has a small selection of desserts and I opted for the sticky rice with banana ($3). It reminded me a bit of a sweet tamale, with rice substituting for the cornmeal outer coating. That encased a sort of shriveled banana center. The whole thing had just a touch of sweetness. It wasn’t bad, but I preferred The Dining Companion’s coconut custard. Score: 7.
TDC: I decided to try the Thai coconut custard ($6), which was served in six micro-mini ramekins that were about two bites per. The custard is not the typical custard most folks are used to. It is a bit more solid and has a rubbery texture, but is delicious with a thick coconut milk topping and a thick sweet gelatin bottom. Score: 8.
Service: 16.5/20
OG: This is no-frills service: Our server was reasonably friendly and for the most part competent. The Dining Companion’s appetizer was wrong and so there was a wait for it to be redone, but otherwise the service was fine and I have no complaints. Score: 8.5.
TDC: When I ordered the beef Satay there was a slight mix-up in the kitchen and they were about to deliver chicken Satay when the hostess caught it and had them correct the order in a timely manner. Other than that, the staff was attentive to our needs. Score: 8
Total score: 77/100
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