This past weekend I was lucky enough to have my mom and aunt in town to visit me and my grandparents. During their stay we decided to check out one of my bucket-list restaurants for a quick lunch. After some deliberation, we settled on Thai Chef Street Food, a beautiful and eclectically decorated Thai food restaurant in the heart of Dupont Circle. We were not dissapointed.
I was immediately struck, upon entering the restaurant, by the bright and colorful interior and eye-catching neon signs. The ambience of the restaurant felt warm and welcoming. We started out our meal with papaya salad and Thai dumplings as a shared appetizer. The papaya salad tasted crisp, refreshing, light, floral, and acidic. The dumplings is turn, although heavier, due to their meat-based filling, delivered a powerful and fragrant flavor, especially when doused with the sauce that came with them.
We each ordered different entrees and sampled little bites of one another’s foods. I selected a red curry with chicken. My mom ordered shrimp panang curry. My aunt chose shrimp bikini (a Thai spring roll filled with shrimp and chicken).
The curries totally hit the spot, since it was such a cold day. My red curry had a nice kick to it and was full of lemongrass flavors. Paired with rice, it was delicious. The panang curry had a slightly different flavor, it was hearty and peanut-y, although it also had some spice to it, just like my red curry. My mom and my aunt, who have both traveled to Thailand, continually raved about how tasty and authentic the food was throughout our meal.
The menu was extensive, covering all the classics like pad Thai and drunken noodles to Thai curries, Tom yum, noodle soups, dumplings, and seafood. Overall, from the atmosphere to the quality of the food and the service, Thai Chef Street Food impressed me greatly. I will definitely be returning in the future to work my way through more of the menu.
To learn more about Thai Chef Street Food, check out their website: https://thaichefdc.com.
The Bucketlister 