Spicy, Sweet, Sour, Salty and Bitter

After lobbing a dart at a map and following the advice of a few friends, we found ourselves in an old renovated Victorian house on Park Street in Hartford. With a modest eight tables and an atmosphere as comfortable as your own living room, King and I Thai Kitchen surprised me with some of the best Thai food I have ever eaten.

Taking influence from the surrounding countries, Thai cuisine is known for incorporating all the basic elements of taste; spicy, sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Thai also makes frequent use of fresh herbs, such as lemongrass, mint, cilantro and Thai basil.

When I spied a delicious-sounding salad of sliced beef, mint, pineapple, carrot, red bell pepper, lemongrass and cilantro, I had to order it.


The salad did not disappoint. Tossed with lime juice and a lightly spicy red chili sauce, the flavors were fresh and vibrant and I could hardly put my fork down.

Since in Thailand it is customary to serve more dishes than there are guests at the table, our meal did not end there.

Unfortunately I think we were a bit spoiled by the guidance and helpful suggestions of last week’s Peruvian waitress that this time when we asked for recommendations, we were mildly disappointed to find our server spoke little English. Still, the extensive menu was easy to navigate on our own, just difficult to decide what to order.

Once my eyes glanced upon a shrimp dish with crushed hot peppers, zucchini, bamboo shoots and basil leaves, however, I knew exactly what I was going to get.


Adam had a harder time deciding as he insisted a strong dislike for curry. Since his reference point was actually Indian curry rather than Thai, I persuaded him that the two are actually quite different and to go ahead and order one of the colorful curry dishes. It is after all tradition in Thailand that food be ordered by the eldest female, and being the only one at the table, I had the final say.

We settled for a Massaman curry of beef with coconut milk, onions, carrots, potatoes and peanuts. Adam found that he quite enjoyed it, as did I, and the shrimp basil leaf was a delightful blend of all five flavor profiles.

Although we typically view such dishes as the central part of the meal, in Thailand it is actually the rice that is the main component. Whether it is the wonderfully aromatic indigenous jasmine rice, or the sticky white rice often formed into little balls and used for dipping, the starch is the staple that the fragrant sauces then flavor.

As the grains soaked up the seasoned liquid, it was easy to see how we had it backwards; the rice quickly became the best part of the meal.

With a great force of will, I finally put my fork down, leaving plenty left over for a delicious next-day lunch. As much as I love food I feel I don’t get to say this that often, but I was impressed by and truly enjoyed every bite I tasted.