TASTE-TEMPTING ASIAN FLAVORS AT
Tub Tim Thai & Sushi Story by Chris Felker | Photos by Abner Pedraza
The legendary friendliness and hospitality of Thai culture are on display at Tub Tim Thai & Sushi Restaurant in Wellington. That’s not to mention the stunning Siamese artwork in ornate frames lining the walls of the restaurant’s welcoming space in its new location at the Village Green shopping plaza. Owner Jit Meeudon stood smiling widely next to the big, beautiful aquarium containing living coral and schools of colorful fish in the entranceway as she greeted us, not batting an eyelash as we explained that we were novices to Thai cuisine. Suffice it to say, that after our visit, Thai food has some new aficionados! Meeudon and her staff are used to people who are new to Thai food and treat them with special care, catering to their preferences even while easing them outside their usual comfort zones. There was much to like as our gracious servers brought one spectacular dish after another. It was a veritable parade of perfect palate-pleasers more colorful than a South Pacific rainbow. The dishes were nearly too pretty to eat with several even adorned with colorful orchid blossoms, but their wonderful aromas prompted us to pick up chopsticks and dig in. The culinary artisanship practiced at Tub Tim is directed toward producing an eye-popping and palatepleasing plate, producing an always interesting array of food textures and complementary layers of flavor with every bite.
Tub Tim Crispy Duck.
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While we were originally concerned about Thai food being on the “hot” side, it turns out Thai spices are less “hot” than just zesty — and delightful. “A lot of people eat more spicy stuff than we have,” Meeudon said. “They say the foods have to be spicy — they want three-star, fourstar — but Thai food is different than the Chinese.” She meant that the choices listed on the menu are not distinguished by the familiar Chinese star system of ranking the “spicy” factor, and also explained that Thai food is not as hot as some dishes from farther north in Asia, since Thai spicing is more subtle. That certainly was true of all the dishes we tasted. We started out with a small sampler plate of tiny spring rolls and sautéed chicken skewers and dumplings that came with four sauces (only the peanut sauce could be termed slightly “hot”), which were delicious. Then we moved on to Sushi Chef Tony Chantna’s enticing offerings of three plates of sea bass, salmon and wahoo appetizers rolled up with crunchy greens, topped with caviar and drizzled in bold sauces. That was followed by the Tub Tim Roll, a blend of dynamic crab, shrimp tempura and tuna meat with cream cheese, avocado, tempura flakes and asparagus, topped with avocado and fresh strawberry slices and served with spicy mayo. It was an amazing blend of flavor. Also from the sushi menu was the Tub Tim Volcano Roll — conch crab dynamite with spicy mayo masago on top of a California roll with eel sauce. The dish had
Pla Saam Rot.