14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Seaside Th ai restaurant cranks out reliable food with value
Review and photos by MOUTH
OF THE COLUMBIA
A
At the beginning of the year,
there were no Thai restaurants
in South County. Now there are
two. Manzanita’s A Mighty Thai
opened its doors in January. Sea-
side’s Yellow Curry, meanwhile,
started serving in mid-March.
Unlike Mighty Thai, Yellow
Curry isn’t the venture of first-
time restauranteurs. Yellow Cur-
ry’s owner operates two similar
businesses in Beaverton: Green
Curry and Red Curry. The menus
are relatively similar, which
means the newest outpost hit the
ground running.
My first visit to the Seaside
location came on a Friday eve-
ning. The restaurant, located at
the mouth of Broadway’s tourist
vortex, is in the building that
once upon a time housed Little
Bayou, and many failed endeav-
ors since. The space has since
been halved. It has six or seven
tables, bright yellow walls, and
a kind of non-denominational,
left-over hodgepodge of decor.
The placemats, for instance, fea-
ture a mustachioed, Italian chef.
It’s high-ceilinged, bright and
uncluttered.
And on this day it was busy.
Most of the tables were taken,
and to-go orders came and went.
The lone server seemed a tad
overwhelmed but remained at-
tentive and effusive. The kitchen,
meanwhile, didn’t bat an eye. It
cranked out dishes with impres-
sive speed.
I began with the Coconut
Shrimp ($8.95), which came
stacked like logs beside a bed
of lettuce, carrots and an orange
slice. The shrimp were oddly
long and thin, with a light crust,
flecked with flakes of coconut
offering a satisfying crunch. The
oblong shape upped the breading
ratio, and for nearly nine dollars
it felt pricey. The accompanying
sweet and sour sauce was much
sweeter than it was sour, and I
asked for some hot sauce to bal-
ance it. It came in a tiny cup — a
bit of oil, a squirt of sriracha and
a pinch of thick, minced red and
green chili paste. I tried a dab
of the paste and immediately I
was panting and welling up. The
peak arrived a few minutes later.
Indeed, the paste — with a base
of Thai chilies — was a hair shy
of nuclear.
Like many of the dishes on the
menu, the Yellow Curry ($10.95
with chicken) was offered on a
spice scale from one to five. I
went with a two, and that’s what
I received: a subtle, back-of-the-
throat tingle. Covering hunks
of buttery potatoes, carrots and
onions, the yellow curry sauce
was creamy, coconutty and rich.
The spicing was deep, profound
and ancient. It made me want to
lick the plate.
The Garlic Supreme ($10.95
with beef) lacked that depth and
nuance. A stir fry in a thin, salty
garlic sauce, it was prepared
minimally. While I appreciated
the way the vegetables were
lightly cooked, their essence and
structure maintained, the dish
paled in the curry’s long shadow.
On the spice scale, I ordered this
dish at a three, and it went up
like a brush fire. To be fair, the
server warned me: This one used
the near-nuclear paste, and the
curries were on a different spice
scale. But why have different
scales? Isn’t relativity the whole
point?
On my second trip, I had to
fight the compunction to order
more curry, and eventually I
found a roundabout way to do so.
In the meantime, my companion
inquired about drinks — specifi-
cally, had they any wine or beer?
“We do healthy food,” the
server said. So, in place of spirits
we had an Iced Coffee and a
Thai Iced Tea ($2 apiece), each
of which were staggeringly,
lip-smackingly sweetened. More
welcome, each was also quite
stiff, finishing with a bite of
herby tea or bitter coffee after the
sugar dissipated.
The Thai iced tea and iced coff ee drinks
were staggeringly sweetened but also
full of stiff tea and coff ee fl avor.
Moments later, our appetizer,
the Seaside Stickers ($7.95),
popped out. Like the shrimp, the
six pot stickers had a nice, not
too oily, deep-fried crust. While
they appeared to be made in-
house, they could’ve been packed
fuller. And, like the shrimp, the
price felt high — out of line with
the rest of the menu, where full,
reasonably-sized entrées were
just a few dollars more.
Of the noodle dishes we had
the Pad Thai ($10.95 with chick-
en). With rice noodles that were
rather chewy, it was as the dish
generally is: familiar and filling.
Of the “Signature Dishes,”
the Angry Catfish ($15.95) was
well-presented. In a lake of the
grand curry sauce, beside a bed
of lettuce, lightly steamed carrots
and broccoli, was an island of
fried catfish topped with kiffir
leaves, lemongrass and a dollop
of what I think was coconut ice
cream. Despite resting in the liq-
uid, the catfish breading retained
its crunch throughout the meal.
The fish was light and clean,
though the herbs were a bit dry. It
was a dish reaching for elegance,
but blue collar at heart.
Indeed, Yellow Curry is com-
fortably casual — perhaps better
suited for lunch or an easy dinner
than a fancy date. (Lunch, which
is available 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
weekdays except Wednesday,
features slightly lower prices and
an abridged menu.)
Compared to A Mighty Thai,
Yellow Curry provides a better
The Angry Catfi sh was a well-presented signature dish.
YELLOW CURRY
The Seaside Pot Stickers had a nice
deep-fried crust but could have
used more fi lling.
value, a more reliable, well-oiled
kitchen, and quick turnaround.
Mighty Thai offers a more cozy
and romantic ambiance, presen-
tation, a full bar and some more
upscale items. Indeed, each has
its own drawbacks and allure.
Both, though, are important addi-
tions to the region’s dining scene,
and an indication that, yes, we
crave more than just burgers and
fish and chips. It’s a wide world
out there, and we’re hungry for
it.
Rating:
20 N. Holladay Drive, Seaside
503-739-7272
yellowcurryseaside.com
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Thursday to Tuesday.
PRICE: $ – most entrées
around $10
SERVICE: Eff usive when
stretched, but the kitchen is
quick
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN OP-
TIONS: Plenty
DRINKS: Thai iced tea, coff ee
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Poor
Below average
Good & worth return
Excellent
Best in region