King and I =( vs. Land of Smiles =)

So, last night, went to the King and I for the first time. I know, how can it be my first time since it is perhaps the most famous Thai restaurant around town.

Anyway, my friends had warned me about its declining quality, but I had to try it for myself. After all, it is perhaps the most often referenced Thai restaurant. It has a reputation. It had been a crowd favorite for years.

Sadly, my friends were right...

First of all, when we went in, there was a 30 minutes wait. Which, actually was a good thing, since that means there is ample demand for what was suppose to be yummy food. In addition, the wait was really closer to 15 minutes, so we were pleasantly surprised. Good start... but...

After we were sat, it took quite a while for service. At one point, when we left the table for 5 seconds to say hi to the friends just across the room, waters were brought over (along with three empty beer bottles... odd...) Anyway, when we finally ordered, we ordered the following:

Duck curry hot for me. Basil chicken for my friend.

(Another strange thing about ordering was when I tried to order "hot". From what I understand, there are usually three level of hotness. Mild, medium, and hot. Then, there is the surprise Thai hot, or Vietnamese hot, or other means of extra hot. So, I said, I want hot, just not Thai hot... I was told that isn't available. That would just be a medium. Okay...)

Good long while later, the food came.

My duck curry was not hot AT ALL! At best a mild. For a dish that is called basil chicken, it could really use a dash of basil, and many many less dashes of salt. OMG, that dish was super salty.

Finally, as we were ready to leave, the server was nowhere to be found. We ended up walking up to the counter to close the check after much waiting.

Service =( food =( overall =(

In contrast, a couple weeks ago, we visited a new Thai restaurant (on Olive), called Land of Smiles. The decor left much to be desired. Its former Mexican self was still fairly apparent. But the food was solid. The service was friendly. If you're looking for Thai food in the area, go to Land of Smiles instead.