Jasmine Thai
4825 E 96th St
Indianapolis, IN 46240

This was my second visit to Jasmine and the first for lunch.  I had dinner there a few months ago with a large group and I didn’t love it, but also didn’t hate it.  Fellow blogger Indianapolis Restaurant Scene mentioned that she had an eggplant dish there that she liked quite a bit so I decided to give it another try.

What I Got: Lunch special Garlic Pork with Tom Yum soup, $6.95.

The Tom Yum was the mayor of Lametown.  In fact, I am not sure if it was even Tom Yum.  It had potatoes in it and I have never had that variation.  I am not sure if that is like beans/no beans with chili.  I am not going to tell you that I am an expert on Thai food.  In fact, it is some of my least favorite cuisine.  The soup was really bland and it needed salt in a bad way.

The garlic pork was actually pretty good.  Very straight forward with pork, scallions and thinly sliced cabbage.  The quality of the pork was nominal, but the sauce was garlic heavy (duh) and had a lot of black pepper in it.  I ordered it medium and I am glad that I did…not too spicy, but there was a little bite there.  I really liked the cabbage as it added the essential crunch.

Would I Buy It Again? I really could toss a coin here.  Better than the first time, but I didn’t love it.  I liked the garlic pork, but it surely wasn’t top notch Thai that I have had before.  They were packed on a Thursday lunch, so I assume they are doing something right.   I will reserve a Yes or No judging for the next time.

-wibia

Sawasdee Thai
1222 West 86th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana  46260
http://www.sawasdeeindy.com/

86th and Ditch is a great intersection for food lured me to try a highly recommended Thai place.  I think that Thai food in Indy is far below average for what we should have in this large of a city.  I have had a few good dishes here and there, but I can’t say there is one Thai place that I enjoy.  And yes, I like Thai food and have had plenty of it.

I had my fingers crossed that multiple comments and e-mails would prove me wrong.   Spoiler:  they didn’t.

What I Ate: Thom Yum, Pork Pad See Ewe $6.95.  Wide noodles, eggs, sweet soy, veggies.

Brief lunch menu, but I am sure that 90% of the orders are Pad Thai anyway.   Thom yum soup/spring roll was average, there was nothing special here.

The entree arrived quickly and my first glance didn’t look that appetizing.  As I dug in, many of the noodles were stuck together.  I would guess this might be a bi-product of the sweet soy?  Either way, noodles that are stuck together is never a good thing.   I found the vegetables (esp. broccoli) to be a few days past their prime and the egg was a non-factor.

Would I Buy It Again?  Eh…no.   When I think about what they are there for, I would assume they are a lunch Pad Thai pusher that strives to give Indy another option for Thai.  However, not really a better option.  I would be tempted to return, but there were some technique and preparation issues here that should’ve never left the kitchen.

-wibia

Thai Papaya
3905 West 96th Street, Suite 1000
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268

WIBIA and I had been working together to help him move and we saw this place nearby.  Since I had never eaten Thai food before and wanted to try it (the food education of IndianapolisEater is a never-ending process), we decided to pop in here for a visit. 

What I Got:  Kao Padd Gra Prow (Pork) $9.95
Spicy Thai fried rice served with eggs, banana peppers, green and white onions and Thai basil.  Comes with your choice of soup, a spring roll or Thai salad (I got the spring roll).

Kao Padd Gra Prow

Since this was my first venture into Thai food, I figured I’d order something that seemed vaguely familiar, so I got this dish served with pork (chicken and beef were the other options).  You can also choose the temperature of the dish and the options were mild, medium, hot or super hot.  Since I’m semi-adventurous when it comes to hot food, I chose the hot option.  Despite this, all I can really say about this dish is “blah.”  It was pretty much just a pile of all the foods listed in the description with a nice spicy kick.  There was nothing really special about it and I must say that I was bored after eating it.  The pork was also a little dry, so that definitely subtracted from the dish as well.  If this had one thing going for it, it was a healthy portion size which was good because I needed it after the pathetically small spring roll that came with the dish.  Check out the picture below…that thing was barely bigger than a AA battery and was covered with grease.   It was not really appetizing at all.

Thai Spring Roll

Would I Buy It Again?  Definitely not. For my first venture into Thai food, I was not impressed.  Maybe it was the dish that I ordered, maybe it was the particular restaurant (this place does get positive reviews online.  Hmm…) or maybe it was just the food not being something my palate prefers, but I’m definitely not in a hurry to eat Thai food again.  It’s too bad too, because I really would like to expand my horizons and try all different kinds of cuisines.  

-IndianapolisEater