Sweet Basil Thai (Foster City, CA)
8:30:00 AM
“Sweet Basil Thai!” Where Are We?
Between the freak storms and gusty bone-chilling winds Bay Area has been experiencing, I think it’ll be a nice change of pace if we switch gears for a bit and go back to the long, balmy, sweltering summer day when TH and I decided we wanted to meet up for Thai food.
And somehow we ended up all the way in Foster City.
One sunny summer day--it wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like it--TH and I were heading out to lunch. Being the adventurous foodie types that we are, we decided to head over to a Thai restaurant that TH had visited prior with her manager.
It was a great suggestion until I realized, half-way into our trip that we were past Palo Alto.
And what did TH say?
“I swear it was closer last time I went with my boss.”
That was when I learned that they were driving from Redwood City to Foster City. Not San Jose to Foster City.
Oh well. It’s always an adventure with TH.
Several times, on our way to Foster City, we kept thinking that the GPS must be wrong because we were driving along the waterfront and all we saw were houses, but nothing that indicated that we were heading to a restaurant.
It wasn’t till the last minute that we pulled up to a small strip mall, right on the waterfront that we realized that the GPS wasn’t leading us awry.
Sweet Thai Basil is a modern Thai restaurant with an interior that’s lavishly decorated with dark wooden wall furnishings, fancy white chairs, throw pillows and Thai ornaments. There’s a fair amount of seats inside, but they also had a few tables outside.
And for some people, a table outside was the better option because they don’t turn on the AC. For whatever reason, they didn’t have the AC turned on and over the course of lunch, it got pretty warm, to the point that I felt pretty uncomfortable by the end of my meal.
Let’s just say my ice water turned into lukewarm water.
We started off with the Firecracker Balls, which we order primarily for the name. There were eight pieces and they were essentially a tuna sushi roll, rolled into panko, deep-fried and topped with a spicy mayo sauce.
These were fantastic! Though it’s hard to go wrong with something deep fried. They were crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Despite being firecracker balls, they weren’t overly spicy so I dare say-- kid friendly.
For our entrees, TH and I decided to share. So we ordered the Pad See Ew with Beef and the Green Curry with Chicken. And we had a side of rice to go with the curry.
The Pad See Ew was very well done. It had the right blend of sweetness and saltiness. They gave large portions and didn’t skimp on the beef.
The Green Curry was creamy and sweet and packed with vegetables to the point we could’ve used more curry sauce. We asked for the curry to be mild, so we didn’t have a problem with the spice level.
Our server was interesting and made the experience memorable, but I wished they turned on the AC.
I like to eat my Thai food without the Thailand weather.
Winter is coming! What are your plans for the holidays? Are you like me and trying to ignore the fact that it’s getting colder by reminiscing about the “hotter” days? Or completely loving the cold weather? Fight the cold with some heat? Or cold with more cold? After all, ice cream melts slower when it’s 35 degrees outside.
1473 Beach Park Blvd
Foster City, CA 94404
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