Surin of Thailand: Thai Taco Tuesday

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 2/15/20

On a heavily traveled corner of the Virginia Highlands, Surin of Thailand has been a long-time staple of the community serving up Thai food favorites like volcano pot soup, curries, fried rice dishes, and even Thai-inspired cocktails. We arrived on a Tuesday evening, where the restaurant was relatively busy, and found that even a Thai restaurant can get you into the Taco Tuesday mood. Let’s take a food adventure into everything Surin of Thailand.

Starting with the Surin Sour it’s a whiskey-based cocktail that also includes lemon, bitters, banane, and orgeat. This cocktail is boozy up front that finishes sweet, plus it’s a good drinkable cocktail that is noticeably frothy and rather smooth. Not being a big whiskey drinker, it was nice to get a cocktail like this that I would drink again and enjoy. We really enjoyed it. Cheers.

For our starter, what doesn’t scream Thai restaurant than spicy Coconut Soup in a Volcano Pot? Amiright? This soup lived up to the hype with creamy coconut milk, tender chicken and mushrooms all served piping hot! It was creamy and rich with a slightly spicy finish all wrapped up into that Volcano Pot that keeps the soup hot. Reminds us of a cold winter night by the fire! We’ll be back for more.

We also got, Nuer Nom Tok, a Thai take on a taco. From the spicy beef to the delectable soy-based sauce to the crunch of the cabbage, you can pile it all into one bite wrapped in a piece of cabbage or eat it like a salad. The beef was very tender and paired well with the rich and deep sauce and the crunch of the vegetables. Plus, what made this dynamic was that the spice grew as you ate, which went so well with all the flavors that this dish had going on. What’s a taco that doesn’t have multiple flavors and spice? It was even better the next day for lunch! Love!

As the main, we went for the Salmon entrée that comes with a sweet and spicy creamy thai sauce paired with tender broccoli, crunchy peppers, and savory rice. The salmon was flaky and cooked perfectly with a slight char on the back of the bite. With the creamy, sweet, spicy sauce really went well with the entire plate: the crunch of the peppers, savory of the rice, tender of the broccoli. Mix it all together and you’ve got a great bite. So good.

We didn’t get to try a few other things but the Chicken Larb sounded good, as well as any of the fried rice dishes. We will be back for those on our next Taco Tuesday adventure. We think Chicken Larb wrapped in the cabbage can also be a Thai Taco adventure. Are you in?