Thai together

Spectacular cuisine found at V.R. Thai

Stacee Sledge

Oct 31, 2002 — I really knew it all along, but a recent ho-hum meal at a sumptuously appointed Seattle restaurant was a powerful reminder: You don't have to go to the big city for a satisfying dining experience. In fact, often the better bites are found much closer to home.

A recent outing to Seattle for a Bob Dylan concert at Key Arena found my husband and me searching for some pre-song supper. When we spied a nearby Thai restaurant, we tucked in hoping for something on par or perhaps surpassing our favorite local Thai eateries.

Instead, we ate food that was nothing spectacular and experienced a serving problem unlike any I've ever endured: Our food was mistakenly served to the table next to us, where it was dug through before the waiter realized the mistake and retrieved it. He then served it to us, thinking we hadn't seen the previous pawing of our entrees.

I feel confident such shoddy serving would never happen at Ferndale's V.R. Thai.

My husband and I recently made the short drive after work to see if V.R. Thai could hold a candle to our triumvirate of Bellingham favorites: Lemon Grass, Supon's and Busara.

V.R. Thai

Location:   1730 LaBounty Drive, Ferndale Phone: 380-1319 Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday Serving: Traditional Thai favorites in a pleasing setting. Menu items sampled: Chicken satay $5.50  Emerald butterflies $4.50  Soy sauce noodles $7.50  Crispy chicken $7.75

It comes close — close enough for me to encourage you to give it a try. I had a far superior total dining experience at V.R. Thai than the fancy Seattle restaurant a couple of weeks earlier.

V.R. Thai's dining room is understated and pleasant. Cream-colored walls are punctuated by three large decorative fabric fans and a few framed pieces of art. A chandelier hangs from the center of the spacious room, surrounded by a multitude of pendant lights.

Each of the nearly two-dozen tables was set and awaiting customers, surrounded by attractive mahogany-colored wood chairs finished with floral fabric seats.

The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived, and we were greeted immediately and shown to a table at one of the lace-covered windows that line the edges of the room. Business began to pick up while we ate, as people also popped in to pick up meals to go.

We began with two appetizers — one we'd tried before elsewhere and another that was new to us. Both made satisfying starters, with generous portions and attractive presentations.

V.R.'s chicken satay was the best I've had, four pieces of tender chicken marinated with garlic and curry powder then skewered and grilled. They were served atop a piece of dark leaf lettuce, garnished with an orange slice, and accompanied by a peanut sauce and bowl of cucumber sauce containing half-moon shaped slices.

We also ordered an appetizer of emerald butterflies, crispy fried wonton stuffed with onion and peanuts, served with a delectable sweet and sour sauce. The onion and peanut flavors were strong yet complementary.

Extra attention is paid to presentation at V.R. Thai. The emerald butterflies were served alongside a gorgeous, delicate butterfly cleverly constructed from a thin, flat slice of carrot.

For an entree, I ordered soy sauce noodles, also known as phad si-iew. The menu described the dish as wide pan-fried noodles with black bean sauce, broccoli and soy sauce. Like many of the dishes at V.R. Thai, the soy sauce noodles can be ordered with chicken, pork or beef.

While I enjoyed the generous portion provided (and even made a second meal of the leftovers), it didn't much match the description. It was a rather dry dish, with little sauce to be seen. A heavier hand would have been appreciated.

Not so with my husband's crispy chicken. No scarcity of sauce there. Breaded and fried chicken pieces were sautéed with mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, orange slices and a flavorful, homemade soy-based sauce. He grumbled a bit that the crispy chicken wasn't terribly crispy, but agreed that the pungent flavor of the dish was an overall success.

Dessert selections at V.R. Thai include coconut ice cream, deep-fried ice cream, black sticky rice pudding, and crisp banana. Any one of these would make a fitting finish to a fine meal.

Who needs the big city and mediocre food in an overdone decor? Ferndale's V.R. Thai proves that you can easily find tantalizing Thai food in Whatcom County.