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Birmingham: Thai Emerald

5408 Highway 280 , Phone: (205) 995-9775
www.thaiemeraldlek.com

Reviewed by: Colleen from CA, review #2717

When: 2007

Nice atmosphere, attentive service, excellent sushi.

Directions: In the Birmingham suburbs

Colleagues and I had dinner here on a weeknight in November. The restaurant was quiet, but I understand that it fills up to capacity on weekends. I'm not much of a Thai food fan, but they also have a sushi bar here ... so I was persuaded to try it.

Nice interior decor; classy and elegant. One wall is a dramatic flowing waterfall. Dark table furniture, covered with white linen tablecloths.

To start, we ordered fried calamari to share, and martinis. The calamari had a light tempura batter, but was a bit rubbery. The martinis were delicious. :)

I enjoyed the wonton soup with big chunks of chicken whitemeat. As my main, I had the California Almond Rolls - traditional California rolls covered with sliced almonds. They were fresh tasting, and served with a flavorful sauce. (Not just soy sauce.) Wasabi and ginger on the side.

The hit of the evening, though, were my colleagues' "Yummy Yummy Rolls." (Two of them ordered this dish - it's very popular!) Cream cheese, spicy smoked salmon, a little bit of rice, rolled in seaweed, dipped in batter and quick fried! They were sliced very thin, and fanned out very prettily on the plate.

My colleagues started with the coconut chicken and lemongrass soup, and say they always order it because it's so good. They also mentioned that every Thai dish they've tried here has been delicious.

Reasonable prices; efficient and friendly service. I plan to return on my next visit to Birmingham.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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