I am relatively new to the world of Thai cooking. I love it more and more each time I have it. That being said, my take on Thai may be all wrong. It would serve me right, I guess, to garner a look of disdain from a Thai connoisseur for my review when I do the same thing each time says Great Wall of China buffet is so good and so authentic.
Keep that in mind and let your insults be tempered with a grain of salt. Any more than a grain and I'm counting off.
Simply Thai sits in a shopping strip in old town Frisco near a barber shop and travel agency. You can see the crowd of day laborers across the street when you run in. It's a good sign and worthy of note that too much money thrown at food usually ends up with a black truffle infused moose turd on a fancy bed of risotto. Yes, people pay for it but art dies a little.
You order from a counter once you make it in without getting shanked. The menu is basically fried rices, noodles, and curries. I ordered pineapple curry with chicken. I am asked what heat level.
Now, I'm a believer in small government and few regulations but if there's one thing I could get behind regulating, it would be the heat scale of Asian food. Latin foods may tear up your stomach a little but Asian foods can sear your larynx and cause some serious damage to your sinuses too. I ordered a level 2 hoping it was out of 10 and not 5.
The gentleman taking my order asked what I wanted to drink. I said water. I'm guessing "water" when translated, means "nothing. I'm good." Because I never got a water or glass.
The food came and was incredible. A little on the sweet side but it didn't overpower the pineapple. The veggies in the curry were hot but still crunchy. No garnish here. Just good food. The chicken was perfectly cooked. Tender, no fatty chunks, and it tasted like...wait for it... Chicken. Salt levels were good. I'm guessing they use fish sauce with their coconut milk.
The rice, however, was a tad dry but once you add it to the curry, it was fine. I prefer rice to be a bit sticky so I have the option of eating it with chopsticks and not a spoon. How else are you supposed to prove culinary superiority over non Asian food eating friends if you don't get to use your chopsticks?
The heat level was a bit low. I'm going to order a 3 next time. Living on the edge here. I would like a chart explaining the levels of heat. I'm guessing the question of heat is just a formality and they have code words for, "white guy. He's nice. Be kind" and "white guy. No tip. Light him up."
The one thing I must count off for is decor. I've noticed that a lot of Asian restaurants love decorations. I'm sure it looks great the first week but you have to dust these things and I'm guessing no one does. Also, Buddha is creepy. He's like a fat clown at a circus staring at your corn dog. To make it worse, he looks like he's about to do something inappropriate on the floor or counter where he sits. If I wanted a half naked fat guy perving on me when I ate, I'd order takeout from the Craig's List personals.
Restaurant decor should be simple, easily cleaned, cleaned often, and preferably something without eyes. The clutter was overwhelming.
Good food, easy ordering process, good prices: Simply Thai will get my patronage again. Tons of clutter, ambiguous heat scale, and no self serve water counts against it slightly.
I give it an 8 out of 10.
Happy eating, y'all.
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