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(February 20, 2004)
Madam Mam's, a Thai restaurant on the drag at UT, (across from the rust
colored building that houses the Austin City Limits soundstage) takes
the fine art of collaboration to the extreme. The owner, Mr. Sap Apisaksari,
an Austin foodie, traveled back to his native Thailand and married Chatfuang
Mam, a chef and food writer and also his high school sweetheart from
the old country. He brought her back to Texas and started a new restaurant
after her. Madam Mam's hit the ground running a couple of years ago
and has found a loyal audience, not only with the UT crowd but from
lovers of Thai food across the city. Joe Draker, owner of Maudie's,
a chain of Tex-mex restaurants around the city, first turned me on to
Madam Mam's.
Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines. And Madam
Mam's is at the top of the list in Austin, right up with Foo Swasdee's
Satay, The ingredients of her Thai food, from fiery peppers to the most
subtle stalks of lemon grass, are usually fused into a perfect balance.
The textures and tastes of the cuisine at Mam's are very engaging and
tantalizing to the palate. And that makes for a virtually endless array
of pleasant dining experiences.
I have tried many items at Madam Mam's and most
have been excellent. Among my favorites is the Panang Curry. This classic
dish blends red curry with shredded magroot and Thai basil. If your
fiery taste quotient tends to be, a scale of 10-1, less than a 3, better
pass on this dish. But I love it. Another favorite is the Pad-Sea-Eew.
This is a stir-fry dish with noodles, Chinese broccoli, and egg. There
is a very mellow taste buzz from this dish and a lovely texture as well.
Also love the Pad Spaghetti Kee-Mao. This is stir-fried linguini with
mushrooms, Thai basil and an assortment of spices. This is a very, seriously
tasty dish. On a side note, ever wonder why so many Thai dishes begin
with the word "Pad". Well, that means "stir fry"
in Thai. Now that we've cleared that up for you: The Thai Beef Salad
is another classic with wonderful flavors and almost perfect balance.
And the Tom-Yum Soup, a hot and sour lemongrass delight, will purse
have you involuntarily pursing your lips. But that's a good thing.
I am a big fan of Pad Cha Catfish as well. This
is at the megaton level of nuclear fire power, and reminds me somewhat
of Chef Jim's SRV catfish at the late and lamented Thai Soon, which
made way several years ago for Kenichi. And any of the Pad Thai dishes,
vermicelli noodles stir fried with peanuts, tofu, and shrimp are excellent.
I have only one minor gripe with Madam Mam's. Maybe
it's me, but I don't care for the Tom Khah, a coconut soup with chicken.
It's supposed to be ethereal but I've found it to be rather bland and
tasteless. But aside from that, as noted, the food here is very worthy
of your consideration. Prices are very reasonable and the décor
is, well, early student. But I am a regular, and I suspect you will
become one as well.
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