Sabai - Thai Street Food in Richmond

We were recently in Richmond visiting with Marleigh. She told us that a guy we met at Rappahannock Restaurant was opening a new restaurant with with some partners serving authentic Thai food. 

When we met Jason Lough at Rappahannock last year he told us he was from Virginia Beach, and we actually knew some of the same people. Jason runs the bar at Sabai putting together creative mixed drinks and cocktails. He's also part of the creative force behind what the restaurant is doing. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk to the kitchen because they were packed the night we went.

There was about a 40 minute wait, which wasn't a problem because the drinks at Sabai are soon to become a staple for the bar crawlers in town. Check out some of the drinks we ordered:

I got to sip everyone's drink but we were heading back to Virginia Beach later so I only wanted a taste. The drinks were put together well and the flavors complemented each , giving you that exotic feel and packing a punch. They might look frou-frou but they will lay you out if you're not careful. Once we got our table we had a chance to order. We tried a few appetizers and the four of us ordered different entrees.

Larb Gai (Chicken)

Sai Gok (Spicy Thai Sausage)

We had the Larb Gai and Sai Gok appetizers first. Larb Gai is a basically a meat salad, Gai translates into chicken. The ground chicken is heavily spiced with thinly sliced vegetables. It can get eaten by wrapping or pinching it from the plate with lettuce or endive. The Sai Gok is a variety of sausage made is Thailand and surrounding countries. It's pretty spicy too and we loved it. Dipped in the dipping sauce made up of fish sauce, vinegar and sugar, it was even better.

Pad Thai

Pineapple Fried Rice

Gai Yand (Grilled Chicken)

Pad Krapow Moo Sap Kai Dow (Spicy Basil Pork)

Our entrees were great. I had the Pad Krapow Sap Kai Dow that is a spicy ground pork and mine came with a fried egg on top with a side of rice. i mixed it all up together and ate that way. I love this stuff. Shelby got the grilled chicken that tasted as good as the way it looked. The Pineapple Fried Rice was served in a the hollowed half of a pineapple was great and Ethan's Pad Thai was pretty good too. I definitely want to make another trip and try some of the other stuff on the menu. I would love a chance to talk to the chef too, he apparently is from Thailand and if trying to bring the Thai street food experience to Richmond. So if you're in Richmond, and looking for good Thai food, you'd do yourself a favor by visiting Sabai.

Marleigh and Ethan after dinner

Oysters...I need them

I don't know what it is, but I've really been craving oysters lately. Patrick Evans-Hylton said I could be pregnant. Oh, thanks again Patrick for the offer to attend the Virginia Wine & Oyster Classic this past Saturday. It pained me to turn down those tickets!

Oysters! Shelby and I talked about it and we thought we should try to buy a couple from several different regions and do a little write up about it. I think it's going to happen, just need to put a plan together. 

Virginia Oyster Regional Guide

Virginia Oyster Regional Guide

Check out this chart and page from Virginia Tourism page. Lays out the different regions and what you can expect from the oysters you eat from them.

Nice!

Taste of the Region - Part 1

Taste of the Region - Part 1

Well known regional chef Patrick Evans-Hylton asked me to be one of the judges in Taste of the Region at the Parade of Homes in Cypress Creek, Smithfield, VA. We got to check out several beautiful homes and try delicious food from the Smithfield area easily accessible to those moving into the area.

First stop was The Plaid Turnip (winner of the People’s Choice Award that night) with the following:

Shrimp & Grits & Greens. Shrimp sauteed with onions, green peppers, mushrooms and country ham served

Pulled Pork Barbecue with Turnip Slaw on a Cornbread Crostini

Mini Pumpkin Waffles with homemade maple ice cream and candied bacon drizzled with maple syrup. Finished with sprinkled sugar and cinnamon

I took a lot of photos, so I’ll post in segments.

i<3food

I-Heart-Food Contest

ATTENTION!!! I-Heart-Food’s first give-away! A ticket for the 30 April Dishcrawl in downtown Portsmouth, VA!

Chynne from Dishcrawl Hampton Roads will take a group of hungry trekkers on a tour of four selected restaurants in a highlighted area of the city. The ticket includes food and gratuity (drinks not included). The meals will be prepared especially for the tour.

Meet new people, eat some good food—you can’t beat it! AltDaily.com posted a run-down of their Norfolk Dishcrawl if you want an idea of what’s in store:http://www.altdaily.com/features/food/ghent-dishcrawl.html

To qualify for the ticket you must do the following:

1. “Like” I-Heart-Food on Facebook
2. “Like” Dishcrawl Hampton Roads on Facebook
3. Post on I-Heart-Food’s wall your favorite local nosh.

That’s it! Tell your friends, family—whoever to join-in. I’ll pick a winner 16 April after verifying they meet the requirements and post the person’s name on the wall. Read more about Dishcrawl at http://www.dishcrawl.com/norfolk/.

I’ll also mention that you must be able to attend the Dishcrawl (traslate: live in the area.) I know that’s probably obvious, but I wanted to toss that out there anyway :)

Good luck! Start posting!