Lately, I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos before sleeping at night. I was surprised when I saw a lot of foreign travel vloggers compare Philippines vs. Thailand "Which is best to travel?" videos. Two southeast asian countries with a lot to offer. I even heard before my former expat officemates discuss where they would like to retire, and it is between these two countries.
The two categories that got me intrigued about their comparison videos was Food and Nature. I already had a hunch on who will win in those two categories, and I was right. The Philippines win in the nature category because of our world class beaches and 7,641 islands. However, Thailand gets the vote for the food category. Looking at the comments section of the videos, there was a lot of respect between Filipinos and Thai. One comment said "I'm Thai, but I think beaches from the Philippines are beautiful, I hope one day I can go there", another said "My family is from the Philippines, and we all love Thai food".
As we were planning for our trip to one of the best islands in the world, Boracay island (Conde Nast Traveler 2018 Readers Choice Awards), to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We were invited by good friend, Karen Elizalde, owner of Thai Basil restaurant, at D'Mall. We scheduled it on the latter part of our seven day vacation. After eating buffet breakfast and dinner at our hotel for several days, it made our taste buds dull. When the day arrived, we didn't eat breakfast and saved our appetite for lunch. An E-trike ride and 10 minutes later, we arrived at Thai Basil restaurant at D'Mall.
We were greeted by Restaurant Manager Jenifer Paddayuman. I get to order what I like, and Mickey orders his favorite dishes. The first order to arrive at our table was Tom Kah Gai (hot and sour soup with coconut milk and chicken), sharing size. The smell of the soup wafted as it is being served, and it will surely whet one's appetite. The first taste of the soup made us stare at each other, "this is seriously good stuff" Mickey said. He jokingly said that he remembered the scene at the Walt Disney movie Ratatouille, when Anton Ego, world renowned food critic made his first bite at the Ratatouille dish served to him, it transported him back to his childhood days when his mom cooked it for him.
This time, Mickey and I were transported back to Thailand. What is this restaurant's secret? We didn't know until we met the chef after dining in. He was a young Thai chef, this is the reason why we are tasting 100% authentic Thai food.
Here are some of the food we enjoyed at Thai Basil Boracay:
Tom Kah Gai
Hot and Sour Soup with Coconut Milk and Chicken
Php 340.00
Pomelo Salad
Php 320.00
Pork Satay
Thai Style Skewers in Special Peanut Sauce
Php 270.00
Po Pia Tod
Fried Thai Spring Roll
Php 180.00
Pad Thai
Stir Fried Noodles with Shrimp
Php 480.00
Khao Pad
Thai Style Fried Rice (with Chicken)
Php 280.00
Pad Ka Pao
Stir Fried Minced Meat (Pork) Infused in Hot Basil
Php 300.00
Chu Chi Tilapia
Deep Fried Boneless Tilapia in Curry Sauce
Php 420.00
Khao Neo Ma Moung
Sweet Sticky Rice with Sliced Ripe Mango in Coconut Cream
Php 180.00
Tako
Sago Pudding with Sweet Corn, Buko, and Coconut Cream
Php 150.00
Meeting the cool chef
In photo (from left to right): Thai Basil's Executive Thai Chef Gust Tamawat Itthipornwithool, Me and Thail Basil's Restaurant Manager, Jennifer Paddayuman.
The next time you are craving for Thai food, you don't have to go to Thailand. Just go to Boracay island, Thai Basil Restaurant at D'Mall. Who says you can't have the best of both worlds?
Thai Basil Restaurant
D'Mall Station 2, Boracay Island, Philippines
Instagram: @thaibasilboracay
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