Cold day. Very cold day. Sister and I needed to find a good place to eat—she’s the one who’s been talking about Thai food for months and this was to be a belated birthday lunch for her. Since we were in West Chester, she chose Jazmine Thai, a place we’ve never been.
I got to know downtown West Chester from my days in the Brandywine Valley Writers Group. So I’ve eaten at Iron Hill (many times), Kildare’s, Kooma, and a couple of places that I see have changed hands since I was here. I expected to see Jazmine Thai in those blocks. But we didn’t. When we got to what seemed to be the end of the businesses, I asked her if she had the address right. Then we saw it at the end of the next block.
I wasn’t expecting anything fancy so the attractiveness of the décor caught me by surprise when we walked into a beautiful room (see the website for photos). Since we were there after the lunch hour, it was also quiet.
Because we were having Thai, I started with a mango martini (seems to be a trend lately, me and martinis). It was thicker than I expected but very mango. Sister ordered lemon grass soup and Massaman curry (“a yellow curry paste, carrot, and potatoes, with chicken in coconut milk then topped with roasted peanuts”). I had Jazmine Tom Yum Soup (“hot & sour soup seasoned with coconut milk and traditional thai herbs and served with shrimp, fresh mushroom, and vegetables”) and pad thai (yes, had to try it, it’s my Thai restaurant barometer). And what I am thinking about a day later—and will continue to remember until I get it again—is how good that soup was. Not as creamy as coconut soup, not terribly spicy but spicy enough, fresh red peppers, onions, chicken . . . excellent. My sister’s meal was big enough (and good) that she took some home. I'd love to come back and try a full dinner.
I took no pictures of the food because this article made me self-conscious about that (although if there’s no flash I don’t understand why anyone would be bothered).
If I lived in the area, I would eat at Jazmine Thai a lot. Is there a better way to recommend a place?
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