Critic's Review
I had no interest in Bangkok Bistro when they first opened. They had uncomfortable seating in the dining room; yet another Thai restaurant. And this shopping center is a place where restaurants come to die. Even Houstons and Jimmy John's died in this center.
I ordered online; one thing that's particularly bad is they have a large window for pick up: 25 to 45 minutes. So you don't want to get there in 25 minutes and have to wait another 20 minutes; nor do you want the food to sit for possibly 30 minutes or more. I had to go to Trader Joe's so I'd just hope it was ready after I was done there.
Their online ordering system won't let you place an order until 11:30, so with a 45 minute window you can't pick up before 12:15. You also can't specify a pickup time, so you can't order in advance.
I contemplated their lunch combos; the menu says fried rice combo comes with a spring roll, but the ordering system charges an extra $1 for it. I didn't want the crab ragoon, so I ordered Thai fried rice ala carte. I also ordered crispy bok choy, because bok choy is good stuff. Lunch comes with a choice of soup or salad (although it allows you to choose both):
When I got there, One of the most dour, unfriendly people I've ever encountered greeted me. Fully masked, I gave him the name I used and he had no reaction at all. I said it again; and he slowly looked at the takeout orders that were ready. "Fried Rice" I said, hoping to get SOME reaction from him. Finally he found it and gave me a receipt to sign; because the fact that I'd already ordered it online wasn't enough. I couldn't get my food without signing. Should I sign the fake name I gave, or my real name on the credit card? Quite the conundrum.
This dude is why you hire a bubbly young girl to work the door; i couldn't tell if he was mad that I wasn't wearing a mask, if he had some motor skills issue, or if he just lacked basic social skills.
I went straight home hoping for some hot food. Interestingly the rice was double packed with cellophane but the stuff that could leak; the bok choy with the sauce, was in styrofoam.
Note that I didn't get a salad (minus 1 service star).
Of course the top from the sauce had melted and the sauce had released into the bok choy.
The crispy bok choy LOOKED good, but it was no longer "crispy" I tried re-crisping it but to no avail.
The fried rice didn't look very fried; crispy rice dripping with oil is the entire point of fried rice. The massive cucumber slice amused me, how does cucumber go with this dish? No egg, chilies, peppers or lime wedge, There was also tomato in the fried rice; if there are 2 vegetables that doesn't fry well it's raw tomato and cucumber.
Luckily the sauce that spilled onto the bok choy was pretty good; the limp greens went well with the rice and it was a decent lunch. That being said, I'll probably fry up the remaining rice Chinese style with soy sauce instead of fish oil; fish oil tastes OK but it smells really bad and I don't need that smell in my home.
Conclusion
To me, people who love Thai food don't understand Chinese food, which is 1000 times better when made correctly. Fish sauce makes your car, your kitchen and your fingers smell bad, and stuff like cucumber, tomato and lime with fried rice is just downright weird.
