My Thai Vegan Cafe
Pictured above: Tom Yum Goong, Curry Vermicelli, and Som Tum Salad
My Thai Vegan Cafe was the first restaurant I visited while on my trip to Boston. When I arrived, despite the clearly visible sign on the outside of the building, I wasn’t sure if I was in the right place. Opening the door didn’t help my confusion either. I was greeted by a smelly, grungy and shady staircase that looked like it was leading to someone’s apartment. There was no sign of an existing restaurant in sight. Going against my better judgement, but listening to the growl of my haven’t-eaten-in-hours stomach, I went ahead and walked up those stairs.
At the top of the stairs was another door that revealed an actual restaurant. A beautiful one at that. The room was decorated with plants, string lights and simple furniture that found the right balance between comfort and style.
I chose a seat by the window lined wall that faced the traffic of the Boston streets. It should be noted that if you visit My Thai Vegan Cafe during the winter, you might not want to sit next the window. There was a serious draft coming from the window, but I was warmly dressed so I didn’t mind. The restaurant was fairly empty when I arrived so I enjoyed having the place and the waiters to myself.
As an appetizer I had the tom yum goong soup. It was a mildly spicy soup filled with large chunks of tomato, celery, mushrooms and vegan shrimp. The soup was everything I needed. It definitely warmed me up after feeling a bit under the weather due to being out in single digit weather all day. Before I was even halfway done with the soup, both of the entrees were already on the table. I’m assuming the service was that fast because the restaurant was still fairly empty.
My favorite dish of the night was the curry vermicelli. It’s a plate full of stir fried vermicelli, onions, scallions, bean sprouts, and carrots, topped with vegan shrimp, all tossed in a spicy curry coconut sauce. The vegetables in the dish were not cooked too soft, so they added a great crunchy texture to the mix while the curry coconut sauce made the noodles subtly spicy.
Once I finished the soup and the curry vermicelli, I looked over at the som tum salad and realized that I ordered more than I could handle. I honestly underestimated how light the “light noodles” would be. The portions at My Thai Vegan Cafe are reminiscent of the portions you are blessed with at diners. I played myself thinking I could eat a appetizer and two entrees at this restaurant, so I took the salad to go.
By the time I was getting ready to leave, the restaurant was pretty crowded. I asked my waiter for the check and a doggy bag, but 15 minutes passed and still no sign of the check or the waiter. I finally saw the waiter, stopped him and asked for the check and a doggy bag again. ANOTHER 15 minutes passed and STILL no check!
Bruh!
This was giving me flashbacks to the horrid experience I had with the waiter at Soul Tavern and I wanted no parts (See my post on Soul Tavern for the reference). So I got up and went to the counter and asked for the check a final time. Finally got it and got the hell out of there!
I had the som tum salad when I got back to the hotel and it was a salad of spicy goodness. The salad consisted of a bed of mixed greens, papaya strips, string beans, tomatoes, vegan shrimp, garlic, and chili, topped with ground peanuts. I would’ve preferred if the salad had more “shrimp” in it, but other than that it was a really great salad.
I hope that whenever you visit this restaurant you get waiters that are attentive and don’t leave you waiting for 30 minutes to get your check.
