Every so often, I get a chance to have dinner with my Dad. Oh, I don’t mean with the family, as our family has a get-together just about every weekend. I mean one of those nice moments when you get to sit with Dad and just talk. I am very proud of my father because he is a wonderful man who raised a functional family, fought for his country, ran his own business (and still does), and gave me so many things to believe in.

However, I also realize that at the age of 74, Dad has more years behind him than ahead of him and I value every moment I get to spend with him. Looking at him, I can see the years of wear on his rugged face and I know that at least ten percent of those wrinkles are probably my fault. Dad is a simple man who is in love with food and electronics. Since I am the geek in the family and the food blogger, he often turns to me for advice.

So, he asked to go on a food review to an Asian restaurant. For Dad, though, Asian = Chinese only, so I thought I would expand his horizons and take him to dinner at a Thai restaurant. He had never had Thai food before and I was trying to describe it and assuring him that there wasn’t rat or dog or worms or anything similar in the food (although my guess is he would have tried it even if it did). I wasn’t sure where to take him and then I remembered that on my list of places to try, I had always wanted to get over to Swaddee Thai Cuisine in Scottsdale to see their take on things.

Dad and I got to the small strip mall that housed Swaddee just as the sun was on the first stages of sunset and we entered the colorful and clean restaurant. The place was a mixture of tables in the center and booths on the perimeter. We were seated at a booth next to the window and slowly watched the sun fade into twilight. Our host gave us menus and asked for our drink order. I thought that I should give Dad a (hopefully) great experience and ordered a Thai Iced Tea ($2.50) and a glass of the Plum Wine ($4.95). For myself, I got the traditional Diet Coke ($1.95).

Our server arrived a few moments later to say our drinks were on the way and that she was there to answer any questions we had about the meal. My Dad seemed somewhat puzzled about what to order so I told him to trust me. To begin, I thought you couldn’t beat the Thai Appetizer Combination ($9.95). I wanted to break Dad easily into the world of Thai food, so I thought a great place to start would be a plate of Pad Thai ($9.95). I was feeling a bit more adventurous and got the Chicken Coconut Princess ($10.95).

As our server disappeared into the kitchen, another person arrived with the Diet Coke and the Thai Iced Tea. Dad seemed even more puzzled because he had never seen a mix of iced tea and milk. I explained the details and gave the straw a twirl to mix the components. Dad took a sip and gave it a “not bad.” That was right on target. The tea was good, the milk was good, the drink was good. Not bad at all.

Our main server then brought the Plum Wine. The wine glass housed a beautiful reddish pink wine that was quite fragrant. Dad loves wine and really didn’t know how to deal with this one as he is a big Merlot and Chardonney fan. He gave it the sip/swish/swirl/swallow technique and said he really liked it. I took a sip and enjoyed it as well. I have had some plum wines that were ghastly sweet, but this one had a nice balance and the flavors were crisp and clean.

I was filling Dad in on what I knew about Thailand and about the recent coup and how the King and Queen of Thailand were revered and the like. As we sat and chatted, I also took in the atmosphere of the place. I liked how the art and decorations really gave the place a cozy feel. It was also quite clean and bright both before and after sundown.

Our conversation was interrupted when our Thai Appetizer Combination arrived at the table. The platter included two Egg Rolls, two “Thai Toast,” two Chicken Sa-Tay skewers, and two wontons. There were also three sauces served alongside: peanut, cucumber and sweet & sour. Dad grabbed one of the sa-tay and I encouraged him to try the peanut sauce. He took one bite and was in love. “I think we need to get a lot more of the peanut sauce,” he said. The sa-tay was very good with its hint of curry and a nice smokey flavor. The chicken was tender and was a perfect match with the peanut sauce.

The egg rolls were also quite good. Although listed as “egg rolls,” they were more like spring rolls with their translucent noodles and vegetable. They wrapper was very crisp and the whole thing was quite hot, which I always like to see in an egg/spring roll. Dad thought they were okay, but didn’t think they were anything special. “They go great with the peanut sauce, though,” he stated. Yup, we were going to have to get more of that.

The “Thai Toast” was two large pieces of boneless chicken that had been marinaded in some sort of spice mix and then deep fried. It wasn’t breaded in any way, but the chicken flesh was allowed to crisp up on its own. I really liked this because it was quite different than anything else on the platter. I thought it was a natural with the sweet and sour sauce, but Dad disagreed because, well, his new best friend was peanut sauce.

The fried Wontons were the weak part of the combination platter. They were crisp and the filling was fine, but it really lacked any punch or anything substantial. They seemed rather garden variety and had nothing that stood out for us. I did use it to try all three sauces. Dad was correct that the peanut sauce was great. I thought it was the best of the bunch, with the cucumber sauce being rather boring.

There was about a five minute respite between the appetizers and the arrival of Dad’s Pad Thai. When it did arrive, I was a bit surprised. It smelled like Pad Thai, but was presented differently than I had seen at most places, where it is all tossed together and then topped with a smattering of chopped peanuts. At Swaddee, the components of Pad Thai had been individually placed on the plate. Everything had its own space, and nothing was lacking. There was plenty of chicken and shrimp, noodles, bean sprouts, egg, and an abundance of chopped peanuts. They only thing that was universal on everything (save the peanuts) was the traditional sauce. I thought this presentation was brilliant because the Pad Thai hadn’t been all tossed together and then been allowed to steam its way into a soggy mess. Dad was able to toss his own Pad Thai with the result of everything being crisp and fresh. There was a nice crunch to the bean sprouts that really gave a pleasant earthy edge to the dish. Dad was enthralled with it, but said it needed peanut sauce.

My Chicken Coconut Princess was presented in a large, deep bowl and the aroma had me salivating. I love coconut milk in cooking and this dish was excellent. The chicken was exceptionally tender and the mushrooms still gave some resistance to the teeth. The lemongrass and the coconut milk were outstanding and really made the dish shine. I also liked the fact that the kitchen had given me the dish with medium heat just as I requested. Spooned over rice, this was a hearty and delightful dish that I wouldn’t hesitate getting again. Additionally, the serving size was quite large and I had plenty of broth and some mushrooms left in the bowl by the time I finished.

With our meals completed, I suggest Dad and I split a dessert. Dad wasn’t so sure, but I told him he could simply have a taste. He was okay with that, so I got an order of the Coconut Ice Cream ($2.95). In a flash, our server returned with a parfait glass holding three scoops of coconut ice cream that was topped with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts. Dad took a bite and suddenly announced that he was glad he agreed to split the dessert. “I really like the peanuts,” he exclaimed. Why wasn’t I surprised? I thought the ice cream was very good and a perfect way to end the meal because of its lightness. Clearly, Dad and I both loved it because there wasn’t anything left, as demonstrated here:

We requested our check and the damage was $48.25 including tax. Dad thought it was a bargain, especially because we had wine and dessert. I agreed. We settled our bill and headed back to the car and then to Phoenix as the last rays of sunlight were fighting to climb over Camelback Mountain. Dad spent the trip back to East Phoenix talking about how much he loved Thai food and, especially, the peanut sauce. When we got back to Mom and Dad’s, Dad gave a detailed accounting of the meal to Mom and kept asking when he could do another food review with me.

I suggested that the next cuisine we try to expand Dad’s horizons be Vietnamese. “That sounds great!” he said with a smile.

“Do they have peanut sauce?”

Swaddee Thai Cuisine
8989 East Via Linda, Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85285
Dress: Casual
Hours: Lunch served Monday through Friday – 11 AM to 2:30 PM; Dinner served Monday through Thursday – 5 PM to 9 PM and Friday and Saturday – 5 PM to 9:30 PM; Closed Sunday.
Notes: West of 90th Street on Via Linda. Additional location on Ray Road in Chandler, AZ.
Website: www.swaddeethai.com