More reviews

Two reviews since the last update. First is the Siam Thai located in the Cossack Inn. This place is in the location of what alledgedly used to be a serious dive. The stench of old cigarette smoke as soon as you walk in confirms it. That's a smell that won't come out without new carpet and a fresh coat of paint, which I don't expect to be forthcoming considering the decor as it stands now.

That decor is kinda groovy, actually. The room is essentially the same as when this was the "quiet bar" of the local dive hotel, decorated with a nautical theme of knots, ships in bottles, a brass diver's helmet, maps, and whatnot. Presiding over all the seafaring knicknackary and bric-a-brac is two portraits (the king and queen of Siam) and a statue (Bhudda). All in all, it makes for a strange atmosphere, but I have always said that you can't judge a restaurant by its tables.

The service is what you might call glacial, if pleasant. Two early middle aged Thai ladies seem to run the place, all smiles and slow movements. What eventually arrived at our table, however, was wonderful. I had the Garlic Pork lunch, which came with rice and two hand-wrapped spring rolls. Debbie had the Chili-Basil chicken with peppers, which was also great, and Dana had what may be the best Pad Thai I have ever had (not that I eat that much Pad Thai). The servings were huge (all the better to justify the $13 a plate for the lunch combos and $9 for what amounted to, essentially, a plate of noodles.

Taking into account the glacial service, odd atmosphere, bad smell, and relatively high price (but good value and very good quality) plus the fact that today I heard an unconfirmed rumour that the place may have an insect issue, I am only inclined to grant three and a half pints of Singha beer. They need to work on speed, smell, and infestation in order to drive that grade up.

Next, Bing's, a Spruce Grove and Stony Plain institution (having locations in both) serving Chinese and wastern cuisine. I had the Combo #3 for $9, which was a large helping of rice, Canadian style chow mien (which is to say chop suey with crunchy noodles on top) sweet&sour spare ribs and pineapple chicken balls. The rice was steamed, but it was good quality and not at all like the dry horrible muck from the Rainbow Palace. The chop suey was tasty, with obviously fresh ingredients, and freshly made. The sweet and sour sauce on the spareribs was not to my taste, but good enough for what it was, but the pineapple chicken was extremely good. Not nearly as good as my mom's, but very good for a restaurant. The service was fast, and we were done in a short time. Debbie's Chicken & Peppers looked good, as did Dana's Wor Wonton Soup.

The room itself could have been a smitty's or any of a hundred different chains that live beside major routes. I give no score on the atmosphere, and then, of course, all the staff are white, but the fact remains that this was an excellent example of "Chinese & Western cuisine" at its best, with good service and quality ingredients well prepared. The general level of busyness was a good indicator to me of good things to come. All in all, I give it Two pints of TsingTao, and Two pints of Great Western Brewing Pilsner. Chinese and Western well executed.