#viphalay

[missguomeiyun]

dinner @ Viphalay

It has been a while. .. but I came here for dinner recently~ "Recently", as in last month or so :P

I can't remember the last time I was here but it was before the pandemic so at least 5 yrs o_O so crazy to think the pandemic started roughly half a decade ago.

The restaurant hasn't changed at all. Still the same location, same decor, some upstairs/downstairs arrangements... During my previous visit, I remember sitting upstairs as well but by the window. This time, the same group of us were seated by a wall.

Thai iced coffee & Thai iced tea. Ahh I love this!! Perfect blend of the 'orange'-coloured Thai tea & condensed milk (& ice).

There were 6 of us total & we shared everything below:

Coconut soup. Flavour was great~ I don't remember it being this watery though so. ..hmm.... like it's not a creamy thicker soup, but this was very watery.

Coconut rice (have to order separate), & basil beef stir-fry. It's got a lovely kick that I really enjoyed. Was too much for some of us but this was arguably my personal fav of the evening.

Drunken noodles with chicken. Less spicy than the basil beef stir-fry but still a decent kick. Has instant noodle vibes lol

Above: red curry with shrimp; bottom: green curry with chicken.

Don't worry, the curries were much fuller in the bowl than in the pictures above. My camera failed to eat first :P

Both were not spicy. I liked the green curry more. TBH, I'm no expect on curries but I think, generally speaking, the mixture of spices in green curries is just better suited for my palette. Red curries, or at the very least, the red curry here, has a sweeter flavour, whereas the green curry has a more savoury note.

Mango ice cream~

The banana envelopes that I cannot eat but it's okay!

You were great as before, Viphalay! But the 'shrink-flation' situation . .. =/

[ksodanews]

http://www.vueweekly.com/share-the-thai/ #YEG #YEGGERS #EDMONTON #OILERS #EDMONTONESKIMOS #Thai Dish • Dish Review • This WeekShare the Thai September 28, 2017 by Scott Lingley Add Comment / JProcktor Thai eatery has the potential to become a new Edmonton staple The thing many people want from Thai food is authenticity—just so long as its evocative of the stalls and street carts of smelly old Bangkok, that’s all you’re asking. If you’ve ever had your stomach scorched by a steady diet of cheap, fresh, deliciously potent food as you backpacked your way through the infernal emerald free-for-all that is Thailand, you probably cherish the eye-watering curries, som tums and nam priks that sent your diaphragm into convulsions at first bite. Places like Syphay, Viphalay, Boualouang and Million Thai bob above the surface of Edmonton’s teeming Thai food-scape for me—you probably know of a nook somewhere near you that doles out the good stuff—and they all tick the authentic box, based on a rapidly fading memory of a Siamese romp a dozen years ago. But sometimes, it’s nice to be surprised by something new. LOFT Thai Eatery is an ambitious little venture on what looks like a pretty chanceless stretch of 75 Street, with a classy looking logo and a name that reflects the size, if not the altitude, of the dining area (ie: not all that big). It’s as though there’s no room for decoration, though the place gets by on its sleek new-restaurant austerity and floor-to-ceiling  windows. The menu mixes up the expected (soups, curries, noodles) with some novel twists, most notably a sexy list of entrees that includes braised short rib, baby back ribs, salmon and—oh my god—duck. Co-diner and I agree we must try the confit curry ($23), though I’m barely less insistent about the seafood drunken bucatini ($18). Our guest co-diners go the more trad route with pad thai ($18.50) and chicken in green curry ($15). And so it went with appetizers: Thai arancini ($9.50) for us, “zap” wings for them ($12.50). We agreed the appetizers were good but not great. Arancini are an Italian thing, usually, and “deep fried balls of rice full of cheese” doesn’t really get at how elegant they can b (at LOFT Thai Eatery)

[therese-trango]

Drunken noodle & Green curry. My mouth is on fire, but is worth it! 😱🔥 (at Viphalay)

[missguomeiyun]

dinner @ Viphalay

Hello everyone! Omg it has been a crazy week.. . I came back from S.Korea on Sunday (afternoon), & then went to work starting Monday, & I’m doing a 7-day stretch. No rest at all. When I came back earlier this week, I didn’t sleep for like 60 hrs, including the time difference & the flight. It was pretty bad. But hey! I’m functional & now I’m back to the normal routine =] I haven't decided what to do about my S. Korea trip stuff yet tbh. I recorded quite a bit of videos (many short ones) & I was thinking of doing vlogs with them. Or maybe I should just stick with blogging. *shrugs* I don’t know yet. I’m still working on Vancouver trip things -.-” let me know what you think!

In any case, it was Friday yesterday & my bro ff is in town this wknd so we hung out - Fantastic 4 haha

Prior to meeting up with them, I went here briefly bcos Victor lives nearby & we were all heading to his condo. Was thinking maybe it would look really nice but I think I’ve missed the fall look of this place.

The River Valley looked so.. .dry.

Anyways, we all met up, chatted for a bit & I handed out souvenirs. Then we went for dinner at Viphalay. Funny story about this actually - I’m actually coming here next Tuesday in a few days. I have never gone to this restaurant but I always hear about it from my high school group of friends. So when we decided to come here (with the high school group), I was like “yay I haven’t been!” But last night, this was the chosen place bcos it was closeby & we all wanted Thai food. So last night became my 1st visit here. Sorry Bff’s =P

Smaller than I thought, the place seemed very cozy. I generally don’t like patios much, but their patio was pretty cute (obviously it wasn’t open but I can imagine what it was like in the summer).

Menu page 1.

Menu page 2.

The vibe was nice in there. Fancier than Syphay, which is pretty much my one (& only) other Thai food experience. The place was small but it was even smaller inside. The space between tables was very tight; it was a very lively place for a Friday evening, which was not surprising. [They do have a 2nd floor but I don’t know what it’s like up there.] The service was excellent; servers were attentive & really knew the menu well. However, they did miss the fact that there were only 2 sets of utensils on the table (for the 4 of us). Had to flag them down during the middle of our appetizer haha.

The middle of our table had this “display”. Very interesting~

Sampler platter of appetizers bcos we wated (mostly me) to try everything. My fav was the item on the right end - shrimp with a garlicy & bbq-y sauce. It  might have been their red wine shrimp, but I did not taste any red wine. The others (from left to right): mini shrimp rolls, spring rolls, shrimp & pineapple triangles, & cream cheese wontons. My preference is also in that order :P close 1st & 2nd place, but the triangles... I dunno, not much filling in them. The cream cheese wontons were also just mediocre for me.

Spicy beef stirfry. It was delicious!!!! We weren’t thinking of ordering this as the “4th dish” but the server was like “are you sure that’s gonna be enough for the 4 of you to share? I recommend ordering a stir-fry.” & he went on to recommend the basil stir-fry with shrimp. In the end we said we wanted the basil stir-fry with beef, however, he said if we’re going for beef, the spicy beef is better. So that’s how we ended up with this dish! & I’m super happy we ended up here haha definitely had a kick to it - a nice one that was lasting.

Gaeng Kiew Wan, aka green curry. We got it with chicken. I was actually expecting it to be more coconut-y. Compared to the one at Syphay, this was not as coconut-y. I liked both though =]

The above 2 dishes - the beef stiry-fry & green curry - were so good with the coconut rice! We had a large bowl to share between the of us & I think that was the perfect amount.

You simply cannot visit a Thai restaurant without getting pad thai! I feel like pad thai is like.. . kimchi lol Every place/family/household/etc makes it a bit differently. To me, I felt this was not as sweet as the Syphay version, more savoury & the noodles are thicker. Either way, I love pad thai! It would take a lot for me to find it dissatisfying.

There was quite a crowd when we 1st arrived, but by 9pm, the place was pretty cleared up. Thus I was able to take this photo. The restaurant can fit ~30 ppl.

They have a selection of wines.

The cashier counter is also where the bar is located.

Overall, 1st impression was *thumbs*. Service was good, food was delicious, & company was awesome =] Looking forward to my Tuesday visit haha 10/10~

Following dinner, we walked to Snowy Village to grab dessert. It was my 2nd time going, & a 1st time experience going after 9:30pm. Holyyyy... there were so many ppl there! They close at 11:30pm, & we left shortly before 11pm; there were ppl waiting outside =O crazyyyy! 1.5months ago when I went, the wait was super long between ordering & getting the bingsoo, but I think they’ve figured things out from then. Even with the busy atmosphere, my injeolmi bingsoo only took 15mins.

YUMMMM~

The rest of them shared a watermelon bingsoo lol I didn’t try it bcos I didn’t want to mix watermelon with my injeolmi & red bean, but yeah.. the watermelon bingsoo was huge!

Thanks for an awesome night out :)

[missguomeiyun]

dinner @ Viphalay (again)

Hey guys! Guess what.. . it’s another post of Viphalay Laos & Thai Restaurant :P

^But 1st, twinning drinks (kashmire chai at Remedy) with Diana =]

For a group of 4 girls, we ordered the following last night~

Gaeng Kha Gai, aka coconut soup. When we were at Remedy sipping our kashmire chai, Diana had strongly recommended this soup. She said it’s sweet, savoury, & sour all in one. I had a hard time associating the ‘sweet, savoury, & sour’ flavour with something that I had eaten in the past.. . but when I 1st tasted this soup, I instantly knew what she meant & I absolutely agreed! It was a very interesting (a delicious one) flavour. It was really unlike anything I have eaten.. . so I can’t tell you what it tastes like lol you just gotta try it for yourself. In the soup, there’s mushrooms, handful of tomato pieces, chicken & some greens (green onion & cilantro). YUM!

This was the Geang Gali, ie: the yellow curry. It has carrots, potatoes, & galangal root, & we got the curry with chicken. I found this to be spicier than the green curry; it was pretty much like the standard curry - the simple yellow kind that’s popular as part of “homecooking” (esp in my kitchen). I think I prefer this yellow curry over the green one, which is more coconut-y. I did not taste any coconut in this one. My favourite part is always going to be the carrots & potatoes =P

Here’s the green curry/Gaeng Kiew Wan. The portion looked larger than Friday evening but taste, of course, was the same. Very coconut-y & the consistency is quite soupy, & not as thick was the yellow curry. We also got it with chicken.

Puht Kieh Mow MaMa. Its English name is very interesting: Drunken Noodles haha. It is supposed to be an intense blast of spice with egg noodles & vegetables, with choice of protein (beef, in our case). Bcos Diana cannot handle spicy foods that well, we requested this noodle dish to have “mild” spice instead. I had everything else 1st, THEN ate these noodles, so tbh, I didn’t think it was spicy at all (compared to everything else). Definitely want to try the “normal” level of spice next time! But anyway, I felt this dish was pretty average, nothing stood out to me - but that’s likely due to the mild spicy level. It was similar to home-style beef & veggie stir-fry with noodles, making it on the bottom of my list.

Puht Kah Pao, aka spicy basil stir-fry (with chicken). The server from Friday had suggested this stir-fry with shrimp but.. . obviously we love chicken! This was delicious! I loved the level of spiciness & of course, the strong flavour of basil. It was a very appetizing dish, & it was just so yummy with coconut rice!

Now, between the spicy basil stir-fry & the spicy beef stir-fry. I don’t know.. . I like both. I do, however, feel beef & basil would not be as matching as basil with chicken or shrimp. I’m not sure how/why I feel that way, but both dishes were really good to me!

That’s our food.

Then came dessert time, & I believe there was some miscommunication/misunderstanding.. . lol just kidding! We ended up with 5 desserts to share between us.

1st off, Diana got the roti. It’s a fried pastry (sweet on its own) with condensed milk rolled inside as the filling. Can get pretty messy but it’s so GOOOOOD! Tasted extra amazing when you scoop some ice cream on top & put it all in your mouth in 1 bite - you’ve got the cold ice cream & the hot & sweet pastry! I highly recommend!

Banana envelopes. I unfortunately did not try this so I can’t tell you much about it besides describe it to you. Banana inside spring roll wrappers & deep fried, then powdered sugar, brown sugar, & cinnamon powder are sprinkled on top. When it was 1st brought out, all you can smell is cinnamon!

Our 5 desserts: 2x banana envelopes, roti, 1 scoop of mango ice cream, & 2 scoops of coconut ice cream.

Thankful for the delicious foods & amazing company on this wonderful evening =]

[missguomeiyun]

dinner @ Viphalay (downtown)

Sorry guys. .. I am playing catch-up again! I was doing well for a while but then. .. things just get in the way, you know? I should be able to catch up on all my posts these next few days bcos… *drumroll* I AM ON STAYCATION for a week. It’s really cold in Edmonton for the next 4-5 days, so I don’t anticipate going out. I also leave on Thursday so I need to start packing soon. Can you guess where I’m heading? It’s “closeby”, 2 diff cities in 2 diff countries; each one approx. 4.5 days (leaving for the 2nd place on “day 5″). I’ll let you know in the next post! 

Ok, my friends & I came here to Viphalay (downtown) over a week ago on a Friday. It was still kind of early for dinner, like we arrived around 5:40ish - the main floor was full! Thus we were seated upstairs. The upstairs looked like this; much bigger than main floor. Susan said even this 2nd floor is filled up for lunch sometimes. On the day we went, there was a birthday dinner happening (large table on the right side of this photo) & another large group on the left. It got noisy real fast! 

Here’s our view haha we got the window table. 

The manu hasn’t changed since my last visit, which was quite a while ago. .. 

I didn’t take a photo of their dessert menu but it’s separate & also has a short drinks menu as well.

The coconut soup. The soup looks “plain” & clean, but don’t let that fool you! It’s sweet, savoury, & has a little spicy kick to it. Very flavourful & contains a good amount of ingredients in it. 1 soup serves 6 bowls- highly recommend it to share.

Drunken noodles with beef. We got this last time as well. The level of spiciness is customizable; while we got the “mild” last time, we upgraded to a “2nd highest level of spiciness” this time. I am so glad we did! It goes in well, & you wouldn’t think it’d get too crazy but trust me, it gets spicy the longer you chew it in your mouth. Diana, who can’t handle spicy foods well, was almost dying. For me, I would say. .. spicy food lovers would enjoy this.

Tamarind chicken. I REALLY liked the chicken; they are boneless thigh & breast pieces, & what I liked about it was that they were slightly fried. I’m not entirely sure what the term is in English, but in Chinese, there’s a specific term that describes “partially quick fried”. It’s not battered & deep fried in boiling oil till it’s cooked, it’s not battered & stir-fried in a pan. .. it’s like lightly coated/battered & goes thru a quick deep fry process. So even before adding the sauce & other ingredients, the pieces are not crispy BUT has that thin layer of fried coat. This dish had that & was so lovely. The sauce was good; had a nice sweet tone to it. I could, however, do without all the onions, ginger, & bell peppers. 

Massamun curry (with beef). This is a brown curry, very sweet in flavour, with carrot, potato, & onions. Contains a base that has peanuts, tamarind, & cinnamon. Now, for those of you know me. .. I’m allergic to cinnamon but I honestly think it is the type & amount =/ I ate this without thinking too much about it & I really like the massamun curry at another Thai restaurant (I’ve had no issues there). Turned out I didn’t get the usual fuzzy tongue from eating this! So. .. maybe my allergy is going away. 

The green curry with chicken. So good! I found that it was very watery. .. Still very flavourful & coconut-y, but it was runny/not thick. It was kind of weird actually. A little disappointed by this. 

Dessert time~ 3 scoops of ice creams: mango, vanilla, & coconut. 

Banana envelopes. I did not try this. 

Roti rolls. We ordered 2 & it was gone so fast! I highly recommend this bcos it’s very good. Freshly fried, crispy exterior, & inside is soft & sweet. 

Things were good! :D 9/10.