May

An old friend of mine is back in town this week while he prepares to move from Korea to Hawaii. Although he's very dear to me he's not particularly reliable so I was surprised to receive a call from him inviting me to meet up for dinner. I was fresh out of the gym when I received the details and arrived at the restaurant a good twenty minutes after the rest of the party.

My dinner companions had just finished consuming their appetizer but had decided not to order dinner without me. I ordered a pint and quickly scanned the menu in hopes of minimizing the wait before food would finally arrive. I didn't have to wait long for my beer but the waitress managed to disappear before we could ask her about ordering. It was becoming evident that this dinner would drag on.

I like the people I was dining with but they are very awkward to converse with. We had all worked together at my last job but one of them was my boss - particularly disliked by my coworkers. The rest of the party consisted of her husband, my friend, and his brother. I met my friend through a role-playing game and his brother is by far the shyest person I have ever met. The food could not arrive fast enough - and they really made us wait. It was a good twenty-five minutes before we saw a plate which is not a reasonable wait for a Thai restaurant.

I allowed myself to order the Phad Thai - for purpose of comparison. I like to challenge myself to try new things but I have certain weaknesses. May's Phad Thai wins high marks for presentation. My dish arrived covered in banana leaf which the waitress peeled to the side. She spooned some chili flakes and sugar on to the noodles and tossed them for me. The other person who ordered Phad Thai was merely told to watch and copy her moves. As far as taste, it was acceptable. It wasn't too slimy, or too saucy, and ketchup didn't appear to be an ingredient. The downfall is they charge $14, almost twice what I'd normally expect to pay. For that price I'd expect to be blown away.

By the time we finished my friends had been there for two hours - and only about a quarter of that time was spent with food in front of us. The waitress was clearly trying to rush us out the door before some of our table had finished eating. We weren't exactly taking our sweet time!