Pad Thai One On

Sheri and I went on a little adventure tonight. We went to Old Town Littleton to have dinner and do a bit of shopping. I also found a Thai restaurant called Wild Ginger to try out. I’m not a huge fan of Thai food (too much coconut) but there’s always something I can try. Sheri loves Thai food.

I also happen to like very spicy hot food and Thai restaurants typically oblige with a few dishes (or more than a few) being available at incendiary levels. The Seafood Pad Thai was available in mild, medium, hot and “Thai Hot”.

Thai Hot? Yes, please!

So that’s what I ordered. The waitress (who looked like she was from Thailand or had ancestors who were) raised one eyebrow and looked at the large white man ordering what’s clearly an “Asians-only” level of heat, telling me that, “it’s very hot” as a warning. I told her that I have been there and done that.

She simply shrugged and gave me this look:

Challenge_accepted

And boy was it.

The first bite was great. Lots of flavor, a big fat mussel, and a good amount of heat. Second bite was just as tasty, this time with a shrimp and more heat. Each successive bite was just as tasty as the others, but boy was that heat building. And multiplying. Oh man, this was HOT. They were not kidding. Our server came by after the third bite with a surprised look that I hadn’t died yet. She asked how it was and I declared it “perfect … exactly what I wanted.” She shook her head and walked away. I think she was secretly impressed but didn’t want me to know.

I. Loved. Every. Bite. Sure, I had tears, a runny nose, and was in pain. Breathing in burnt. Breathing out burnt. YES! But it was just that good. The level of heat was right at the threshold of what I could stand. Plus I knew the blessed endorphins would be kicking in after a while.

I ate about 1/2 of the plate, drank about 3 glasses of iced tea and 3 more of water, maybe 4. I was in my overly-spiced happy place.

I had a small dish of green tea ice cream as dessert and a preemptive strike against undigested capsaicin. The check came and our leftovers were neatly packaged. And as I was walking out, I saw our waitress and told her, “You weren’t kidding. That ‘Thai Hot’ is hot. Very hot. And it’s great.”

She then dropped a bomb: “We also have Extra Thai Hot.”

I told her I’d have to work up to that. But it’s good to know that when I level up, they’ll be ready.

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