Ho Mok Talay Revisited

When each of your parents has nine siblings, you are bound to share a birthday with one of your relatives, or at least come close.  My cousin Rachel celebrates her birthday two days before I do mine, so we have made it a tradition for just the two of us to get together and do something special.  This year we decided to venture out in pursuit of Ho Mok Talay served in a coconut shell. 

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about my accidental discovery of Ho Mok Talay, and that Sea Thai Restaurant in Seattle served it in a coconut shell.  Rachel and I made our way to Sea Thai Restaurant in the Wallingford neighborhood.  Since I am the kind of person who depends on landmarks instead of street signs, I made a mental note of the fact that Sea Thai Restaurant is a hole-in-the-wall little place between the famous Kabul Afghani Restaurant and the famous-for-a-different-reason Erotic Bakery.  We parked the car in one of the residential streets and made our way to Sea Thai.

The restaurant is a small, unassuming little place, with very limited seating.  It is clean and comfortable.  The menu is quite extensive, considering that the restaurant is so small.  We looked at the menu and decided on an appetizer along with our main entree.  The Angel Wings caught our eye.  It was described as Chicken wings stuffed with pork, shrimp, surimi (imitation crab), vegetables and bean thread noodles.  The chicken wings were steamed and then deep fried, and came with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce.  It was priced at a very reasonable $6.00 for a plate of two.  We ordered it along with a Ginger Tea for Rachel and a Thai Iced Coffee for me.  The Angel Wings (above) were quite good, served crisp and warm.  The dipping sauce was tangy and added good flavor, and the cabbage-carrot garnish added a nice crunch to the dish.  

Then came the Ho Mok Talay (left), with a side of steamed rice.  It came served in a coconut shell, as promised.  We ordered it spicy, as in 4 stars.  We were especially delighted to find some coconut meat on the "lid".  The dish itself was pretty good, with shrimp, scallops and mussels.  The coconut curry base was delicious and spicy.  There was also an unexpected amount of bamboo shoot in the dish.  Overall, I would say that the Ho Mok Talay did not disappoint, and the tender coconut meat definitely added to the complexity of the dish.  Rachel seemed to really enjoy it.  However, I still prefer what I had at Ochar Restaurant in Issaquah.  I just wish Ochar Restaurant would serve it in a coconut shell as well.

All said, I think I would like to visit Sea Thai Restaurant again.  I probably won't order the Ho Mok Talay again, but there are quite a few dishes on the menu that I think I would want to try.  I believe in supporting the small business owner who takes pride in what they do, and while Sea Thai doesn't have much to offer in terms of atmosphere, it seems to me like good food in a clean and comfortable environment is something the owner takes seriously.  And that's good enough for me.