Nearly a year ago, we moved to New Westminster with one number scrawled on a napkin: that of Bella Pizza’s New Westminster location. As you probably know, it is crucial to have pizza and beer on moving day and we had both of those, though I was unable to eat more than two pieces of pizza and drink more than one or two sips of beer due to the giant baby that was camping in my abdominal region. Here’s us a year ago:
Oh there is so much more crap in our living room now. Wow.
After that, what was left for two people who were tired, very very heavy (just me) didn’t have a vehicle and then, boom! had a baby so couldn’t go out for dinner even if they had the energy to get a cab to a restaurant? Pizza. And morrrrrre pizza. I looked on the web (because we didn’t have a phone book yet – little did I know that a phone book would not have been at all useful as the one specific to Burnaby and New Westminster has a laughable 5 or so pages of menus in its restaurant section, compared to the 25 or so in Vancouver) for delivery food in our new city and found very little information. I found an Indian place called Royal Tandoori and it was good (the Mango Butter Chicken was, like Communism, better on paper) but not fantastic, plus the food gave us tummyaches; now mine I can excuse because of the pregnancy but Saint Aardvark too and he rarely gets tummyaches. We tried “6th and 6th Wonton House” or something like that and it was without a doubt the worst Chinese food I have ever eaten.
One day there was a flyer in our mailbox for a Chinese restaurant in Coquitlam (the next suburb over, to the east) called The Ideal Place but this post is not about that restaurant. (It’s good, though. It has very tasty ginger beef. The true “ideal” place is a restaurant called Golden Great Wall which is within delivery range for those of you in Kitsilano and downtown. If you like spicy, they make an orange peel chicken that is sublime. If you REALLY like spicy, go eat there in person because it’s about 10x as hot when it’s not put in a styrofoam container, for whatever reason.)
This post is a solid, hearty endorsement for a restaurant called Thai Jasmine, located at 406 6th Street in New Westminster. I had walked past the restaurant quite a few times but it was overshadowed somewhat by the Hon’s Wonton House next door. I probably would never have gone in but for the recommendation of Crystal who works in the area and has eaten lunch everywhere there is to eat lunch. (Everywhere. Really.) I met her there for lunch a few weeks back and it was really good. It was so good – and my appetite is so huge – that we ordered dinner from there that very night because they deliver.
We have ordered several times since then and as I was stuffing Friday’s leftovers down my gullet yesterday afternoon and mumbling so goodso goooooood I thought I ought to perform a public service for people like us who have moved from the lush Amazon of take-out and delivery food (the west end, say) to the dry Sahara (New Westminster) and publish my pleasure for future googlers.
For about $30, we had enough food for 2 plus leftovers. We ordered the spring rolls, (presented in one of those little cardboard containers with the handle like you see on sit-coms, which is why Saint Aardvark continues to order them) the pineapple fried rice, which came complete with whole cashews, chicken and pineapple; the Pad King which was veggies and chicken in a ginger sauce and what has become my favourite:Pad Kee Mao which is rice noodles with eggs, pepper, garlic, chili and sweet basil (and your choice of chicken, beef or tofu). I have ordered this several times and it is always pefectly spiced. There is also enough basil so that you actually taste it; a rarity with restaurant food. I also ordered the Tom Yum Kung, a hot and sour soup with chicken, lime, mushrooms and chili; heavy on the lime and chili. It was fantastic. My throat sang with pleasure and my sinuses are truly terrified. I may never have to irrigate them again but if I do, I may use that soup instead of salt water.
The awning of Thai Jasmine reads: Eat Thai Taste Thai Love Thai and we chuckled at this when we first saw it, as well as at the awning across the street which reads, in part,
Licensed
halibut
but now we chuckle no longer for it is true. Thai Jasmine, New Westminster, BC, Canada. You eat it.
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