MSG150: Seattle International District Lunch Food: January 2010

The fireproof Bush Hotel has done some remodeling lately and has a couple of new tenants. One on the NW corner is a small Dim Sum cafe with a large new sign. Today five MSG150 lunchers headed out with the "Seattle sunshine" dampening our clothes but not our hunger to check out this new spot

Dim Sum King, Seattle
Address: 409 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 1/11/2010 @ 11:50:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 32 minutes
Chopstix quality: Plastic Fork
Do they use MSG?:
Where is the owner/chef from?:
Number of tables: 6
Number of occupied tables: 3 (50%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (33%)
Number of "local" tables: 2 (66%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf, Chicken Foot, Onion Bun, and various other Dim Sum favorites. - $5.25
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

Dim Sum King is the smallest Dim Sum restaurant in the ID and the only one with counter only service. There was only one other person in front of us so it was barley enough time to figure out what and how to order. There's a lunch special that includes rice or chow mein and two choices of Dim Sum. I chose to order al la carte.

I had seen a giant Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf go by already so I ordered one for my self. As I was the last of our group to order I poked around and tried to uncover items that others hadn't already ordered. I went with a Chicken Foot and various other rolls and dumplings. I paid a very modest $5.25 for my haul, grabbed a cup of the dark black tea and headed back to sit down at the cafeteria style seating.

The Onion Bun was delicious -- although I've never had an onion bun I didn't love. The Shu Mai were big and tasty. The large Ginger Dumpling was cold and a bit chewy. The Chicken Foot was fine if your into that kind of thing, but also a bit cold. The most impressive part of the meal was the Sticky Rice. It was HUGE. For a buck fifty (the same price as beer nuts) you could easily fill up on this alone. That reminds me, what's the difference between Sticky Rice at the Dim Sum King and deer nuts? The Sticky Rice is a buck fifty; deer nuts are under a buck.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Sticky Rice, Sui Mai, Shrimp Dumpling, Pork Pot Sticker, Steamed BBQ Dumpling, Chicken wings - $6.50
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

This place gets a +1 for awkwardness. There is a small storefront, and very few tables. We were unsure if we should sit or head up to the buffet. I am vaguely reminded of trips to Morrison's Cafeteria with Grandma.

We soon get the swing of things, and I start barking out what looks good - chicken wings hmm yes, Sui Mai, some shrimp, oh and how bout some rice, good. The Sui Mai came out of a massive round container containing perhaps 50-75 dumplings. Perhaps we should come back and go party style on one of those suckers. The Sticky Rice was massive, and alright. The Sui Mai were fairly basic, slightly less good than its competitors. The wings were not super fresh, but tasty with a little hot sauce. The Steamed BBQ Pork Dumpling was fresh and quite good. The Pork Pot sticker was forgettable. The Shrimp Dumpling had nice flavor, but the dumpling shell was kind of tough.

What this place lacks in food quality they make up for in price and quickness. You could be in and out with a good sized meal in under 10 minutes for under $5. I may return for a quick fix.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Lunch Special: Chow Mein, Shu Mai, and Fried Meat Turnover - $4.99
Rating: 2 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

We have an unofficial "8 hour rule." That is, don't write your review until you (and your body) have had 8 hours to process your thoughts and food. We had lunch at noon, and on the bus ride home at 7PM... my stomach did a flip. I'm not directly blaming Dim Sum King (DSK), but I don't believe that these two points are unrelated.

My chow mein would've been perfect for drunk food: It's cheap, it's greasy, and it's fast. For lunch, it makes my stomach sad. My Shu Mai was OK, and if forced back to DSK I would order them. My Fried Meat Turnover was cold, undercooked, overly-doughy, and lacking meat.

Maybe I ordered the wrong thing, but I don't think I'm headed back.

Luncher: Dave

Lunch: Lunch Special: Chow Mein, Shu Mai, Dumplings, + Sticky Rice - $5.49
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Dave's Review

not sure i'd call this 'dim sum', strictly speaking, but it was pretty plentiful and cheap. as i'm sure others will mention, the sticky rice alone could just about be a meal; add in a couple of shu mai and dumplings at $.50 a pop and you've just had a $2.50 lunch. everything tasted good; the shu mai and sticky rice were quite good. the chow mein was typical chinese steam-table chow mein, which was fine but probably superfluous. i'm a little torn -- on paper, tasty and inexpensive sounds great, but in reality it was a little uninspiring. it's certainly not a replacement for real dim sum, but i could see going back.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Onion Bun, BBQ Pork Bun, Dumpling, 2 Shu Mai, Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf, & Tea - $4.99
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Al's Review

Super fast dim sum and soooo cheap. I didn't care I felt ill afterwards.

Dim Sum King Photos

Dim Sum King

Dim Sum King Menu

Ordering at the Counter

Display Counter

Dave's Lunch

Adam's Lunch

Emmett's Lunch

Dim Sum Close-up

1/2 of Al's Lunch

Geary's Lunch

Sticky Rice Exposed

COFFEE TEA FOOD SNACK. When this place opened in November with this all-caps message on the storefront awning it was easy to assume it was going to be just another scary mart servicing the folks lingering on the corner of 5th and Jackson. However, upon closer inspection it appeared to be a legitimate lunch option with possibly edible food. We even got word from reliable sources that it may even be good. Today five MSG150 lunchers stopped by to check it out.

Thai Curry Simple, Seattle
Address: 406 5th Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98014
Cuisine: Thai
Average rating: 4.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 1/5/2010 @ 11:40:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 37 minutes
Chopstix quality: Slivery Wood in Customized Sleeve
Do they use MSG?: No - The owners are allergic.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Thailand
Number of tables: 6
Number of occupied tables: 1 (16%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (100%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Pad Thai Chicken - $5.00
Rating: 5 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

I haven't done this in a while... but... bam!: 5 chopsticks. Thai Curry Simple (TCS) is lunch perfection.

There are so many variables that are in perfect harmony (quality, price, size, assortment, etc), that anything less than a 5 is wrong. The food at Thai Curry Simple is just that: Simple. It's not amazing; it's not fancy; it's good; it's hearty; it's fun to eat. My problems with Phad Thai usually fall into two categories: it's too peanut-y or it's too ketchup-y, and this was neither. It reminded me of my first experience with Thai food and thinking: "holy crap, this is just damned good."

TCS has an excellent assortment of hot sauces, of which I used four and one of which blew my socks off. I haven't talked about hot sauce in a while, but this place had it in spades. Because the hot sauce is available to the consumer, you can make your food however many "stars" you want. On a scale of 1-to-5... mine was on the high-side of 6 (whoops, this is going to hurt tomorrow). I loved it.

The price is $5. That gets you a place of food that is a great size. When it was first served, I was thinking: "This looks kind of small." But at the end of the dish, I thought: "That was perfect." I wasn't crammed full of food, and I wasn't still hungry. I didn't have a post-lunch sleep attack that is frequent with restaurant lunches.

The owners are definitely wily veterans of the lunch-restaurant game; apparently the wife has owned and operated several lunch outfits in NYC. They've got me hooked. I left Thai Curry Simple with a smile on my face, a full belly, and thoughts about when I could return.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Pad Thai Chicken - $5.00
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

When we showed up today all but the "CK" had been scraped off the awning. There is a tiny sticker in the window with the store name, ThaiCurrySimple.com. The interior is a little dark, but nicely appointed with a mix a Thai decorations and other oddities including a set of kitsch bird houses hung from the ceiling. There is a large, clear, but limited, menu on the wall with a section of Thai lunch dishes for $5 each plus desserts and drinks. I went with the Chicken Pad Thai.

Thai Curry Simple also sells sauce packets for $2 each to take home and recreate the dishes in your own kitchen. I examined the Pad Thai sauce for signs of ketchup and to my delight didn't detect any. My hopes for the lunch increased. The Pad Thai was in fact delicious. The chicken was tender and it had a nice tangy sauce. It was made even better with the liberal addition of homemade hot sauce, one of the many hot sauce choices on the table.

The owner (cashier/server) noticed we were taking photos and introduced us to his wife (cook) who is apparently a Thai food blogger (her blog is in Thai). We learned that they had run a similar restaurant in NYC for ten years before moving to Seattle. He also gave us a couple of cups of a tasty Thai tapioca dessert. Our plan to get free food has finally paid off.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Green Curry - $5.00
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

This joint, on a corner known more for homelessness than Thai Curry, is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. We've laughed at the name a bit as we walked by, not brave enough to try it till now. Coworkers have reported that it's interesting, and brought back strange artifacts from their ventures forth, like little plastic bags of curry juice. Excitedly we entered.

The place is clean, well decorated, and in spite of the grey walls, warm. There are a handful of curry options, pad thai, some Ro Tee, and a variety of to-go sweets and other such things. My green curry chicken was flavorful, though when served was closer to room temperature than hot. It was also heavy on chicken and bamboo shoots, light on the eggplant. Regardless, I enjoyed it, spiced with a little of the "No Kidding" hot sauce.

For dessert we shared the Banana Chocolate Ro Tee, which needless to say, was tasty for $3 or so. There are not enough Thai places in this neighborhood, and I'm happy for one more option. All in all a great bargain, and a great choice for a quick cheap lunch.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Red Curry Tofu Veggie - $5.00
Rating: 5 Chopsticks

Rob's Review

I never would have known there was a Thai restaurant here just from walking by -- the first thing I noticed was a big sign in the window advertising coffee and lattes. But it's definitely a great find. My red curry tofu veggie lunch showed up with what looked like only soft tofu and carrots (with choice of white or brown rice), and that made me a little nervous because I'm not the biggest fan of carrots. On closer inspection, though, I was happy to find cauliflower and onions and, if I remember correctly, bamboo shoots. The carrots had been steamed or boiled pretty soft, and the curry masked their flavor, which made me even happier -- carrots without carrots, sort of. The curry reminded me of dishes I've had in Thailand: simple and flavorful. But not so spicy, and that was easily resolved with the homemade hot sauce in a plastic tub on the table. Taking the lid off the tub released the sauce's wonderful aroma, and its taste and heat kicked ass. I savored every bite as beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. The Thai Iced Tea was good, too. And they do Ro Tee, which is something I haven't seen much or at all here. Those Thai pancakes were a staple of mine when I was traveling there a year and a half ago. So yeah, Thai Curry Simple is pretty awesome, and I'm looking forward to going back. All they need is better signage.