Thai Tip

I have eaten a fair amount of Thai food over the years, it is one of my favorite Asian cuisines due to the great flavors and heat; however, I cannot digest curry too well and Thai food has a fair amount of curry dishes, so my assessment of Thai cuisine may be incomplete. I have eaten at a number of Thai places in Albuquerque, but I have never been or heard of Thai tip. This is a hidden gem. The restaurant is very small and tucked away in the corner in the strip mall in the north east corner of Wyoming and Constitution. The restaurant has about ten small table tops that can seat around thirty patrons. The decor is modest. Prior to my initial visit, I phoned ahead for certain details and a gentleman who spoke English without any accent, so I was unsure of what I was in store for. The man who answered the phone was the owner who is a jovial, middle aged Anglo man. His wife, Tip, who is Thai is the cook. From a friend, I heard this was some of the best Thai food he had eaten since Thailand, but he was only in Thailand for less than a day. However his short stint in Thailand allowed him to have a great taste for Thai food. He was dead on about Thai Tip.
Pictured to the left is a kind of soup that I cannot recall what it was, but my dinner companion had no complaints about it. I ordered the beef pad gra prow which is chilies with Thai basil. I asked for it as a hot of ten out of ten. The owner advised against this and listened to his advice. His recommendation was get it Thai hot and get it hotter next time if I could handle the heat. Another one of my companions ordered the pad thai. I am glad that I went with the spiciness warning. I could handle the heat, but I also enjoyed the other flavors of this dish. My dinner companion who ordered the pad thai shared and it was excellent as well. One of my companions asked for soy sauce, the owner was pleasant when he advised against this, but he did comment that this was not Chinese food that that the soy sauce would alter intended flavors of the Thai food. I thought his advice was well done. At a handful of excellent restaurants, you will not see salt or pepper on the table, because the chefs feel that you do not need to modify their food. I know as Americans we have a bad habit of seasoning our food before we taste it. I too am guilty of this. I love pepper in my food and start throwing it on there before even lifting a fork. The owner did oblige and brought my fellow dinner companion the soy sauce. She used it sparingly on her rice. Pictured to the right is the pad gra prow dish that I ordered. The consensus about Thai Tip is the food is great. It's great due to the freshness of the ingredients. The owner told us that he is a frequent shopper. They may hit the store four time in one day. Thai Tip is some of the best Thai food I have had. I would give Thai Tip a rating of three and a half stars out of five.