Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Sea Modern Thai Cuisine - Petaluma

600 Petaluma Blvd South, Petaluma CA 94952
(707) 766-6633
Sea Thai Bistro, Santa Rosa and Corte Madera
Parking: street parking
http://seathaibistro.com/

Last Visited: April 1, 2006

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

SEA has a modern décor that matches its name. From the street, the windows show the high tables and chairs with people enjoying the food. It’s got a trendy feel with warm rich colors and wall hangings. Walk up the steps and see the giant Buddha surrounded by tropical faux flowers and plants including birds of paradise and orchids. On the left side is the kitchen and large stainless steel hoods above it. Just below, large orange flames burst up as Chef Tony cooks. On the right side is bench seating covered with small cushions. A large mirror gives the room a more open feel. The place has a posh atmosphere and would be ideal for date night. The tile floor is reddish orange with cobalt blue small tiles inset between the large ones. The room is painted a muted red with blues and browns around. Colorful table runners hang from the wall. Tapestries show elephants on them and there are bamboo stalks in vases around the room. Also on the walls are plates, wine glasses, and bottles.

Above the open kitchen is a chalkboard that lists the desserts and specials of the day. The servers all wear black long sleeve colored shirts with bright reddish/orange ties. The tables are covered with table cloths and lined in white paper. On each table are wine glasses, a tea light candle, two forks and a knife per seating. The room is noisy as the music is overpowered by people’s conversation. As the evening progresses, the restaurant gets packed. Reservations are not accepted, and the waiting area is small, so prepare yourself for a wait if you come during rush hour.

- Savory Lamb Satay – Lamb is marinated in coconut milk and curry, then skewered and grilled. The satay is served with cucumber vinaigrette and peanut sauce. The skewered meat was a little too sweet and slightly overdone. They would have been better if they had been cooked to medium rather than well-done. Nice presentation on a long rectangular white dish. The cucumber vinaigrette (cucumber slices with red onions in a light, sweet vinegar dressing) was refreshing. Okay. $8

- Starters Parade – The starters parade includes two spring roles, two Portobello mushroom, two chicken satay, two mummy chicken, and two The Little Basket. It was served with two dipping sauces (peanut sauce for the satay and another sauce for the spring rolls). The menu stated that crispy prawns and fish cakes would be part of the starters parade, but instead, we got the list above (mushrooms in place of one thing, and nothing to replace the second item. This is not noticeable unless you’re like me and go back to the menu. I didn’t ‘try the spring rolls, but the mushroom is cut thick and breaded in a tempura like batter. The menu says it is toped with roasted sesame seeds, but it was not. Good, but not enough quantity(especially not if it was supposed to replace the seafood). The chicken satay are large pieces of chicken breast marinated in coconut milk and curry. I found the chicken on the dry side and only better when accompanied by the peanut sauce. It was difficult to get off the skewer (another sign of too dry). The mummy chicken was wrapped in pandan leaves. I don’t remember seeing a bacon strip, and the piece is very small – about the size of your pinky. It too was dry (probably since it was deep fried and not breaded). The little basket is made of fried egg noodles broken up and tossed with a sweet and sour sauce, mixed nuts, shredded carrots, cilantro, and lots of red onion. I found the red onion to be a bit overpowering since it was in chunks though it had been sliced. The menu describes it as served on fresh spinach leaves, but it was served on romaine leaves. Overall, I’m probably more disappointed by the fact that there aren’t prawns and fish cake anymore, but it’s a good way to try everything. I would suggest ordering spring rolls and Portobello mushroom as starters on their own. $14

- The Famous Pad Thai Noodle with Prawns - About four or five prawns are served with these rice noodles in a sweet tamarind sauce. Egg, ground peanuts, green onions, bean sprouts, and carrots are stir-fried with the noodles. The menu states that it’s served with fresh lettuce and lime. We received a slice of lemon and a lot of fresh spinach and lettuce in what looked like a salad. The salad took up about a quarter of the plate. I would have preferred the pad thai without the salad. Good flavor. $12

- Mother of Pearl with Beef – Served with steamed rice, this dish contains very large florets of broccoli. The dish is described as stir fried with garlicky oyster and wine sauce, served on a bed of lightly steamed broccoli crowns. There was no description of what was being stir fired in the garlicky sauce though. When it came out, it looked like broccoli beef. The florets were huge. Too huge in fact. The beef was only a fair cut and a bit chewy. I think I can cook better broccoli beef at home. $10

- Red Pumpkin Curry with Chicken – Red curry paste and coconut milk are cooked with pumpkin squash, bell peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini, and sweet basil. The chicken in this dish was breast meat. The flavor is delicious and the concoction is served in a large square white bowl. The zucchini wasn’t present, but there was yellow squash. It’s accompanied with a side of steamed rice. You’ll probably need more rice so that you can enjoy the curry. Creamy with great flavor, but a bit too many vegetables. It’s one of the better dishes overall. $11

- Green Curry with Chicken – Green curry paste and coconut milk with the same vegetables as that listed above, and some mushrooms. Again, no zucchini, but yellow squash instead. Great, flavorful curry. And you’ll want more rice to enjoy it. $10

- Sea Fried Rice with Chicken – When you look at the rice, it looks too moist, but when you taste it, it’s okay. The rice is flavored with a bit of fish sauce and has a tan color. There are a lot of vegetables in the fried rice – too many vegetables. The menu states that onion, tomato, corn, and red bell pepper are in the fried rice. I found everything except the corn. There was definitely no corn in this dish. For the chicken, SEA uses chicken breast. Overall, this dish was unimpressive, but the flavor was okay. $10

- Steamed Rice – The rice is served on a small white square plate and topped with sesame. During the first visit, I found the rice a bit too soggy/sticky, but it was better upon my second visit. $1

After two visits, I found the service to be consistently fair, leaving much to be desired. The curries and pad thai noodles are recommended, but other dishes seem overfilled with salad and large vegetables that overpower the meat in portion and presentation. I would have left the higher rating if the vegetables hadn't overtaken the meat in some of the other dishes. Food quality is fresh, but as a whole, there are other places to try. Atmosphere would have received a higher rating, but the noise drops it to a 3 to 4 star range. Great if you enjoy a trendy atmosphere.

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