Fabulous Gem of a Restaurant ~ 9 Bangkok

I have witnessed a miracle. The Mister tried a sushi roll from 9 Bangkok and declared it good. In twenty eight years, he has devoutly refused all things Thai or Sushi and today, he tried some and he liked it. The Mister liked it. I'm so happy.

9 Bangkok (727) 894-5990 Downtown St Petersburg 571 Central Ave St Petersburg, FL 33701 We have tried to entice him before and he has refused all entreaties and manners of lovely preparations with a sneer. Today, I brought home take-out from 9 Bangkok. The Universe shifted, you know what froze over and all is well in our household. By far, even in a white styrofoam container, this was superior food. Every bite exhibited care and perfect execution. I love the perfect pleats on the tops of the crab rangoon. The filling was flavorful and quite good.

The order of Kanom Jeep, dumplings stuffed with chicken and shrimp was very yummy. The Mister liked them very much.

Next up was the satay with a peanut sauce and a crisp sweet pretty cucumber salad. I had to fight to get a taste.

My personal favorite was the Lab Neua Thai Salad. I didn't share any of this with the Mister. A lovely cooked ground beef with lime juice, chili, and scallion over a bed of romaine and chopped red peppers. The tart pungent sauce with the warmed beef over the crispy romaine was delicious. It had enough heat to make me very happy.

I over ordered and the bowl of Tom Kha Gai is in the refrigerator for tomorrow's lunch. We were staring down two sushi rolls and were getting full. The soup of chicken, galanga, mushroom, lime juice in a coconut milk broth will a perfect lunch for tomorrow's painting project.

Finally, the piece de resistance of the evening. Two perfectly presented rolls in a disposable box. Still done with care and lovely to look at and even more lovely to eat. The Red Dragon is fried shrimp, with scallion, tuna, avocado on top with spicy mayo. The Futomaki is Krab, tomago, carrot, asparagus, radish and avocado. I loved the crunchy pretty veggie mosaic in the Futomaki. The fried shrimp tail extended from each end of the Red Dragon roll was superb. My dear dear husband could not resist trying a bite of each and went back for a second bite. Nothing could have surprised me more. I won't have to fight to go eat Thai any more as long as we go to 9 Bangkok. Thank you dearly for such care and lovely food. It was a true pleasure to eat and very enjoyable. The prices were phenomenal for the portions and I highly recommend their food.

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The Bamboo Bistro

The family tried the Bamboo Bistro on 75th Avenue on St. Pete Beach tonight.  It was delicious.
The restaurant occupies the tiny space formerly known as Oscar's on 75th.  There is ample parking behind the building.  It sits next to the infamous "Shhh, Don't Tell Mama" adult store.

There is a lovely deck in the back with seating.  It has some Roman busts on the wall which is a bit of a disconnect.  It is still a pleasant spot to sit on a fresh cool November evening.  The interior has been painted in a deep red walls, black ceiling and large golden bamboo poles askew against the walls.  The floors are dark wood.

There is a very nice selection of sushi items and specialty rolls.  We chose a spicy tuna roll ($9,95) and one called red hot chili peppers.  Both were very good.  I particularly liked the read hot chili pepper roll ($13.95).  It had tuna inside and tuna outside, with jalapenos, tempura crispy something and it was very good.  I like spicy.  Both were plated beautifully and had generous amounts of wasabi and pickled ginger.

Beer and Wine selections are the usual generic versions.  Hot or cold sake is offered, too.  A generous glass of wine is $5.00 each and a Miller Lite is $2.95 a bottle.

The Daughter raves about the crab rangoon, and they were hot, fresh, crispy and had a nice dipping sauce.  Dad was very happy with his pork potstickers.  They were tender and flavorful.    I can't share a picture of my Tom Yum Shrimp soup, ($3.95).  We ate it before I remembered a picture.  It was tart, spicy, gingery with three perfectly cooked large plump tender shrimp.  Sooooo good.  Service can be a bit scattered but with food this good, we weren't complaining.

The Mr. enjoyed his dish of Mongolian beef very much.  The onions and beef were tender and flavorful. The Daughter could barely eat her entree of Broccoli Ginger chicken, only because she had too much sushi!!.  It was perfectly cooked, the chicken slices were not rubbery.  You could tell this was cooked to order.  The only miss of the night was the Bamboo Eggplant in peanut sauce.  The tofu cubes were lightly fried pillows of airy protein.  The sauce suffered by being much too sweet and cloying for my taste.  It needed a serious punch of lime and heat to counteract the thick sweet peanut flavor.  

Yes, we will go back.  Do the sushi,  Hot & Sour or Tom Yum soup and save some room for the desserts.  We want to try the Thai donut and the Bamboo Banarama Sundae.  Tempura fried bananas, ice cream, and hot fudge.  Just shoot me now.  Really that sounds like fun!

Those are the happy faces of my family after a good supper.  Please tell them Olivia sent you in to give them a try. .