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Review content:
I recently moved to Pittsburgh, and high on the list of determining factors in evaluating the livability of my neighborhood was finding a good Thai restaurant. On an apartment hunting trip earlier in the summer, I had been brutally poisoned at the Thai Place on Craig Street, so I had ruled out the viability of their sister location on Walnut Street as well. A little online sleuthing proved invaluable, in that it led me to Typhoon on S. Highland. Start to finish, the meal exceeded all of my expectations. We started with the Thai calamari and Typhoon roll (a traditional fresh spring roll with crab instead of shrimp). Both were delightfully trendy and well constructed, but the real test remained with the Tom Kha Gai (chicken coconut soup) and the Pad Thai. I first discovered Tom Kha Gai at a grimy Thai restaurant in Denver, Colorado, where the zoological origin of the "chicken" was sometime suspect, but the delectable broth literally became the stuff of dreams (really, I dreamed about the soup...more than once). In the intervening years, Tom Kha Gai orders in Cincinatti, Baltimore, and Washington DC had failed to live up to my memories of the first time. Typhoon rose the the challenge. The texture and seasoning of the soup was perfect, and they even improved upon the traditional soup by substituting julienne shitake mushrooms for the customary whole button mushrooms, lightening the presence of the mushroom flavor while more evenly dispersing it throughout the soup. Needless to say, after the introduction made by the Tom Kha Gai (and a couple of glasses of Chardonnay), I could have forgiven a slightly underspiced Pad Thai and still come away with a favorable impression of the place...but no need. The Pad Thai met my qualifications for appropriate blend of chile and peanut flavors, not too much cilantro, and no pieces of mystery meat. At this point, I was sure to return to Typhoon, but the chefs yielded one final surprise before the evening was complete. My dinner guest's entree, the night's special of seared Hebi with green thai curry paste was a truly unexpected surprise. The texture of the fish was unlike any I had ever tasted, moist and soft like a fine steak, without being chewy or sharp as sushi can sometimes be. To any and all visitors or residents of Pittsburgh, I invite you to be swept away by Typhoon!
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