NL’s Jasmine Thai is always a good choice

December 27, 2023 11:19 am • Last Updated: December 27, 2023 12:05 pm

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

Pad See Ew with Chicken (Rick Koster)

Octopus sushi (Rick Koster)

You know those drive-through delivery systems at banks? You stick your deposit or withdrawal slip — or, in our case, heaps of coins to cover yet another overdraft — into a plastic cylinder, which is then transported by pressurized air through a pneumatic tube to the teller, who in turn performs the proper transaction and whooshes the cylinder back to you.

I want you to have a clear image of this in your mind because my wife Eileen and I — rather than, as originally planned, taking a holiday vacation in Curaçao — have decided instead to have a pneumatic delivery tube installed that connects us to the kitchen at Jasmine Thai restaurant in New London.

It only makes sense. Is the food good? Yes, consistently, and tastily. Is it conveniently located? Well, sorta. It’s at the corner of Bank and Howard streets, which each of us pass going to or from our respective jobs. However, since COVID, when we got used to being at home and discovered we like being inert, and in surrender to the ebb and flow of traffic to and from Electric Boat, unfortunately timed to coincide with our own comings and goings and making entry or exit from the Jasmine Thai parking lot a frankly dangerous maneuver, we rely a LOT on the Jasmine Thai delivery folks.

Perhaps the pneumatic delivery tune would just make it easier for everyone.

Of course, when there’s not a traffic imbroglio, or one of those rare occasions when we decide to leave the house, visiting Jasmine Thai and its lovely dining room or tangential sushi bar/tavern is an always pleasant option.

Sit down and relax

A small fountain in the restaurant’s entrance foyer provides an instant sense of serenity. It’s a spacious floor plan, with high-back booths with a glass wall overlooking Howard and another row of booths parallel across the room. In between are various sized tables. Though designed to be casual, the look and feel of Jasmine Thai also provide a touch of elegance: white tablecloths, a pleasing purple, fuchsia and burnished gold color scheme with hanging lamps and large framed thematic artworks.

Many of the servers are veterans of the establishment and are always polite and hyper aware of their customers’ needs. Service is typically quick although it can slow a bit during weekend nights.

Jasmine Thai has a voluminous menu, roughly divided between indigenous Thai offerings and sushi/sashimi. Given the frequency with which we enjoy Jasmine Thai, Eileen and I have explored considerably — albeit with perhaps conservative tendencies and the expected luxury of going back to respective favorites.

From the appetizers collection, we almost always get vegetable spring rolls ($6.95) — four tightly wrapped tubes of thin, flaky crust surrounding a deeply tasty mélange of finely chopped and seasoned veggies. Bonus: the plum dipping sauce, which provides a sweet kick.

I often indulge in an order of Chicken Satay ($9.95) for my own independent snacking purposes. A skewered quartet of coconut-marinated grilled chicken breast, they’re served with a thick and sublime peanut sauce along with a tasteful and vinegary cucumber chutney.

Eileen is a devoted fan of the Tom Yum Soup ($6.95), which was originally recommended as a curative when she was sick and transitioned to a recurring source of happiness. She reports: “This soup will blast open your sinuses, in a good way. The broth is deliciously spicy and sour from lemongrass, chilies, lime and other flavorings. The veggies bobbing around (tomato, mushroom) don't really matter because it's all about the broth.”

How to decide?

For the main portion of any given meal, the diner can select from curry, fried rice, Jasmine Thai specialties, noodles, fish — “Catch of the Day” and entrees. ANY curry is gonna be good; Eileen, who’s far more adept at ordering on her phone, knows she can just pick a random curry for me ($13.95 plus more depending on the addition of chicken, shrimp, pork and tofu).

Of late, I’ve been ping-ponging between butternut squash — seasonally and mellowly sweet with a rich broth and toothsome squares of the titular fruit to go with hunks of tender chicken chicken breast — and Massaman curry, whose spice components are complex and utterly seductive. The aroma is magnificent and hints at cumin, lime, tamarind, star anise, cinnamon and chilis. Shrimp is an excellent pairing.

Eileen is fond of both the Panang curry, which boasts green beans, bell peppers, lime leaves and coconut milk, with each bite providing high notes of tang and just a hint of heat.

From the entrée section, she’s similarly pleased with Amazing Sauce ($13.95 plus your meat or protein). What’s Amazing? The sauce is a rich, thick, peanut-based formula that clings to the broccoli and her tofu. Tomato slices offer a little acid to clear the palate between bites, which is a genius construct.

I recently dipped into the noodles section of the menu and tried Pad See Ew ($14.95 with chicken). Wide, flat pasta with Chinese broccoli and egg. It’s a stir fry, and the dominant soy sauce component caramelizes the chewy noodles. There’s also a playful vinegar presence and a fun crunch from the broccoli. The dish, attractively presented with a floral blossom on a nest of shredded carrots, is almost intimidatingly large, so much so that, as I happily ate with a machine-like precision, I mentally filed away that I’d have leftovers for the next day’s lunch. When I looked down, though, it was all gone.

The raw fish component

The other day, sitting in Jasmine Thai, it occurred to me that, as a quasi-regular sushi aficionado, I’m one of those unadventurous folks who always eats Jasmine’s delicious tuna, crab or salmon creations, never weirdo stuff like eel. Knowing I’d be writing this, I decided to get a two-piece sampling of octopus sushi ($5.95).

Hmm. I now believe people who eat octopus sushi do so simply to amaze or freak out their non-octopus-eating friends because while, yes, there are tentacles prominently displayed to emphasize that it is indeed an octopus, I could determine no taste whatsoever. It was just … really chewy.

And while avocados do not typically swim, we frequently enjoy an avocado roll ($6.95 four pieces) with its delicious sticky rice and simple, fresh fruit served with peelings of pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

Whether you’re a first-timer or veteran of this long-standing culinary success story, Jasmine Thai is indeed a New London treasure. You should visit soon — or drop by and order from our pneumatic delivery system. We charge a small maintenance fee.