{"id":390,"date":"2012-11-09T10:42:03","date_gmt":"2012-11-09T10:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=390"},"modified":"2013-04-22T10:35:34","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T10:35:34","slug":"dek-a-authentic-thai-food-this-is-simply-thai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/dek-a-authentic-thai-food-this-is-simply-thai\/","title":{"rendered":"DekA Authentic Thai Food: This is simply\u2026 Thai"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-395\" title=\"Dek A Authentic Thai Food\" src=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"622\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A4.jpg 622w, http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A4-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-392\" title=\"Dek A Authentic Thai Food\" src=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"874\" \/><\/a>Only 26, part-Filipino\/part-Thai Feb is already a study of how to run a food business \u2013 as the owner of DekA Authentic Thai Food, she is chatty without being invasive (\u201cHow do you like the food?\u201d she asked our party AFTER we have already tasted some of her offerings), pleasant without being obtrusive (\u201cNot everyone likes our <em>Chai Kiaw<\/em>, with some saying it tastes like flower; but for others, it\u2019s a refreshing and new flavor\u201d), and is friendly without being condescending (\u201cLet me take your photos, too, so I can put it on our Facebook page\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Not that this place is perfect, truth be told.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The waiters (there were only two there at the time of our visit) were somewhat\u2026 supercilious \u2013 one preferred watching TV instead of looking after guests, while the other carelessly swept the floor while we were still eating (and he didn\u2019t stop, too, even when he was told to stop).<\/li>\n<li>There isn\u2019t any parking space available \u2013 on-street parking\u2019s the only choice for visitors\u2026<\/li>\n<li>The place isn\u2019t all that big, with only three tables that could seat four, plus three smaller tables that could seat three, and one similarly-sized smaller table that could seat one (as it\u2019s in the corner).<\/li>\n<li>Some waiting may have to be done before the orders arrive\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But that Feb gives one of the lasting impressions from this small-ish venue boasting authentic Thai food in Makati City is a great thing. Else, what this place has to offer may be missed.<\/p>\n<p>And what this place has to offer is goodness after goodness \u2013 the menu has a LOT (even including a page-full of vegetarian offerings), worth checking out at repeat visits.<\/p>\n<p>Our visit started with the <em>Pad Thai<\/em> (stir-fried rice noodles with chicken, prawns, bean sprouts, spring onion, egg and ground peanuts \u2013 and no Thai resto visit is without a try of this)(P180), and what we had was, in a word, good. Not at all greasy (as many localized versions of Pad Thai tend to be), this one tasted\u2026 fresh (particularly the shrimps tossed into it). It personally reminded me of the noodles whipped in front of me by vendors along Silom in Bangkok \u2013 tasty and flavorful, and yes, fresh.<\/p>\n<p>And oh, please note that the <em>Pad Thai<\/em> is said to be \u201cgood for one person\u201d, two or even three (particularly if there are other orders) can share the big serving.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-393\" title=\"Dek A Authentic Thai Food\" src=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Dek-A3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"874\" \/><\/a>The <em>Pad Thai<\/em> worked well with the <em>Som Tam<\/em> (shredded papaya and carrots, seasoned with ground peanut, dry shrimp, lime juice, plum sugar, fish sauce and chili; P150). The other restaurant to offer what for me is just as good a papaya salad is Fely J\u2019s (at Greenbelt 5 in Makati City), though their version had scraped green papaya, while Dek A\u2019s had (as stated) shredded semi-ripe papaya; as such, the former was crunchier, and the latter \u2013 aside from being softer \u2013 was sweeter.<\/p>\n<p>Papaya salad is always nice for cleaning the palate; and Dek A\u2019s doesn\u2019t fail on this, too.<\/p>\n<p>Next came<em> Tom Yum<\/em> (P250 for two; P500 for four), that popular spicy lemon grass soup with shrimp (or chicken), mushroom, chili paste and lime juice. Photographer Red Apple summed up our experience with the soup, saying: \u201cIt\u2019s just right\u201d. \u201cJust right\u201d, in this case, comes from: perfectly prepared chicken strips\/slices sans bone fragments, cooked so that the sourness of the broth is imbibed, thereby making every bite an invite to have more.<\/p>\n<p>If you want it spicy, stress this \u2013 we wanted \u201cmildly spiced\u201d, but we were served one that seemed not to have been touched by chili at all (though that there abounded chilis everywhere helped).<\/p>\n<p>But yes, this definitely works well with Jasmine rice.<\/p>\n<p>And speaking of rice, their version of the <em>bagoong<\/em> rice (with sweet pork) is a must-try (P150). It doesn\u2019t taste too salty (as <em>bagoong<\/em> tends to make food taste); instead, it was even somewhat sweetish, as if with fleshy dried fish, not with fish\/shrimp paste. When the accompanying fried eggs, chopped <em>sitaw<\/em> (string beans), thinly sliced onions, and slivers of green mango were added, this \u2013 alone \u2013 made the visit worth it\u2026<\/p>\n<p>As <em>pantulak<\/em> (to help keep the food down), drop the softdrinks and choose instead <em>Cha Yen<\/em> (traditional Thai iced milk tea, P60), or <em>Cha Kiaw<\/em> (Thai iced milk green tea, P60), or <em>Oleang<\/em> (Thai iced black coffee, P50). <em>Cha Kiaw<\/em> was \u2013 as Feb noted \u2013 not for everyone because of its \u201cfloral taste\u201d (for me not too different from drinking \u201cleafy\u201d teas). But it\u2019s the <em>Cha Yen<\/em> that brought me back to the streets of Bangkok \u2013 not too sweet, with just enough milk, and truly refreshing. So again, drop the softdrinks; stick to the Thai beverages being offered.<\/p>\n<p>We ordered <em>Chicken Pandan<\/em> (P200), too, but Feb apologized for its non-inclusion in the list provided to the chef.<\/p>\n<p>She was easily forgiven.<\/p>\n<p>As the chase for this (and the other offerings in the menu) now made as an excuse to return to rediscover DekA over and over and over again\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>DekA Authentic Thai Food is at G\/F 245-C Pablo Ocampo Ave. corner Flor Deliz, Makati City. It is open from Monday to Saturday, from 11.00AM to 2.00PM, and then 5.00PM to 10.00PM (except Saturday when the resto doesn\u2019t close after lunch); and is closed on Sunday. For more information call (+63 2) 2390531, (+63 2)\u00a05005933 or (+63 2)\u00a06235272.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mikee dela Cruz discovers a hole-in-the wall resto, DekA Authentic Thai Food, a must-visit for (truly) authentic (yet completely affordable) Thai food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8,3],"tags":[206,194,207,208,209],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-dining-out","category-spotlight","tag-dek-a-authentic-thai-food","tag-makati-city","tag-thai-cuisine","tag-thai-dining","tag-thai-restaurant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":414,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions\/414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}