Le Thai Restaurant Ethnic Review

Le Thai Restaurant Ethnic Review

When a non-Thai hears the term “Thai cuisine,” the first thing that comes to mind is “Tom Yum” (someone like me). Thai cuisine, like any other culture’s cuisine, has much more to offer. In an attempt to try something new, I went to “Le Thai” to get a taste of Thailand.

“Le Thai is a cornerstone in the Las Vegas community and is known for its modern interpretation of classic dishes,” according to their website. It opened in late 2011 at 523E Fremont St in Las Vegas. The restaurant’s hours are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. On a Friday around 3 p.m., I went to the restaurant with a friend. The restaurant was tucked away in a plaza, away from the bustle of the street (Le Thai, 2019).. The atmosphere was calm upon entering the restaurant, with only a few other patrons quietly conversing and some modern pop music playing softly in the background. The walls are a light coffee brown color with swirly gold accent patterns on them. Dark brown tables and booths can be found in the seating area. For those who require them, child seats are available, allowing the restaurant to accommodate familiesADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.1016/j.tourman.2019.02.012″,”ISSN”:”02615177″,”abstract”:”In light of the important role of authenticity in dining experiences and the diverse conceptualisations of authenticity especially in the tourism context, this study reviews authenticity literature in dining experiences. Adopting a systematic quantitative approach, this paper maps out the current landscape of authenticity in dining experiences and offers insights for future research. The review findings highlight the overwhelming focus on examining authenticity of the Thing and authenticity of the Self in dining experiences and points to an enhancement of understandings of authenticity by also conceptualising authenticity of the Organisation. The findings indicate that while initial steps towards scales of authenticity have been made, there is no multi-dimensional scale development of authenticity that yields key determinants shaping authentic dining experiences, as well as a lack of systematic quantitative research into authenticity discourse using online restaurant reviews. Directions for further studies are suggested to address the identified gaps.”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Le”,”given”:”Truc H.”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Arcodia”,”given”:”Charles”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Novais”,”given”:”Margarida Abreu”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Kralj”,”given”:”Anna”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Tourism Management”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2019″,”10″,”1″]]},”page”:”258-275″,”publisher”:”Pergamon”,”title”:”What we know and do not know about authenticity in dining experiences: A systematic literature review”,”type”:”article-journal”,”volume”:”74″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=c7ef4873-1652-3488-bf6d-d7c38cb2cbb8″]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Le et al., 2019)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Le et al., 2019)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Le et al., 2019)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Le et al., 2019). There are no alcoholic beverages on the menu, nor is there a bar, but wine can be ordered and served upon request.

We were greeted by a young waiter who seated us in a booth before taking our drink orders, which included a choice of Thai iced coffee, tea, or soft drink, and we chose the Thai coffee, a cold brew coffee traditionally known as Oliang and prepared with condensed milk. I perused the menu, which is a large laminated tan pamphlet with the restaurant’s name on the front, while we waited for our drinks. It’s divided into sections such as authentic appetizers, soft drinks, noodles, soups, stir fries, and so on.

There are numerous dishes to choose from, each with a brief description, a price, and a photographADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“URL”:”https://lethaivegas.com/menu/”,”accessed”:{“date-parts”:[[“2021″,”9″,”27″]]},”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2011″]]},”title”:”Le Thai Vegas”,”type”:”webpage”},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=2a9653f2-9a2e-31fb-a8f3-f9a75140eb45″]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(<i>Le Thai Vegas</i>, 2011)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Le Thai Vegas, 2011)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Le Thai Vegas, 2011). The majority of the appetizers, such as egg rolls and fried wontons, are familiar to me from other Asian restaurants. The main courses, on the other hand, were completely unfamiliar to me. Many of them, according to our “Food and Culture” textbook from class, were rice dishes, which are the foundation of the Thai diet. There was also a selection of Thai-favorite meats. Beef, chicken, and pork are among them, as is duck, which is “a favorite.” Thai chicken, hot and sour soup, with mushroom, tomato, lemon grass, and lemon juice, topped with green onions and cilantro Thai, Tom Yum soup with shrimp, and some Ga pow. We sat down to eat when our food arrived. Our first course is ground meat or tofu in a homemade Thai chili sauce with bell pepper, onion, and Thai basil, topped with a fried egg*, which are deep fried wonton skins stuffed with cream cheese and crab meat and served with a side of sweet and sour sauce. They had a nice crunch and a slight sweetness to them. The saltiness of the wonton skins complemented the tartness of the sweet and sour sauce nicely. Next came the “tom kha” stir-fried noodles, which were made with bits of tofu, chicken, and vegetables bound with eggs and topped with peanuts and shrimp.

I discovered a plethora of reviews for the restaurant on Yelp. The institution was given 4.5 stars, while the lowest I could find was 4.7. One such review was provided by George, a New York businessman who recently passed by the restaurant and posted his thoughts on Google Maps. “The food was fantastic!” he exclaimed. Traditional Thai cuisine is absolutely delicious in this restaurant! I dined there with my family, and the service was excellent!! I ordered the Thai-style wings, which were delectable! This restaurant comes highly recommended by me.” Another reviewer remarked on the authenticity. “Perfect food reminds me of when I worked in Thailand once, then a few months later I found this spot, fantastic this is a home away from home,” Collin from New Jersey said. There were no loud noises in the area, making it ideal for children. However, I discovered that in some cases, band performances can be too loud for children. After analyzing the menu content in relation to the texts, I discovered that the food and service adhered to Buddhist doctrines.

Finally, we ordered the Tom Yum, which is described on the restaurant’s website as a “Thai spicy lemongrass soup with choice of meat, Thai herbs, and mushrooms” (Le Thai, 2019). The soup was sweet and spicy, with a distinct lemongrass herb flavor in the broth. It was sweet, salty, and spicy all at once, making for an excellent flavor combination. Overall, the food was excellent. Everything tasted very sweet and spicy, which makes sense given that a typical Thai meal includes four main seasonings: spicy hot, salty, sour, sweet, and variety dishes aim to combine all four, as mentioned in The Spruce Eat’s “Thai Food and Culture” article.

My companions and I had a good time, and I really enjoyed the meal. The reasonably priced menu, which did not overburden me, was a pleasant surprise. I intend to return because the food was excellent. It’s also interesting to learn about other cultures and see how happy people are when they come to feel at home away from home ADDIN CSL_CITATION {“citationItems”:[{“id”:”ITEM-1″,”itemData”:{“DOI”:”10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2021.104292″,”ISSN”:”0261-5177″,”abstract”:”The quest for authenticity in dining experiences has become increasingly important. This paper explores authenticity dimensions that are of value to customers in dining experiences, and by that gains a multi-dimensional understanding of authenticity in this context. Following an integrated learning approach using text mining and classification techniques, this paper explores and confirms different dimensions of authenticity by identifying and classifying authenticity judgements in online restaurant reviews. The results suggest that authenticity is a multi-dimensional concept encompassing Authenticity of the Other, Authenticity of the Producer, and Authenticity of the Self as first-level dimensions. Additionally, besides historical and categorical authenticity which have been previously explored in the literature, a new type of authenticity – Deviated Authenticity – emerged as a second-level dimension falling under Authenticity of the Other. This paper enhances existing conceptualisations of authenticity and establishes avenues for exploring the multi-dimensionality of other consumer research concepts using user-generated content.”,”author”:[{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Le”,”given”:”Truc H.”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Arcodia”,”given”:”Charles”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Abreu Novais”,”given”:”Margarida”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Kralj”,”given”:”Anna”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””},{“dropping-particle”:””,”family”:”Phan”,”given”:”Thanh Cong”,”non-dropping-particle”:””,”parse-names”:false,”suffix”:””}],”container-title”:”Tourism Management”,”id”:”ITEM-1″,”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2021″,”8″,”1″]]},”page”:”104292″,”publisher”:”Pergamon”,”title”:”Exploring the multi-dimensionality of authenticity in dining experiences using online reviews”,”type”:”article-journal”,”volume”:”85″},”uris”:[“http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=afad076b-8d3b-378e-aeff-b42a0550528a”]}],”mendeley”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Le et al., 2021)”,”plainTextFormattedCitation”:”(Le et al., 2021)”,”previouslyFormattedCitation”:”(Le et al., 2021)”},”properties”:{“noteIndex”:0},”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”}(Le et al., 2021). Le Thai restaurant is also capable of pleasing and satisfying their customers. I found the restaurant to be true to its branding and bottom line, and as a result, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a unique ethnic experience, particularly those interested in South Eastern culture.

REFERENCES

ADDIN Mendeley Bibliography CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Le, T. H., Arcodia, C., Abreu Novais, M., Kralj, A., & Phan, T. C. (2021). Exploring the multi-dimensionality of authenticity in dining experiences using online reviews. Tourism Management, 85, 104292. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TOURMAN.2021.104292

Le, T. H., Arcodia, C., Novais, M. A., & Kralj, A. (2019). What we know and do not know about authenticity in dining experiences: A systematic literature review. Tourism Management, 74, 258–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.02.012

Le Thai Vegas. (2019). Menu and Reservations. Retrieved September, 2021,

Sucher, K. P., Kittler, P. G., & Nelms, M. (2016). Food and Culture. Nelson Education