Our next stop on the Murray Ave quest was the Silk Elephant, a classy restaurant that lists itself as a ‘wine and Thai tapas’ bar. That was really all they needed to tell me – Thai food is one of those things I get cravings for (which stems from our time in Los Angeles, where late-night Thai emergencies happened more often than you would think). And Thai food in simply tapas form? With wine? Sign us up!
We went up after our day at Kennywood, and we were starving after being out in the hot sun all day. We opted for several little tapas dishes to split, instead of each getting a separate entree, and we were very happy with that decision, so we could sample a larger variety of flavors.
The only thing we didn’t get a picture of was the soup. I had the wonton soup, which was okay (it had those flaky, lighter wontons, instead of the more solid dumpling kind, which I’m not a huge fan of), and Michael had this delicious asparagus soup with lumps of crabmeat. I will definitely get that one next time instead.
Round one of tapas: Thai crab crowns (crab rangoons, but crispier than the standard) and chicken spring rolls.
Round two: Thai shrimp and pork toast (the absolute BEST Thai toast I’ve ever had, and that is truly one of my favorite Thai treats – this one was just impeccably crispy and sweet) and Phuket beef (also delicious, similar to Mongolian beef – I let Michael do the ordering, lest I pronounce it wrong and ruin the night ;).
Round three: seafood dumplings (shrimp and crab meat) and moo and goong steamed dumplings (shrimp and pork). Excellent flavors in each.
Natura South American Syrah from Chile, which was sooooo good. But then, it’s rare that I meet a Syrah I don’t fall in love with at first sip!
And finally, dessert, where we decided to indulge a bit. Chocolate lava cake, with hot fudge instead of *real* melty, burny lava! How clever! After having visited Pompeii, I can’t help but feel that replacing all molten lava with hot fudge would be a really terrific and less horrifying option!
All in all, we loved the place. Each dish came with its own type of dipping sauce, and they all had unique, perfectly-paired flavors. The service was excellent – very prompt, great with refills on water (which was essential, as all of this was quite salty) and wine, and the careful attention to detail in the presentation of the food was really appreciated as well. We will surely be back!