Purple People Eater

Bax, Ninety-Ten, and I had lunch with Glam at Thai Purple (27 N. Garfield Avenue, Alhambra) yesterday.

A nearby movie theater is a favorite destination of the Monkeys, Brother Monkey, and Torry. (We love going there and seeing three movies in a row.) Thai Purple may be a new post-movie dinner venue for us.

Thai Purple is an interesting place. We parked in the back and were greeted by this. I named it "Angelina."

We walked through a dark corridor to the main dining room.

The food is not at the wow-this-is-incredible-cuisine level, but it is tasty enough. I question its authenticity, as I could understand the employees' banter.

Mind you, I'm not Thai.

We had a great time nevertheless. How couldn't we? Our dear Glam was glowing and happy and chatty, and we were excited to see that she was doing well. If you recall, Glam was put on bedrest for her marginal placenta previa and an incompetent cervix. Thai Purple isn't too far from her home, so she bent the rules a little and met us there.

Being the rock star she is, Glam called ahead and ordered all our food for us, so it was ready when we got there!

Angel wings. I thought these were quite good. If you are unfamiliar with what these are, they are giant fried chicken wings stuffed with minced chicken and/or pork and/or shrimp, various vegetables, and glass noodles. Pretty gigantic, compared to others I've had before.

Ong choy. This was a special request of mine, as it is my favorite green vegetable in the world. This being the case, I obviously enjoyed the dish. I think Ninety-Ten liked it a lot, too, so that made me very happy.

Pineapple fried rice. Bax's favorite! Alas, Thai Purple's version lacked cashews, which made Bax sad. I thought the rice had a great consistency and moistness, but it could've used a bit more seasoning.

Shrimp pad thai. Nothing special, but not bad. A tad too sweet for pad thai.

Orange chicken. Woefully inauthentic (Thai, Chinese, or otherwise) but sinfully delicious! The chicken is perfectly ever-so-lightly fried and glazed with a wondrous sweet citrus stickiness. Best dish of the day, notwithstanding its questionable Asian origins. No wonder Glam's little boy loves it!

Thai iced coffee. Delicious. Creamy. Not too sweet.

Is Thai Purple the best Thai food you will ever eat? Not by a long shot. Will the Monkey go back? Quite likely. The food is good enough, the price is right, and our favorite triple-header movie theater is right across the street. Thank you, Glam, for a delightful lunch!