From the land of smiles!

A spate of mediocre dining experiences comprised of less than fulfilling eats and blase service had left me feeling despondent about Vancouver dining. I had heard about yaletown’s new uber-hip and modern thai resto-lounge: Charm Modern Thai and Bar, and feeling plucky and adventurous, and on the hunt for somewhere to satiate both belly and booze cravings, Penelope and I found ourselves on the steps of 1269 hamilton street.

Now I must confess that my ethnic dining expectations can pretty much be summed up as:

• the tackier and more homey the surrounds, the more authentic and tasty the food
• the hipper and aesthetically pleasing the decor, the more westernized the food

And so, it was with this in mind that we stood under the big, red awning and thought…ahh, what the heck! maybe we’ll even be…surprised?

How about Wowed.

Charmed.

Dumbfounded.

From the moment the hostess opened the door and welcomed us in to…. engaging with the bartenders on drink choices and dreamy travel destinations to….the smiles of acknowledgement from the kitchen staff …. and the friendly raising of glasses with fellow diners at the end of an enjoyable evening… charm modern thai and bar is one local establishment where the servers and service will, well, charm you.

Everything I’ve eaten at Charm Modern Thai and Bar has been delicious. Some of the dishes, like the Gratium Prig Thai Goong (drunken pepper and garlic tiger prawns), the Choo-Chee Sablefish (in a kaffir lime red curry) and the Chocolate Chilli Torte are just downright eat and repeat, eat and repeat. the  chocolate chilli torte? crave worthy.

A couple of things to know:

• dishes are relatively mild (especially by Thai standards), so let your server know how far to kick it up

• we loved that the noodles and prawns in the pad thai were cooked perfectly, and with notes of tamarind, the dish presents as a good foundation. Chef Tiffany noticed that we had doctored her pad thai with fresh lime and chilies, and explained that previously they served the pad thai with a selection of spices but found the wastage too great; it’s a shame really, but I think this presents the restaurant and server with an opportunity to enlighten the customer on the nuances of Thai cuisine

• oddly our places were set with a knife and fork, rather than the traditional fork and spoon; it was a little cumbersome and in some instances (like for the beef carpaccio, which while good, I found the tender flavor of the beef overwhelmed by that of the basil), chopsticks would work better

• weekday lunch service starts in a couple of weeks, as does patio dining

• drinks specials daily with Bangkok Happy Hour 5:30pm – 7:30pm (food and drink specials)

Charm Modern Thai and Bar is Yaletown’s dining embodiment of Thai hospitality.