Pum Pui

Another Asian persuasion resto, another lunch date with Jer bear! Interestingly enough, Pum Pui is owned by the whitest of Canadians (no offense to your skin tone, dude). He DID live about 5 years in Thailand and learned the tricks o' the trade. And we should all feel lucky that he did. Why? Oh, you'll see. YOU'LL SEE. I feel like I should put in a 'mouahahahaha' in there.

Pum Pui is located in the heart of... Little Italy! Perfect place for Thai food! I compared it to La Capital tacos in Chinatown. I mean, it's the only Asian there, so, kaching! It's a small resto, with a market portion, probs why it's called Épicerie Pum Pui. I am SO smart. I loved what was on the walls: very authentic pics and calendars and what not. Also, Jer bear mentioned that the sauce thang on the table was supes off the boat.

We had the papaya salad to start off with. I will just say that I've had papaya salads. Oh, I've had some. And this one was.... how can I put it... THE BEST I'VE EVER F*CKING HAD. It had just the right amount of acid and sweet. Also, I loved the fact that there were dried shrimp in there! Added a little crunch and lots-o-flaves! I'd go back right now for some more of that!

I had the beef green curry. Or green beef curry? Quwhatever. I'm gonna say exactly the same thing I said about the papaya salad. It was THE BEST Ì'VE EVER F*CKING HAD. Holy bejesus. Just by smelling it, I knew I was gonna fall in love with it. And yes, I'm serious about my food, god dammit. The beef was cooked with such perfectness, that it legit almost made me effin cry. Crying because of meat. Now that's new, even for me! The presence of lemongrass and kaffir leaves gave it a whole other level of flavor. With some peppers, it was hot but not TOO hot. As in, my lips weren't completely on fire. I may, or may not (I MAY) have told Jer bear that this was my all-time favourite curry. I'm talking EVER. Best thai curry in town made by some white boys. Who would've known!

Jer bear had the jungle curry: fermented rotten fish (wow, sounds WONDERFUL), green beans, bamboo shoots, thai basil, green peppercorns, kaffir leaves, ginger. This sh*t was spicy, and then some! Jer started sweating pretty much 30 seconds after his first bite. And then he got the 'spice cough'. And then his nose started running. The whole spiceffect, really. The fish was sooooo tasty and had obviously picked up all o dem flavas: I really didn't mind that it was fermented. Whatever, it's like kimchi: so freaking good. I didn't just make a random comparison, btw; kimchi is also fermented :) The veggies also took in all the loveliness of the broth, which was a-MAH-zing! Jer really wanted me to eat peppercorns, which, lets face it, I've eaten no more than 4 times in my whole life (and my life is pretty damn long). It was like a pop of flavor in my mouth! Soooo good!

You order at the counter and they bring it to the table. There was a mistake with Jer's order so he got his plate a bit after mine but the dude said sorry about 3 times. All is forgiven.

And now, les scores!

Food: 9.5
Service: 8

I heard someone say 'I think this is the best Thai food I've ever eaten', and I believe them. I, for one, will go back 28 times.