Over in Shadyside, Noodlehead may rule the Thai food scene with low prices and good eats. But atop Squirrel Hill, looking down upon Shadyside, sits Bangkok Balcony. This top-floor restaurant fancies things up a bit and has a whole lot more food to offer. Yet, we all know that more options doesn’t necessarily mean better food and I had every intention of finding out if Bangkok Balcony fell into this trap.
Eager for some curry, I picked their Mussaman (which I assumed to be an alternate spelling to massaman) because it was pretty much the only one that wasn’t packed with veggies. This came loaded with potatoes, peanuts and a choice of chicken or tofu. Clearly I got the tofu. There was also a spice level option going from 1 to 10, but the waiter informed me that they didn’t even do Thai spicy at Bangkok Balcony so I didn’t have to worry about burning off my tongue. I settled on 7, which turned out to be a mistake.
And by mistake I mean the meal wasn’t very spicy. I definitely felt like I could have gone for 10 on this, but on the other hand I will say this was nicely spiced. The curry itself had a nice nutty and coconutty flavor, along with whatever spices go into this stuff. The chicken came in big chunks and was perfectly tender, while the potatoes were…well…potatoes…in a good way.
Sometimes it’s good to be on top of Squirrel Hill, and Bangkok Balcony proved this. Even with their larger variety of food, they at least managed to nail curry. For a little upscale Thai food, this is a good place to stop by.
