Flaming Thai Cafe — Restaurant in Troy

I have frequented Thai restaurants across Oakland County and Metro Detroit, and this is by far my favorite lately, with perhaps Thai Bistro in Canton as a serious competitor, and they are now closed.

The ingredients here are fresh and well prepared. I've tried the noodle dishes, several of the curries, and a few of the fried rice choices. None have disappointed. The "Build Your Own" menu is a delightful addition to an already stellar list of entrees. The spring rolls are crispy and delicious, and come in vegetable, chicken and pork varieties.

Flaming Thai is primarily a take out venue. You can dine in, if you choose.

Service is surprisingly fast. Portion sizes are generous. This is a solid win.

Take note, however. The name is accurate. "Mild" here is the equivalent of "Medium" at any other Thai restaurant, and the "Medium" is hotter than the "Hot" at many other Thai restaurants. If you are a heat lover, and you can't find food hot enough for you, this...

A one star review, specifically for the water. Water is $2.50 for a bottle of Dasani. They have no other way to get water. I have a personal objection to this type of service, thus the one star.

In addition, this is setup like Burger King, you go to order at the counter. You pick up your silverware and chopsticks, and bus your table. Signs are everywhere informing of these policies. And they hit you for tips at the counter. I'm not sure what service we are tipping for?

The good, they were playing Thai music on a TV - kind of fun.

I had the BYO meal. It's a "build your own" meal process. This was pretty good. I had Thai basil with chicken and red curry and eggplant. it was nice. The heat level ordered was medium and it was pretty on-point. She had the catfish. Huge disappointment there. It seemed like the catfish was fried at noon and reheated in the microwave. Soft and soggy, now what you're looking for in a fried...

there are a few nit-picks i need to mention that personally drive me crazy:

No substitutions. I normally order my pad-ped with no bell pepper, but with baby corn. Everywhere. For the last 30 years.

No restaurant has ever fussed about it. I was taken aback that they charged $2.00 extra on a $10 meal. Of course its not mandatory that a restaurant do it, but common sense is if your competition does, you might not get as many return customers

#2. No complementary water even if asked. I didn’t ask for bottled of course, but no, they don’t have it for free. Again, it boils down to them obviously assessing that it doesn’t matter and doesn’t affect their repeat business.

I dont know. But i wont be back. There are enough good restaurants around here in the same class (price/quality), that i can dine elsewhere. Too bad, the...