Taj Mahal

My favorite for-real food in the whole world is pad thai. I've been trying to find a thai restaurant here pretty much since I showed up with very limited luck. The one that I've seen in real life is really intimidating, like you're only supposed to go there if you're very rich and have both an entourage and a reservation. I am not rich and have neither of those things, so I'm afraid to go in. Maybe I could wear a shirt that says "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY" in Chinese, but I don't know if the humor translates.

I asked two of my students tonight if they knew where any Thai restaurants were in the area, and they pointed to an alley right next to the school. "REALLY!?" I shouted excitedly. They assured me yeah, just walk back there and I would find it.

I walked back, and I saw a restaurant with the character for "Thai" in its name, which I've memorized just in case. I wasn't sure that this place would actually have pad thai, but I decided if it was worth a try. In my currently terrible Chinese, I asked if the host spoke English. Nope. I looked at the menu which was in English, and it appeared to be pretty much exclusively Indian items. I asked some more in my terrible Chinese if they had Thai food, and after a while they agreed that no, they didn't, and I should try yet another street (which I later tried, and also failed).

I found out that the reason "Thai" was in the name is because the name of the restaurant is supposed to be "Taj Mahal," and they use the sound of the Thai character for the Ta in Taj.

Peace out.