Silk Road Thai Cuisine at Adriatica, McKinney

This is the unofficial blog for fans of the new Silk Road Thai Cuisine restaurant at Adriatica, McKinney. Banners and signs at the restaurant today indicate that the restaurant will open April 29, 2010.

Great Thai Food in McKinney at Adriatica in Stonebridge Ranch

Make sure you try out Silk Road this Memorial Day weekend and support your local restaurants! The official website for Silk Road is not live yet, however, the website address is silkroadthaicuisine.com

I haven't seen any advertising for this new restaurant yet, and apparently they have no signage on the building (except the old Samson's name, which I believe is permanent). They have placed several sculptures on the front entrance, including elephants and others.

Menu

Today was the first day that Silk Thai was open. I was unable to dine, but I did get a chance to enter the restaurant and check out the menu and the atmosphere. The interior seems to be mostly unchanged from the former Samson's. I obtained a copy of the lunch menu, and the prices range from $7 to $9, and the selection looks good. I plan on trying the food soon.

What is Thai food?

Thai food is internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively blands, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. The characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked to suit all palates. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plants and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking.

With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and laced with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese. Chillies were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America.

More information here...