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Basil n’ Spice Ginger Chicken

Ginger Chicken from Basil n' Spice on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Ginger Chicken from Basil n' Spice on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Upon entering Basil n’ Spice, I loved the décor and layout. It felt intimate and welcoming. Plus, I was excited to have some Thai cuisine.

To start, I ordered the Island Thai Tea, which is classic Thai iced tea with a kick of rum. Delicious!

For an appetizer, we ordered the chicken wings. They were cooked just how I like them–super crispy. The flavors were slightly lacking but since they were cooked so well I still enjoyed them.

I selected Ginger Chicken for my meal. That includes red and green bell peppers, onion, carrot, snow peas, mushrooms, baby corn and scallion with a ginger sauce. The flavors were spot on and the serving size was enough to share if you had multiple dishes. I did, however, use the sauce in my partners dish to dip my chicken several times. He had the incredible Duck Choo Chee.

The service at Basil n’ Spice was top-notch. We had several attentive staff members serving us. One of the owners even pitched in.

Overall I liked Basil n’ Spice. I would try it again. The next time I go I will do two things differently. I will order the Chicken Choo Chee. It might require a special order because it wasn’t listed with chicken, but that sauce was just so fantastic. I would also go for a cocktail and sit at the great bar rather than a table.

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Bo Xao Bap Non

Bo Xao Bap Non from Dalat on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Dalat has been serving up Vietnamese food for a long time in this quiet store front location on Park Ave in Worcester. The restaurant is quiet plain on the inside offering about dozen tables for dining. Dalat offers about 100 different dinner options from very safe to very unusual. After perusing the menu I opted for a rather conservative choice of Bo Xao Bap Non or Beef with sautéed baby corn, onion, red and green peppers.

My meal was a well prepared dish of sliced beef and mixed vegetables in a simple and fresh tasting brown sauce. The meat was cooked perfectly and the vegetables still had a crisp fresh taste to them. The meal was served with white rice and was a moderate size portion. While I have no objections to my meal, its quality or value I found it rather forgettable. The meal seemed to need a little spice, seasoning, or sizzle.

Dalat was a good value, offered clean fresh tasting food, and an extensive menu full of choices, yet I left felling that it was missing something. In my opinion it seemed to lack some personality or sizzle for both the food and the venue. Overall, Dalat is a restaurant that I would have no problem going back to but it would not pop into my mind as a place that is a “must go back to.”