Thai Ocha ~ Kerrville, Texas

Mr. Music is driving around the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. What does he have for us today?

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Baby Music and I took a drive to Kerrville for Spring Break. Kerrville is a cute little town in the Texas Hill Country on the Guadeloupe River. It's pretty and serene and a place for nature and outdoorsy events, like the Kerrville Folk Festival. It's still small (population around 25k) and fairly secluded, 65 miles NW of San Antonio and 30 miles SW of Fredericksburg. We were hungry when we got there and checked out the local restaurants. We saw two Thai restaurants and decided Thai Ocha looked like the place for us! It had good reviews, but I had my cautions. First, Thai food in the Hill Country wilderness? Next, no fish cakes or Thai corn fritters. But no worries, I've got my expectations in check.

We got a great little table on the back patio, overlooking the Guadalupe River! It was gorgeous and peaceful. We ordered Tom Kha Gai. She asked for level 2 heat and I opted for level 5. Concerned that level 5 would not be spicy, I asked the waiter if they had pik nam pla! "sorry, no" he said. Another worrisome sign. It turns out they have fresh Thai chilies and fish sauce so I suspect they had pik nam pla but our waiter didn’t know what it was.

The soup was a good sized bowl and was actually delicious. I could really taste the herbs like galangal, kaffir lime and lemongrass, although they removed those items from the bowls. This tom kha had no sweetness, or very little. I think a touch of sweet is traditional to round off the barrage of taste sensations that one experiences while enjoying tom kha soup (sour, salty, spicy & sweet), but I prefer too little sweet than too much. I was impressed that spice level 5 was actually spicy. And Baby Music was very pleased with her level 2. She said there was just the right amount of heat for her.

 
Baby Music ordered Thai fried rice and I got grilled salmon with sauteed veggies in a bath of red curry. My dish was really good! The piece of salmon was a good sized portion and grilled just right. The curry had a nice flavor, but was just a little thin. I also like more heat. They brought me a dish with fresh chopped Thai chilies, which was perfect. Baby Music liked her fried rice and gave me a bite. It had a nice flavor.

 
We had a great experience here and would definitely try it again.

- Mr. Music review