Wellesley restaurant reviewer lunches at Amarin; orders same thing again

I’ve had lunch a few times at Amarin of Thailand, a long-time Wellesley stand-by located at 27 Grove St., and I always order the same amazing dish — a large bowl of the Muslim noodles ($9.50). It’s a spicy Indonesian coconut curry soup served with tofu, hard-boiled egg, bean sprouts and your choice of chicken or beef, and it is comfort and health in a bowl, it’s fuel for the rest of the afternoon, and there is enough to take home for breakfast the next day. Yes, breakfast.

Other interesting-looking things on the menu: pad thai, of course, ($9.25); shrimp rolls — steamed vermicelli, fresh cooked shrimp, lettuce, mint and sweet basil, wrapped in fresh spring roll skins, served with Vietnamese peanut sauce ($7.75); Medallions of pork — thinly sliced pork loin, marinated in garlic oil, white pepper, coriander roots and thin soy sauce, stir fried with mushrooms and green peas ($8.75).

The service was great, and the spot’s slightly below street level location gives it a touch of coziness offset by the formality of the crisp white tablecloths, which just dare you to slosh Muslim noodles on them.

I know I’m a failure at restaurant reviewing around town. I stop into my favorite places, order the same things I love and cherish, and keep my insider secrets to myself. I’m always too full to update Swellesley’s restaurant page, or not in the mood, or not foodie enough to blog about the preferences of my pedestrian palate, or so I tell myself. Actually, I’m considering a New Year’s resolution that involves eating out more and making our restaurant page the best restaurant page ever (cue weight gain). After our home page, it gets the most page views, so the motivation should be there.

Other observations while I was at that end of town: the general area around Amarin is currently undergoing changes. Across the street at 30 Grove St., the former high-end women’s consignment store, the Turnabout Shoppe, closed its doors last summer after 25 years of keeping Wellesley women in Prada and Chanel. Another consignment shop, The Closet Exchange is expected to take its place later this winter after renovations are complete.

Meanwhile, Thirst Juice, the first business to open at the Belclare complex, got going last month at 41 Grove St. I stopped in at the green juice and smoothie bar and tried out the Bad Monkey, a 20-ounce smoothie made with banana, almond butter, cacao nibs, cacao powder, dates, coconut milk, ice ($8.75). Not too sweet, it went down all too easily.

There are additional storefronts available on both the Grove St. and Washington St. sides of Belclare, which the complex hopes will attract a full-blown restaurant and other retailers. They even have a large sign in the window that asks, “What do you want to see here?” Oh Belclare, that’s just dangling post fodder right in front of me. Maybe another day. Right now, I have to go out to eat somewhere.

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Where to eat in Wellesley

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