Problem: What would be an example of an positive (OPTIONS:
- negative
- positive) review?

Answer: If you're going to Sala Thai on a Sunday and meeting other people you would do well to remember that there is light traffic on Sunday and you will get here early. If you get here early, there is a Big Lots down the street where you can spend a few minutes soaking up an almost permeable seedy feeling. Or not. I would opt for not. Or you can do what our dinner partners did and visit a dive bar for a drink. It's just as well because Sala Thai does not serve alcohol. I'm looking forward to the review on that one, Christine. No pressure. I was excited to try Sala Thai after seeing numerous strong reviews. Overall, they did not disappoint. We started with pork satay. We had not seen satay offered in pork. This was the least satisfying of the selections we had. The pork was a little chewy and the yellow curry just didn't seem to go well with the pork. We all shared four entrees. We had spicy basil fried rice which was delightful and probably my favorite item overall. I am hoping to have that again soon. It had a nice balance of spice and fresh basil that was refreshing. The catfish with panang curry was very nice. It was the largest catfish fillet I have seen, cooked quickly so as to sear it lightly and some crispiness on the outside while remaining moist and tender inside. It was heavily sauced and we ordered 4 out of 5 on the spiciness scale. I think everyone at the table fought off a reflexive sneeze with the first bite of that one. I would like to see how hot the 5 is, but keep in mind the 4 is pretty hot. We also had pad thai which for me is a bit of a benchmark dish. Sala Thai's was unique and very good. Not overly sweet and with just the faintest hint of smokiness in the pepper flavor, rather complex for pad thai. Rounding out the tour de Sala Thai was a duck curry with coconut milk, red chili paste, pineapple, basil, tomato and onion. I'm not a fan of duck but this was very good. I had several pieces of the duck and plenty of the sauce ladled over my steamed rice. I recommend Sala Thai. The sauces were so flavorful that Myles M and I mortified Christine O and Audrey W by licking clean every serving dish on the table. Not really, but it was close.

Problem: What would be an example of an positive (OPTIONS:
- negative
- positive) review?

Answer: i have to break with my peers and say Luxor was pretty cool. while i can understand why some don't like it, i can say i really enjoyed it. some points of interest: * we got an AWESOME rate booking with the EDC groups. and when i say, awesome, i mean A-W-E-S-O-M-E! almost 50% off anywhere else. PLUS, this was a fight night (the night PacMan was robbed), and there were a couple of high profile conventions too. * the layout, although different having an open atrium thingy, was not too difficult to traverse. after a couple trips, i knew my way around. * the pools were cool. not too hard to find seats out there on a saturday afternoon. the cocktailetresses were on top of things. music wasn't bad. * check in was originally slated for 3p. we got in at 10a. after checking back at 11a, we got a room. sweet. * the room was clean, on a floor i requested and the view was of the pool. i didn't even have to drop a tip to the front desk. the bathrooms were very impressive. not like what others have mentioned. plenty of stainless towels and functioning toilet/shower. * beds were comfy, plenty of seating and writing space. we had a flat screen and lots of storage. other than the location being at the far south end of the Strip (hence no 5th star) and a weird gravitationally non-compliant elevator, absolutley NO quams on this hotel. and the drink coupons i put to use right after i got the bags down in the room. all 4 of them! we may consider coming back here.

Problem: What would be an example of an positive (OPTIONS:
- negative
- positive) review?

Answer:
First off, let me preface this by saying that having spent many years living in Thailand, I am a Thai food snob and am ridiculously picky about the Thai restaurants I recommend... That being said, this is by far the best Thai food in the Phoenix, and surrounding, areas. My first experience was after having a tooth pulled. I needed to eat, but it needed to be soft, and I was craving Thai. So my amazing partner ran over and grabbed me some Pad See Eew and an order of crab puffs. The Pad See Eew was the best I've had outside of Bangkok. The flavours were perfectly balanced and it absolutely reminded me of home. They weren't stingy with the protein (chicken) and it didn't seem to be an Americanised version of one of my favourite Thai dishes. And the crab puffs... My partner had a couple and her response to them was, "These are the best crab puffs i've ever had!" Not your usual wonton wrapper stuffed with cream cheese with virtually no crab, these are filled with cheesy, crabby, seasoned goodness. So much flavour packed into such a little pouch. And they're served with a sweet chili sauce for dipping. The second time we ate there, we actually went to the restaurant. It was around 3:30pm on a Saturday so we were pretty much the only people in there. I ordered a Thai iced tea and my partner got a green tea. My Thai iced tea was perfect. Not to sweet, unlike many of the other Thai restaurants I've been to. The green tea was a little strong, and my partner says she's just going to get water from now on. Not because the drinks are bad, but because unlike the majority of restaurants, they serve purified water. Not tap water. MAJOR brownie points there! We, of course, started out with the crab puffs, which were just as good as the first time. I ordered yellow curry with chicken, and my partner ordered the cashew chicken, both Thai hot. Ordering food "Thai hot" can be hit or miss. Many places see the ginger hair and pale skin and figure they can dumb down the Thai hot and I'd never notice. F*ck that! When I say "Thai hot," I mean "Thai hot!" And that's exactly what we got. The cashew chicken was phenomenal. The smell alone brought back to living in Bangkok and eating at the noodle shop across from my school. It was spicy enough to make my nose run and leave that warm, tingly feeling in my mouth and throat but still had incredible flavour. My partner said it was "amazing." (She's not quite the foodie I am, so for her, that's a high compliment.) My curry was pretty damn good, too. Spicy, flavourful, full of large pieces of chicken as well as all the other good stuff (potatoes, carrots, etc). I could smell it as soon as it was set down and I knew it was going to be hot, and I wasn't disappointed. We had enough left over to take home and have for breakfast the next day. The portions are more than generous. Our server was extremely attentive. Almost overly so, but I was glad for that as opposed to being practically ignored, which can happen when you're the only patrons in a restaurant. He came over at least twice to make sure our food was ok, and always made sure to ask if there was anything else we needed, ie. napkins, more tea, water, etc. Being so stuffed I didn't get a chance to try their mangoes and sticky rice, but it's on my list since it's one of my favourite foods ever! The menu is extensive, with all sorts of noodles, stir-frys, curries, etc you can imagine. They have a lunch menu served daily til 3pm (including weekends) that have the same dishes for $6.75, which is what we plan on shooting for next time. If you like Thai food, this is a must-try!