Sala Thai (Burrard, Downtown Vancouver)

This place is located on Burrard Street and just across the street from the Scotiabank Theatre. From the outside, it has a classy feel to it with the mahogany coloured wooden frames. When we walked in, I can immediately smell the flower smell (not sure what that flower is called, it must be some sort of Thai flower). My first impression was that the place is very clean, but there's a hint of Westernization in the Thai (like the elephant on the wall is wearing a Santa hat...). I'm not saying that I don't like it, but it was interesting to see the fusion.
 When we were seated down, we got the menu. The menu composed of a few sections, from a vegetarian section to a curry section to a bunch of other entrees. It seemed like coconut and bamboo is on all of the menu options. When the waitress came, we asked her if the entrees included rice, but she said that the rice isn't included with any of the entrees. I thought it was standard to include rice, but I guess not. The waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu though, she had the menu memorized because when we asked her about the item, she just told us the thing on the menu without even looking at the menu.

  We ordered the curry (it's not called curry, but it's number 23 on the menu item) and jasmine brown rice. The curry was about $12.95 and the rice was around $3.00. The price for a bowl of rice (it wasn't even that big) is abit expensive. The taste was fair, and the portion of the curry was pretty fair I say too but it was abit on the small side. My friend and I shared one curry, but the curry would be better for just one person because we were still hungry after.
   The taste of the curry was pretty good, but abit on the greasy side because of the coconut oil. But the chicken was lean and the smell is really aromatic and good.Alsom I really like the milky texture of it. The portion was fair but could have been abit more for the price or perhaps included rice.
    In general, I would recommend this place for anyone who like to give Thai food a try, and it would be a sweet place to bring your date or even just an outing with friends.