Restaurant Review: Sisters Thai

Sawatdee! Authentic Asian food is always difficult to come by, especially in the DMV. When a co-worker told me about how amazing Sisters Thai, I questioned the food's authenticity. Yet after visiting the cozy Mosaic District café, I found myself only wanting to go back for every meal.The restaurant sits in the corner of University Drive and Main Street, just a few blocks from George Mason University's campus. A variety of ages fill the restaurant from retired couples to students on campus for the summer.  The restaurant takes reservations, all you have to do is call and they will set up this small chalkboard featured below with your name and time scribbled.White bookshelves line half of the walls filled with trinkets, dictionaries, novels and other novelties you might fill your own home library with. The hipster appeal makes you feel as if you're sitting in a posh Brooklyn apartment with the Victorian chairs, small wooden tables and unique trinkets.     Sit at your table and a heavily-accented waitress will bring water and a scrapbook to your table. The Sisters Thai silhouette glued to the front makes you question whether the waitress brought a menu to you, or a secret book.The entire menu is filled in a scrapbook format. From taped pages to dairy entries, foodies will reveal in the menu presentation. Scribbles and doodles can be seen throughout the entire book. It makes you feel like you're at your family's own shop and you're about to eat a home-cooked meal.Your first course should start with an order of garden rolls. Lettuce, carrots and rice noodles are carefully rolled in a thin layer of rice paper. String carrots are served on the side with the dipping sauce containing a hint of peanuts and fish oil.    In addition to the garden rolls, we ordered curry puffs. The puffs are filled with curried potatoes with a soft texture that goes perfectly with the crunchy crust. Fish oil topped with peppers and onions are placed on the side, but dipping is not necessary.You can always tell the authenticity of a restaurant when the main dish is served. The pad thai with beef came with the perfect amount of sauce. The dish is composed to scallions, onions, rice noodles, bean stalks and hints of peanuts (extra comes served on the side). After finishing about half the dish, barely any oil can be seen, which is the proper way to tell that your dish was made-to-order and delicious.The green curry with beef also has barely any hint of excess oil. String potatoes, basil, red and green bell peppers, and bamboo shoots give breadth to the dish. The curry sauce is spicy, yet contains a great amount of coconut milk, which is how you know a home-made sauce is created instead of a packaged good. I found myself licking the gold bowl (which you can find in any Asian grocery market).Jasmine rice comes on the side. I suggest throwing the top of the ball into the curry to soak up all of its goodness.For dessert, a classic is served: fresh sliced mango drizzled with condensed milk and sticky rice. Cut a piece of mango and a small bit of sweet rice for the best way to cleanse your palette.If ice cream is more your taste, try the coconut. It's smooth and milky, but sugar does not overpower the chunks of frozen coconut that make this frozen treat extra tasteful. Whipped cream adds to the ice cream (which tastes more frosty than melty milk), which makes the dish overall delightful. You leave feeling clean and refreshed, especially after spicy entrees. Sisters Thai is a must-try. Once you go, you'll never want to get thai food anywhere else. The price points are perfect for a quick takeout dinner. The service is quick to please and the restaurant makes you feel as if you're at home. Go and try everything, then go back again and again to satisfy your taste buds.Sisters Thai is located at 4004 University Drive Fairfax, VA 22030. Call (703) 267-9619 to make reservations.