When you pass by Katipunan Avenue, the traffic begins to build up on what they call the "Hungry Side of Katipunan," where restaurants like Banapple, Red Garlic, Kopi Roti and lots of other restaurants have put up shop. Imagine my surprise when I passed by a restaurant on the opposite end!

As of this writing, Basil has been open to the public for almost two weeks now. So last Friday night, I managed to get in touch with some of my closest high school girlfriends for some dinner and kwento.

That's me with my friend Karla, who happens to be a true dyed-in-the-wool foodie - her family owns The Plaza, famous for their mouth-watering baked ham, and she owns Swizzle Mobile Bar as well. We go waaaaaay back.

Upon entering, the first thing you notice is the lush greenery and water fountain at the back of the restaurant. One of the nicest things about Basil is their attention to detail and the design of the place. This is probably also due to the fact that Basil used to be a plant nursery and garden, and the owners decided to turn their space into an authentic Thai restaurant instead. After ooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the interiors, we finally sat down to order while waiting for our other friend Gisa to arrive. We decided to settle on our tried-and-tested Thai favorites, as well as the restaurant's specialties.

"Oooohhh!" - Our collective reaction when the soup arrived.

The Tom Yum Ta Lay (P298) arrived steaming hot in this interesting contraption that ensured our soup would stay hot throughout the meal. Needless to say, I loved this. I could probably have a whole order all to myself. It merits repeating: Nothing, but NOTHING, can soothe me better than a hot, flavorful soup can. The texture of the squid, straw mushrooms and prawns added to the sourness of the broth, spiked with siling labuyo. This was a perfect starter, since the rain had started to come down and it was getting pretty chilly.

When I asked Karla what she wanted, she matter-of-factly stated, "I'm okay with anything, as long as we order Pad Thai!"

The Pad Thai (P295) was well worth it. I had lost my love for these tasty Thai noodles for awhile (the nearest place I can get pad thai from the office is in the cafeteria right across, and it's pretty sub-par), so imagine how pleased I was when I tasted Basil's version. I'm not sure if there was pork in this, but what I was getting was that it tasted like smoky barbecue on top of the sticky noodles, sprouts, and other assorted ingredients.

Finally, Gisa arrived! I love seeing her because she always puts me at ease (must be the psychology courses she's taking at grad school), and has the best kwento when it comes to love lives. We all ended up reminiscing about high school, and imagining how our tenth year reunion would be like.

(Lots of people say I remind them of Heather Mooney from Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. They also say I remind them of Vicki Miner from Reality Bites. Yeah, I guess you can draw your own conclusions as to what type of person I was in high school.)

The Creamy Pork Curry (P325) was sweet and flavored with all the right herbs (galangal, lemongrass, kefir) that make it authentically Thai. The only thing that made it very Filipino was its lack of spice. I was informed that I could order it spicier next time. We all looked at the plate of curry, and back at each other, mutually agreeing to get another plate of food, as that serving was definitely not enough to satisfy the three of us.

I'm glad we ordered the Lemongrass Steak (P425). This slab of Wagyu, covered in creamy steak sauce and crispy strands of lemongrass was exactly what we needed to round out the meal. Gisa could not stop raving about it! I loved the sauce and the crispiness of the fried lemongrass, as well. Maybe next time, I'll order it medium rare.

Upon Gisa's suggestion, we capped off our meal with Sticky Rice with Mango (P130). It's easy to see why Filipinos take to Thai cuisine very quickly - it reminds us so much of our own homegrown flavors. The coconut milk mixed with the sticky rice provided a warm, sweet contrast to the fresh slivers of mango artfully wrapped around it. The existence of Basil is kind of like an answered prayer for me, because of the fact that there are hardly any good Thai places in Quezon City. Now I can more readily address my Tom Yum cravings! Hooray!

Basil is located at Katipunan Ave. cor. White Plains Ave. (In front of the White Plains subdivision sign)