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Hope 2017 is going well so far. Today it's Ed (from Yuma) blogging here. Tomorrow it'll be Kirk or Cathy. Thanks for reading the blog.

In 2013, Yuma changed for the better when Red Rose, a Thai restaurant, opened off of Fortuna road in Foothills. The food was generally good, and it was one of the few places with many choices for vegetarians and vegans. So I was worried last summer when our server told us that new ownership would be taking over. The good news was that the new owner was already the chef at Red Rose.

A new ownership with a new menu means it's time for a new post.

Except for the name change, the exterior looks much the same:

As you can see from these two pictures of the interior, there's not a lot of change there either:

Something else that has not changed is the restaurant's BYOB policy, customers can bring their own bottles of wine and Yuma Thai Cuisine will provide glasses etc.:

But I would not recommend bringing a Chardonnay; here I speak from experience, trust me.

There are some significant differences like the huge mugs for ice water:

That picture was taken on my first visit after the ownership change, so I requested lemon. There was no need for it, however, because that's not water straight from the tap, but fresh tasting, very quaffable H₂O. Particularly great during our summers when I can get thirsty just walking from car to restaurant.

This entrée of basil eggplant reflects other changes:
The menu (website) has been tweaked. For example, the featured eggplant dish used to contain deep fried slices (think tempura) covered in a Thai style brown sauce, a nice combination of crunchy and smooth. YTC's eggplant dish is more of a standard stirfry, but the eggplant is still creamy and the flavor good overall. I also like that the "pick a protein" dishes provide the option of extra vegetables – as in this case – so that vegetarians or vegans don't have to have to overdose on tofu.

A couple of other differences you can see in this picture:

These days, YTC has a two-page lunch menu with lunch size portions of many dishes at lunch size prices. Some are noodle dishes, but the rest – like this one – are served with rice. Also different is the "brown rice" option. It used to be a nutty flavored and light brown; now it is what I call Korean purple rice.

All the lunch specials also include a small cup of very flavorful spicy tom yum soup with vegetables:

A similar broth highlights the mixed seafood soup:

The soup contained mussels, shrimp, scallops, and squid along with tomato wedges, mushroom slices, Thai basil leaves, and onion chunks. It was all good, fresh tasting and flavorful.

YTC also serves rice noodle soups that remind me of  phớ. The first one I tried was the beef noodle soup:

There was a lot to like. The broth, while not super beefy, was rich and sweet with the taste of anise. The rare steak was flavorful if not especially tender, and the meatballs were lightly spiced and not rubbery. Fried shallots, chopped cilantro, and a sprinkling of bean sprouts were fine.

The soup was served mild with no hot spiciness, but was accompanied by these condiments if I wanted to turn up the heat:

There was just one problem:

The noodles were overcooked, sometimes breaking apart. As I was leaving, the friendly server mentioned that the regular chef was out of town, and I suspect that was the problem because the noodles were perfect a couple of months later when I had the oxtail noodle soup:

And the chunks of oxtail were tender, rich, and succulent. Just wonderful soup.

Noodle dishes in general are a strong point at YTC. This is pad se eaw with chicken:

Overall good flavor, a nice range of ingredients, and the product of a hot wok. Much like this pad kee mao with shrimp:

The ultimate fried noodles are a curry flavored combination of egg, chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, veggies and noodles:

And I really love YTC's version of pad Thai, here with shrimp:

and here with pork:

The sauce is powerful and complex. There is the sweet tang of tamarind and rich umami flavor as well. Good with a lime squeeze. And the noodles masterfully prepared, al dente and toothsome.

The papaya salad always spicy is well done as well. When we request it, YTC happily will prepare a vegan version that's almost as good as the standard version. Sadly, my best papaya salad photo is what was left on the serving plate after four of us had hungrily attacked the salad:

Tina and I also liked the yum nua, the spicy Thai beef salad:

The lettuces were nothing special, but the steak strips were beefy and the salad crunchy and tangy, nicely balancing other dishes like noodles or curries.

While the chicken larb had many of the same flavors, on this night, the meat seemed a little dry:

YTC has many of the same curry options as before – such as this somewhat under flavored green curry with shrimp:

The shrimp and vegetables were great and the sauce creamy, but not a lot of green taste.

The jungle curry, here with tofu, is a new addition and is the only curry sans coconut milk:
Again, my only complaint is a lack of intensity. Perhaps if we ordered the dishes at a higher spice level, the other flavors would be jacked up as well.

The menu has also been expanded with an entirely new section, "Thai specialties," which includes many new seafood entrées as well as this very enjoyable red curry duck:

Half of a boneless duck, deep-fried until crunchy crispy, served with pineapple chunks, tomato pieces, pepper strips, abundant Thai basil and a creamy red curry sauce. Our server said this was his favorite dish on the menu, and I can understand why.

We've also sampled a variety of the desserts, the least interesting being sticky rice and Thai custard: 

Cool and refreshing in the summer, this dessert seemed more one-dimensional than the fried banana, sort of deep-fried eggrolls filled with soft fleshed banana:

But on this evening, the real winner was the mango sticky rice:

The mango was wonderfully ripe and partnered perfectly with the sweet creamy rice.

If you were a fan of Red Rose Thai, I'm sure you'll love Yuma Thai Cuisine. And if you have not tried this restaurant, you're really missing one of the highlights of the Yuma culinary scene. YTC serves some excellent quality dishes with preparations that you can't find anywhere else in Yuma County.

Yuma Thai Cuisine, 11274 S. Fortuna Rd., C1, Yuma AZ 85367, (928) 342-7777.