Jamjuree Thai Cuisine, on 15th Ave in Capital Hill, actually started as a restaurant by the same name in Bangkok. Some of the founding family members ended up here in Seattle, and brought their love of traditional Thai cuisine with them. This spot is a family favorite for us, and I thought I’d try something new on the menu. I was feeling in the mood for seafood, and the one item that piqued my interest was the Jamjuree Prawn Soup. When it arrived, the first thing I noticed was its strong scent. It smelled heavily of lemongrass and lime, and did a good job of increasing my appetite. Luckily the taste lived up to that first impression.
The soup is made with prawns, mushrooms, baby corn, lemongrass, basil, and cilantro in a strong limejuice broth. The prawns were big and juicy and complemented the other ingredients deftly. The soup is absolutely loaded with crimini, shitake and baby button mushrooms, and they do an excellent job of soaking up the flavor of the broth. Speaking of the broth, it was by far the part; the strength of the limejuice permeated the entire soup, and yet did not overpower your taste buds. A soup like this would be perfect for a rainy day, clearing your head, or getting over a cold. They have a number of different variations of Thai soups at Jamjuree, so if seafood or mushrooms aren’t your things, you are sure to find something on the menu that will work.