foreign cuisine that stays true to its culture

So, today I went to a restaurant called Top Thai for dinner. I already had judged how Americanized the food would be because of the name of the establishment but I was wrong. I had ordered a classic Thai dish, Tom Yum soup; my mom and brother ordered Pad Thai and some duck dish respectively. The food was hot. I remember watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and I remember how he described Thai food as being hot and sweat inducing even though the climate of Thailand is hot and sweat inducing. Even though I'm not from Thailand, nor have I ever visited Thailand or eaten in Thailand, I have a strange feeling in my heart, and in my stomach, that this food was as authentic as it gets. I like being able to experience other cultures through food; it feels good AND it tastes good.