Did she attempt to dose cardamom? Did she use Thai basil? I'm not sure about the former in Thai cuisine, but the latter is highly recommended.

As for ketchup, it simply isn't spicy enough for my taste. Which makes it "boring". There's a Dutch variant called "curry" which contains spices and umami, but more sugar and less tomatoes.

Mayonnaise I desire with lemon, too (Belgian style). I like to make my own garlic sauce (Belgian mayonnaise, yogurt, cube-sliced garlic). Don't make it _too_ runny (too much yogurt). My fav sauce is green pepper sauce. It is similar to the garlic sauce as base, but with freshly grinded green pepper. I'll try a black pepper variant another time.