Best Thai food in Greenville hands down. I would venture to say it may be the best Thai food I've had in a LONG time. Absolutely divine.
I walk in after getting out of class early for Hurricane Florence. When you first this see the place it is pretty lackluster from the outside. Just a basic, generic strip mall exterior. But when you walk in, the wow factor gets get kicked up a notch. Beautiful china adorns the foyer. Gorgeous tapestries and sculptures are scattered throughout and beautiful colored umbrellas and large pieces of fabric adorn the ceilings.
After walking in, I was promptly greeted and seated by the kind waitress. After washing my hands in their clean and tidy restroom, I came back to peruse the extensive lunch specials menu. It features most of the popular entrees. Each special comes with the entree itself (and rice if it's a stir fry dish or curry), soup and a veggie spring roll. Anxious to try EVERYTHING, I went with two of the suggestions outlined in @TranN's post: I opted for the drunken tofu noodles (no egg) to eat there and the mango curry to go (for dinner). I ordered everything at a three spice level because even though I love spicy food , I read on Tran's review that this place has a true Thai spice scale (which is code for our spice is not to be fooled with).
After a short wait the, soup came out. It was piping hot and packed with yummy umami flavor, perfectly fresh veggies and a bit of bite from the heat and citrus. From the first spoonful, I knew I'd be back. If you care that much about the complimentary soup, oh you care a heck of a lot. It made me excited to try their Tom Yum on a sick day. I lapped up every last drop of broth and every veggie in the bowl (zucchini, carrots, scallions).
After finishing my soup, I poked around on their free WiFi until my lunch arrived. As I waited, my water cup stayed full and icy, just the way I like it. (Which within itself is no small feat, I drink a lot of water )
I watched everyone get their meals seemingly in order. No one neglected or omitted. Then the kitchen door flung open and out came my meal, piping hot and ready to enjoy.
Now before we get down to the nitty gritty, (suspenseful I know) let me say that drunken noodles were at one time my favorite Thai dish. However, after eating some poor executions on the dish (mostly clumps of noodles), I began ordering the more popular Pad Thai. When I initially ordered the dish, I asked for the thinner noodles used in Pad Thai but changed my mind when I sensed I was dealing with the real deal. I said you know what, "Let's do it as is, no changes." My waitress smiled as if she appreciated the challenge of the chef's prowess and welcomed the opportunity to to show their ability to execute--challenge accepted!
Now back to the food...
As the plate floated towards me (yes good is ethereal for me) I could tell this was going to be an amazing experience and sure enough it was. Every ingredient on the plate was fresh--the perfectly crisp veggies, the crispy tofu--all tossed in this sauce so amazing it would make wood shards taste good. The spring roll was perfectly wrapped and fried to crispy perfection and it's accompanying sauce had a nice sweet and spicy interplay.
Put all of that together and in the words of my Mom, "It was slammin'". All of the flavors married like nothing you've ever tasted before--the fresh basil (which you could actually see in the dish)--every flavor introduced to that dish was intentional, methodical. That's not happenstance, that's artistry. I ate every last vegetable which often doesn't happen because they don't always get infused with the flavors of the dish. But this time, every snap pea, every piece of zucchini and every baby corn got shoveled into my mouth and each one was enveloped in the flavors of the dish. The crazy thing is that normally you have to cook veggies things down to get that level of flavor into them but they were still crisp...Amazing!!!
One of my favorite parts about the execution of this dish was the spice. It was absolutely, spot on. For all of my spicy food lovers, the 3 gave me that perfect ring of burning around my lips and cleared my sinuses but get this--IT DID IT WITHOUT OVERWHELMING MY PALATE OR THE DISH!!!! It was truly masterfully executed.
As soon as I finished my dish and went to get up, my to go order of the mango curry also emerged from the kitchen. Again, beautifully orchestrated details. All of that set me back just under $16. WHAT?! I know The sweet lady at the counter checked me out with a smile and my waitress gave me a polite farewell as well.
I say all of that to say, BEST THAI in Greenville, hands down. Best restaurant I have eaten at so far in Greenville, HANDS DOWN. I WILL BE BACK HERE A MILLION TIMES, HANDS DOWN.
Thank you Anachalee for the privilege to become one of your patrons. You gave me hope that I may find some life changing food in this town. In fact, I already found it! read more