My issue with Thai restaurants is that they are inconsistent. One makes a great Larb salad but I don't like their Pad See Ew while another place makes great Tom Kha soup but I don't like their Pad Thai. So when I read the reviews for this place, I couldn't imagine that everything would be consistently good. Boy was I wrong! The food here is some of the best Thai I've eaten!!
First off, it is a ghost kitchen, so they only do take out or delivery. I placed an online order and it was ready for pickup in about 20 minutes. When I picked up my order, it was in 3 bags because I ordered all of my favorites. That way I could compare them to the dishes in other restaurants that I like. I got the Tom Kha Soup, Larb Salad, Pad See Ew, Minced Chicken & Basil, Khao Soi, and a couple of large Thai Iced Teas, thus the 3 bags! I'll go through each dish one by one.
Tom Kha Soup - This is always the first thing I order at a Thai restaurant. It usually tells me everything I need to know about the place. This one did not disappoint l though it was a bit more on the tart side than I prefer. It was loaded with flavor and there was no shortage of chicken.
Larb Salad - Their version was very traditional with a great balance of lime to fish sauce. It came with a wedge of cabbage so you could use the leaves like a lettuce cup. I ordered it medium spicy but it wasn't too hot. Great job!
Pad See Ew - Their version hit all of the right notes. It wasn't very saucy and the noodles weren't all stuck together, an issue at many places. Instead the sauce was perfectly absorbed into the noodles. They didn't skimp on the protein and the crunchy greens added a nice bitterness.
Minced Chicken & Basil - Very traditional in its presentation, using ground chicken and plenty of basil. It was stir fried to perfection and the best part was spooning the excess liquid over my rice. Delish!!
Khao Soi - This dish doesn't appear on too many menus which is fine because I'm usually not a big fan but I ordered it because of the reviews and I'm glad I did. This was by far the best dish I ordered. It came with freshly cooked noodles, two nice pieces of grilled chicken, a separate container of curry, and crispy noodles on the side along with the usual condiments of red onion, pickled vegetables, lime, chile paste and a small container of a spicy green sauce that packed some serious umami. That curry was the BOMB! Everything about this dish was excellent. That said, the chicken pieces were a little dry so I sliced them into smaller pieces. But putting everything together in one bit was sheer heaven. The soft noodles, the grilled chicken, and the crunchy noodles paired perfectly. And the pickled vegetables helped cut the richness of the curry. 10's across the board!!!!
Thai Iced Tea - Their tea was pretty standard, perhaps a bit sweeter than I'm used to. I ordered the large size, not realizing it was the size of a Big Gulp!! I saved half for later.
Overall, I could not recommend this place enough!! Everything tasted great, was freshly prepared, and was well packaged. I will definitely start working my way through their entire menu. I hope they add Thai Iced Coffee though. And my fingers are crossed that they do so well that they open a brick and mortar location because I have found my new favorite Thai place. Meanwhile, I'll be dreaming of that Khao Soi. read more