You know a place is good when we come twice in a row during vacation!…read more
We were in CO for the Rocky Mountain Siberian Husky Club specialty and I was craving Thai food. As I hail from CA, we have plenty of authentic Thai restaurants to choose from. As such, I was looking for a small, authentic Thai place near Brighton, where the show was being held. Ponsawan came recommended, and I was immediately drawn to this place especially with its namesake. Some of the best Thai places I've been to have "difficult"-sounding names.
It was dinner the first time we went, and we were seated quickly. Our server was friendly, and gave us time to peruse the menu. I went with the pineapple fried rice while my husband went with the pork pad Thai.
The pineapple fried rice had a lovely wok hei and there were plenty of fresh pineapples as well. I loved the cashews on the side, and the crispy cucumbers. Portion size was perfect.
My husband's pad Thai was saucy and tamarind-y. Personally, I prefer a drier pad Thai, but he enjoyed this, I think mainly because of how strong the tamarind flavor was.
Our server asked if we wanted to try the mango sticky rice since she said it was mango season, but we politely declined.
The next day, we were both craving Ponsawan again, so we came for a late lunch. The owner recognized us and welcomed us back in. This time, we also got drinks and an app. I went with the Thai tea and my husband went with the Thai coffee. Both were not too sweet and a good strength. The app we chose was the dumplings, which were fried to perfection and came with the most delicious dipping sauce.
As far as our entrees, I went with the pork pad kee mao and my husband went with the yellow curry fried rice. Our server apparently heard his order incorrectly and gave him the pineapple fried rice, but apologized and was quick to rectify the situation. As such, I received my food first, and had to wait a few more minutes before we could eat together.
The pad kee mao had the perfect amount of spice, and the pork was tender. The yellow curry fried rice again had a lovely wok hei and the curry powder was delightfully pungent.
Both times we dined, our food didn't take long to arrive at all. I'd say less than 15 minutes for both of our dishes. They had lunch specials, but for the price point of the entrees, it was a no brainer to just order entrees. The food was super affordable and the portion sizes were not skimpy at all. Not huge, but definitely not skimpy.
Ponsawan is easily on my favorites list for the Denver area and we will most certainly be back the next time we go to CO! (I will also need to try their curries, so that is a high priority for our next visit.)