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    Thai Elephant

    4.4 (61 reviews)
    ModerateThai, Food Trucks
    Closed Closed
    Updated 3 months ago

    Thai Elephant Photos

    THAI ELEPHANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Thai Elephant

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    Vitali Z.

    Thai Elephant Kauai surprised me... and also kinda annoyed me (in a very Kauai way). It was Saturday around 5:40pm, and we were 4 people deep into our first days on the island -- hungry, salty, sun-tired, the whole vibe. If you've been on Kauai even one day you already know the rule: food trucks are basically a food group here. So we pulled up to Thai Elephant thinking "easy win." We ordered: * Thai Fried Rice * Vegetarian Spring Rolls * and Pad Thai with shrimp (I'm a sucker for shrimp pad thai when I'm starving) First off -- the food is good. Like, actually good. The fried rice had that proper wok flavor, not just bland rice with egg thrown in. The spring rolls were crispy, not oily, and the dipping sauce was sweet and clean. Pad Thai was solid too -- noodles weren't mushy, shrimp tasted fresh, and the lime + crushed peanuts helped bring it together. Now the honest part: the price. We paid around $60 with tip, and I'm sorry but... that hit me. I get it -- it's Kauai, everything costs more. But still, egg + rice shouldn't feel like a luxury item. Especially from a food truck. There's no indoor seating, no big staff, no "fine dining overhead"... so the value just feels off. Would I come back? Maybe. If I'm nearby and hungry again, sure. The food itself deserves it. But I'd walk in knowing I'm paying Kauai pricing, not Thai street food pricing. Final rating: 4 stars. Great flavor, great quick meal, just overpriced for what it is. If you're on the island -- try it once. Just don't expect budget-friendly.

    Alex L.

    Kinda was craving something different aside from Hawaiian dishes during our stay. We hung out around north shore and this spot seemed to be the best reviewed on yelp. We ordered and shared the pad Thai plate and it was actually ok.. didn't really stand out. More lighter in terms for sauce in the noodles, a bit more garlic. Maybe there was another dish people order here.

    Nin J.

    Super friendly staff at the window. As soon as we placed our order we heard the sound of sizzle and can smell the spices cooking up. Food came out hot and we hit the road for the pier to watch the sunset and enjoy our meal. I had the pad Thai noodles with fat succulent shrimp and husband had spicy beef plate - pad ka pow, both good but his plate was better! My noodles were on the sweeter side and his plate was savory. The spice and flavor were perfect!

    Thai Tea
    Mrs L.

    I was pretty hungry when we decided to go get Thai food. Particularly Pad Thai. So I found this place because it had a pretty decent review at a 4.3 on yelp but a 3.8 on Google review so we took our chances being Pad Thai snobs. lol I did forget to take a picture of the establishment. It's a food truck that has been made permanent with the porch/lanai added and seating area for about 7 amongst other food trucks in this area and picnic tables all located behind the liquor store and little SOHO center just after you enter into Hanalei at the back of the parking lot. It was clean and it wouldn't be a problem to eat there. We just didn't because it was windy and chilly. We ordered two chicken Pad Thais and two Thai teas as well as one order of fried spring rolls. I Chose Pad Thai, particularly because I'm gluten-free & I eat a lot of of Pad Thai because well that's my business. lol. It was a little chilly as I said so we decided to take it back to the resort. The teas came with no lids and the fried spring rolls were just in a paper bowl with the sauce in between the rolls so we had to take particular care in driving as to not spill anything. So that was "ding" number one. When I opened up the container of the Pad Thai the first impression was it doesn't look like the Pad Thai I'm used to seeing. It was very bland and brown looking. No vegetables just noodles and chicken that had all the same color. If there was egg scrambled up in there, I couldn't tell because again it was all the same color. I'm used to seeing bean sprouts maybe some green onions, egg & cilantro something like that to give it not only a pop color in my book, but crunch and some more flavors. One section of the container held shredded cabbage, and the other section contained the crushed peanuts. You don't get choices of heat. It is all no heat. So all of that is ding number two. The third star loss was the flavor. All I tasted with salt. Didn't taste any of the Tamarind, sweetness from a little palm sugar & maybe fish oil that you typically get in Pad Thai. We tasted none of that Pad Thai flavor that we're used to getting. It was salty enough for me to try to eat it with the shredded slaw to attempt to cut the salt, but I couldn't do it...therefore, I couldn't finish my meal. The spring rolls, my husband said were tolerable to eat only because there was dipping sauce. He finished his Pad Thai because he was hungry. The only thing that was spot on was the Thai tea for $6. I think this is probably a 8 to 10 oz. cup. The entire meal was $74 and change, but because I paid cash that knocked it down to $60 even. Unfortunately, I will NOT be returning to this food truck during our travels back to this island. The only reason why it gets two stars is because one; it did have something gluten-free and two the Thai tea. Pretty sad when I can find the best Pad Thai so far is in Anchorage Alaska. Seattle even failed on that from two out of three locations that we ate Pad Thai at. Will try other Locations on Kauai next visit. The service was OK. The young lady was nice enough in all she did was took our order and half smiled so that's a plus I guess although she didn't greet us as we walked up, she was just stood there looking at us until I said hello and she kinda nodded and said a very low hello I guess.

    Menu - Combo Plates
    Jonathan M.

    This place is a food truck. If it's a busy day, it will take awhile to get your food. One woman seemed to be taking orders and the other woman was cooking. Make sure and have someone hold a table or something before you order to make sure you can sit and eat. We ordered two combo #1s. It was a pad Thai with spring rolls and a Penang curry. My wife said that one was okay but lacked some flavor or salt. We also each ordered a Thai iced tea that was pretty mediocre. I ordered a spicy beef plate and when they tell you it's spicy, it is. Hotter than hell. So if you like that, which I do, this is the plate for you. It wasn't a ton of food and there was nothing with it. We paid about $80-90 for our food. I'd probably suggest going somewhere that is t a tourist trap.

    Pad Thai

    Thai food is my favorite so I try to eat it wherever I travel. This was probably the best pad thai I've ever had. And they were able to make it vegan. Highly recommend.

    SOO GOOD!! you have to check out this place. their sticky rice changed my life honestly. the freshness and quality is unreal. and their thai iced tea lemonade was so refreshing and delicious. 10/10!!!

    Thai fried rice with tofu. Yum!!!

    As good as it gets. Pad Thai and fried rice did not disappoint. Mango sticky rice was super fresh and flavorful. Great spot in Hanalei with other food trucks. Staff was helpful, made suggestions and were super friendly. Don't miss this great spot!!

    Thai Elephant Food Truck
    Carrie F.

    We stopped for lunch. I had the Pad Ped Jungle Chicken that the lovely cashier recommended. She was right. It was so yummy! My mom had her go to, shrimp pad Thai and cleaned her plate also. The ladies were fun to chat with. And really made this a great experience. Check it out.

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    2 months ago

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    11 months ago

    Good Thai food truck. Only wish they put a little more protein and maybe a little more flavor with spices.

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    1 year ago

    The Basil Beef Stir-fry was incredible. The medium heat was the perfect amount of kick. Plenty of shaded tables to sit at and easy parking.

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    1 year ago

    Tasty meal on our first night on the island. The shrimp on the pad Thai were great! The chicken panang was delicious. Quality meal.

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    1 year ago

    Great food & beautiful location! Plus good customer service. My husband loved the shrimp pad Thai

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    1 year ago

    Their Vegan Spring Rolls are delicious, top it off with a vegan donut next door and it's a wonderful tasty meal!

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    3 years ago

    They are not in Kalaheo anymore!!! They are in Hanalei. I didn't want to give a low star review. Did not eat here

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    Ask the Community - Thai Elephant

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