Thai Archives - Page 2 of 2

In Four Beakers

Longtail Kitchen: Thai Restaurant in New Westminster

August 12, 2013

After seeing some photos on instagram and a few people in the Twitterverse, I just had to make a visit to Longtail Kitchen in New Westminster for some Thai food.

The interior was very cute with a variety of items arranged on the wall. The tables are not too crowded and has a very casual atmosphere. It’s a great place for lunch.

Thai Iced Tea ($2) was very good. It was not too sweet and it reminded me more of like a Thai version of milked tea.

Fresh Tumeric Curry of Ling cod and Mussels ($10) the mussels were very juicy and plump. The curry was very well balanced! Yum.

The above dish came with rice too. It’s a good ratio of rice to broth too. You’ll still have some broth left over.

Changmai Style Curry Noodle ($10) M ordered this dish and he enjoyed it. It’s not very large, but it is packed full of flavor.

Crispy Longtail Chicken Wings ($8) was really good, but its not like Phnom Penh’s wings. It has a crunchy exterior surface and the meat is quite moist. I’m not exactly sure what spices are in it, but it was good.

Overall, M and I enjoyed eating at Longtail Kitchen and would return again. You wouldn’t really discover this place because its hidden in the River Market at the Westminster Quay. It’s easily accessible by skytrain or there is paid parking around the area.

We Rate Longtail Kitchen:

Address:
116- 810 Quayside Drive
New Westminster,BC

Website:
http://www.longtailkitchen.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=810+Quayside+Dr,+New+Westminster,+BC+V3M+6B9&sll=49.891235,-97.15369000000001&sspn=45.72347923378347,88.1395350118194&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=810+Quayside+Dr,+New+Westminster,+British+Columbia+V3M+6B9&z=16 “]

In Kitsilano

Maenam: Hot, Sour, Sweet and Salty

July 14, 2013

M has this goal of finding the best Thai restaurant in Vancouver. We heard much about maenam and decided to come here for dinner. The space looks beautiful and very modern.

We really didn’t know what to order since there were so many choices, but in the end we settled on the Chef’s Menu that includes 5 courses for $32.50 per person. Traditionally, Thai dishes are supposed to have a balance of hot, sour, sweet and salty in the flavour profiles. As we didn’t know what dishes would be arriving, we were very very excited and worried at the same time.

The first item to arrive was a mixed mushroom and halibut hot and sour soup. This dish was really good and did have a great balance of sour and hot. I really liked it.

Steamed Mussels in Lemongrass and Thai basil arrived next.

The mussels were plump and full of flavour. The lemongrass and basil were nice accent flavours that went well with the mussels, but the sauce that came with it was pretty hot, so we didn’t use it.

The final 3 dishes arrived and are meant to be shared. In the Thai culture, meals are best shared amongst family and friends.

Pork Cheeks came with 5 pieces and tasted ok. They were not very tender nor very fatty. We thought it would melt in our mouths, but it was a bit dry.

This salad had some salmon, ikura eggs, kaffir lime leaves, orange chili dressing, peanuts, and cilantro. The salad was very sour and salty. The balance of this dish was not to our liking.

This curry has fresh baby corn, pea eggplants, thai basil, holy basil,and Fraser Valley chicken. This dish was incredibly hot. We ate this with the jasmine rice, but it still packed a punch.

Overall, as this was our first time at Maenam, choosing the chef’s menu was a bit of a mistake. The dishes were definitely a hit and a miss. Best to start out with dishes you are familiar with and then start venturing out. I also thought that it was weird that this set menu didn’t come with dessert. Next time, I’ll probably not do the Chef’s menu and just chose items off the menu, it would be cheaper.

We rate Maenam:

Address:
1938 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.maenam.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1938+W+4th+Ave+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1938+W+4th+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6J+1M5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Four Beakers

Chad Thai: Thai Food in North Burnaby

June 2, 2013

Chad Thai Restaurant is located in North Burnaby on Hastings street. M and I were looking for some place to eat on Hastings and when we passed by, we began craving Thai food. Since we don’t have Thai food that often, we thought we would give it a try.

The interior isn’t large, so there is limited seating. We came at around 2pm, so there was plenty of seats available. The service was nice and friendly.

They are the winners of the best Thai restaurant according to the readers of the Burnaby Now.

Their lunch menu comes with complementary appetizers. There were fried wontons and a salad. We weren’t expecting this but it was definitely a nice start to the meal. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was delicious.

Khao Soi Gai ($10.99) has egg noodles with sliced chicken breast in curry sauce, topped with crispy egg noodles, green beans and coriander. It is served with red onions, lime and chili oil on the side.

The portion wasn’t too large, but it was a decent size for lunch. It had a lot of intricate flavours and we were not disappointed at all.

Khao Moo Kratiem Kai dao ($9.99) has stir fried of pork, ground garlic on rice with a fried egg. It was simple, but it was really good.

Overall, the food was pretty good and worth the price. M and I loved it and would come back again. I am not an expert at Thai food, but all I know is that the flavours tasted great.

We Rate Chad Thai:

Address:
4010 E Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.chadthai.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4010+E+Hastings+St+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4010+E+Hastings+St,+Burnaby,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5K+2A9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Downtown

Go Go Thai Food: Lunch Specials and Take Out

January 25, 2013

Go Go Thai Food is located on Seymour Street across from Granville Skytrain and the Bay. Is a small little restaurant, but its popular with the lunch crowd for either Take Out or their good lunch specials. I met up with TaiwaneseGirl during our lunch break and decided to have their lunch special which contained a soup, appetizer and a curry for about $10.

Tom Yum Soup was very basic and there were only mushrooms in it. The taste is spicy and sour, thus giving the soup its distinctive taste.

Chicken Skewer was dry and didn’t really resemble fresh chicken. It tasted OK, but not great.

Spicy Green Curry with lamb was very very spicy. The menu had 3 hot peppers on it, but I ignored it since I thought I could handle it. It also comes with rice. The portion was a good size for lunch and you definitely get full.

Overall, the food was ok and had a good price. They have a lot of different curries, so you don’t have to get anything super spicy like what I accidentally did. The service was quick and we were able to get back to our offices in under 1 hour.

We Rate Go Go Thai Food:

Address:
682 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=682+Seymour+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=682+Seymour+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+3K6&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Fairview

Thai House Kitsilano: Appe-THAIzing Dining Package Review

June 29, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Appe-THAIzing Dining Package” and write a review about it. I got a complimentary dining package and brought along NewsBoy.

DesignGirl is on her travels again so PineappleBun (me) gladly stepped in to do this review.

Thai House Restaurant has multiple locations and has been running their businesses in Vancouver for quite some time now. Heard of Samba Brazilian or Pink Elephant Thai? That’s part of their group too.

Dining passes are currently available for $18 each which gives you 5 courses (www.vaneats.ca):

Lettuce Wrap, served with lean ground beef with chopped onion, bell pepper, basil and a touch of oyster & chilli sauce
Peeg Gai Yaad Sai, deep fried chicken wing stuffed with vegetables and glass noodles
Keang Kari Gai Ma-Mung, fresh mango & chicken in yellow coconut curry
Pad Kee Mao, stir fry rice noodles with beef, fresh basil, chopped veggies, bell pepper, onions and fish sauce
Kluag Tid Ma-Mung Ice Cream, deep fried banana served with mango ice cream

NewsBoy and I decided to start off with a few drinks to celebrate the little bit of sunshine we had peek out behind the clouds. Is it summer yet? Well, I can dream. I got the Coconut Lychee drink while NewsBoy decided to go for the Lime Soda. The Coconut Lychee drink is rich and creamy so if you’e expecting the taste of young coconut, that’s probably not what you want.

I don’t really like the taste of lime but the soda had fresh lime juice and Newsboy found it very refreshing. For me, The Coconut drink really helped bring the heat down from the food I ate.

So this is the Peeg Gai Yaad Sai, a deep fried chicken wing stuffed with vegetables and glass noodles. What are glass noodles? They pretty much look like clear vermicelli. The chicken Wing looked like it was about to burst! It was crispy, hot, and went perfectly when you dipped it into the chilli sauce. I’d say there was medium heat to the sauce and had a great sweet spiciness to it which I really liked. The chicken was really moist too! Definitely worth trying out. I wonder how they debone it… there were no bones inside! Take a bite and you’ll be surprised.

The other appetizer was the Lettuce Wrap, served with lean ground beef with chopped onion, bell pepper, basil and a touch of oyster & chilli sauce. It came out hot and I just love basil! The lettuce wrap also had a medium spiciness to it but the oyster sauce also makes it have a sort of sweet, savouriness to it. The lettuce helps cut the heat to give a cooling effect.

I’ve never had Keang Kari Gai Ma-Mung (fresh mango & chicken in yellow coconut curry) before but I was definitely surprised! Again, the sweet spiciness theme came up and I was surprised to find mango slices in the curry dish. I’ve had curry where they give you a lychee with it but mango was a nice change.

Say hello to Pad Kee Mao, stir fry rice noodles with beef, fresh basil, chopped veggies, bell pepper, onions and fish sauce. It kind of looks like the Cantonese beef fried noodles but the Pad Kee Mao noodles are a bit thinner in width. Overall, I thought this dish was good and I do prefer this over the typical Pad Thai which usually tastes a little more sour.

This dish wasn’t part of the package but it was the Red Curry Tiger Prawns. I came with a guy so one package to share definitely wasn’t enough. I expected that I’d order another dish so we chose this one. The prawns were a good size, fresh, and plump. I just thought that curry sauce on its own was a bit salty but together with the prawns in your mouth balanced the taste. This also came with rice.

To end the night and as part of the package, we were presented with Kluag Tid Ma-Mung Ice Cream, deep fried banana served with mango ice cream. To tell you the truth, i’ve never had a deep fried banana before but it was good together with the ice cream! The mango ice cream was great and together with the warm banana just made it comforting. On the dish, they’d look like two separate things but give it a try and eat them together.

For 18 dollars, this deal was amazing for the amount of food you get. Actually, I can’t imagine myself finishing all 5 of those dishes. If you like spice and would like an introduction to Thai food, you’ll really enjoy it. I hate making decisions about food so this is perfect for those indecisive people. Less work and more bang for your buck.

Purchase the deal at www.vaneats.ca

We Rate Thai House:

Address:
1766 W 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thaihouse.com

View Larger Map

In Downtown

VANEATs Latest Dining Package: “Oh My SalaThai”

April 18, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached DJ Roman J and I to try out the “Oh My SalaThai” dining package and write a review about it. The review does not guarantee 100% similar service you might normally get from the restaurant.

Roman J and I review the “Oh My SalaThai” Dinning package from VANEATS.ca . Both Roman J and I have been to Sala Thai before but this package gave us a chance to try out other dishes which we haven’t had before.

The inside of the restaurant is full of vibrant Thai décor. DJ Roman J liked the elephant near the entrance.

The package consists of:

3 Appetizers

“SOM TOM”, shredded green papaya, tomatoes, green beans, ground peanuts, fresh chilies & lime juice
“GAI HOR BAI TOEY”, tender pieces of chicken marinated in a chef sauce wrapped and cooked in pandanus leaves
“THAI CRISPY SQUID”, lightly battered and tossed with mixed Thai herbs and spices

2 Mains

“ROYAL PAD THAI CHAO WANG”, our most popular Thai rice noodle dish with shrimp, egg, tofu, bean sprouts & ground peanut
“GAENG KEAW WHAN”, sliced chicken, simmered in coconut milk, Thai green curry with bamboo shoots, eggplant, bell peppers & sweet basil leaves

1 Dessert

“KLAUY TOD”, deep fried banana served with homemade coconut ice cream

SOM TOM. This salad was a good start to our meal. It packed both sweet and savoury flavours. It was refreshingly crisp and the vinaigrette had a bite of fish sauce. DJ Roman J stated that “ this dish will make you love papaya”.

GAI HOR BAI TOEY. The chicken was sweet, juicy, and tender. It had a nice char on the outside and I assume it was grilled prior to being steamed. DJ Roman J could not believe it was steamed in pandanus leaves.

THAI CRISPY SQUID. The batter was nice and light. It was well seasoned with salt and other spices. It was so flavourful that it does not need a sauce.

ROYAL PAD THAI CHAO WANG. I’m picky when it comes to Pad Thai so I can honestly say this was really good. DJ Roman J thought the eggs were a nice addition to the noodles. We also like how the noodles were sweet and how the dish was filling.

GAENG KEAW WHAN. I personally love spicy food and I usually pick green curry dishes when I eat Thai food. Naturally, I loved this dish! However, this dish is not for the timid, especially if you are sensitive to spicy food. DJ Roman J thought this dish got spicier with every bite. The chicken is very tender and overall the dish is tasty.

KLAUY TOD. After having delicious appetizers and mains I was sadly disappointed when this dessert came out. I am huge dessert person, so when I saw how small the serving was I had to think, “That’s IT!? ”. It is not made for two people, only a bite and a half per person. DJ Roman J found the batter to be a little too thick and the slice of banana was too small. Both of us did not enjoy how the ice cream was frozen hard in the center. If the ice cream had been thawed out a bit more, the dish would have been more enjoyable.

Koh-ito ($6.25) is a Thai Mojito with coconut and lime. This drink had a dominant lime flavour which was balanced out with sugar. Overall, this was a refreshing cocktail.

Overall, DJ Roman J and I found this VANEATS dining package to be a must buy! The package is great for two but the only downfall is the size of the dessert. The package offers a spectrum of flavours from sweet and savoury to very spicy.

The “Oh My SalaThai” Package can be bought for $18 at VANEATS.ca and will be good from April 18th to June 18th.

Tidbits

Very busy during dinner times, reservations are a must
Daily drink specials
Good service

We Rate SalaThai:

Address:
102-888 Burrard street, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1X9

Website:
http://www.salathai.ca/

View Larger Map

In Downtown

Bali Thai: Outstanding Service in a Food Court

March 27, 2012

Under Harbour Center is a food court that looks very outdated, but in the food court is this family-owned Thai/Indonesian place – Bali Thai. MeatLover suggested we go here for lunch since I asked her to take me to some Indonesian places. This place doesn’t look like much, but it’s their amazing service and attention that keeps their customers coming back.

Lunch is really cheap for under $7 and the staff make sure you leave happy.

I ordered 2 items on rice. I got the stewed eggplant and 3 chicken skewers on saffron coconut rice. They also wondered if I wanted more rice, but I declined since I don’t really enjoy rice. When you do go, you can always ask for more rice at no extra charge. The rice was very fragrant, but the spices of the eggplant were quite strong and over powered the taste.

Even though I ordered a 2 item meal with rice, they gave MeatLover and I extra vegetable fritter. Add the peanut sauce cause its good. It was so good, I could have eaten these all day. No joke! I’ll definitely be back for some more lunch when I’m in the area.

Overall, the food is decent depending on what items you add to it. I would go back just because of the nice service they provide, plus those vegetable fritters are so good.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10 meal
Awesome service
Larger portions if you ask for it
Closest Skytrain: Waterfront

We Rate Bali Thai:
Address:
FF4 – 555 West Hastings Street

View Larger Map

In M's Food Court Corner

M’s Food Court Corner: Thai Express

May 22, 2011

Welcome to the first article of many of M’s Food Court Corner. I will be reviewing the different food court restaurants in Vancouver and the tri-city area specifically for young bachelor’s with no money like me! I won’t be going to the same chains in different food courts, but if you find a better than average chain at your favorite food court, be sure to let me know!

The first M’s Food Court Corner restaurant I reviewed is the recently opened Thai Express in Lougheed Mall. I also saw that there is a Thai Express in Surrey and it looks identical! I actually went to this Lougheed chain twice and will recount both times that I ate there.

To start off, Thai Express looks uber classy and modern! I love their brand and the black and green. It definitely is more appealing and attractive than any other Food Court restaurant. I ordered the General Curry with Red Sauce the first time and the Green sauce the second. Anything that starts with General in Thai Curry refers to the deep fried chicken bits that they add to the dish. I have to say General chicken is delicious and fits very well with any of the curries.

They have 3 types of curry sauces to choose from: Red, Yellow, and Green. Red is the spiciest and has a special ingredient – bamboo! Yellow is medium spiciness while Green is the mildest of them all with a special ingredient – eggplant. When I first had Thai Express my Korean side screamed for hellfire, and thus I chose the Red sauce curry ($7.58) thinking I would becoming a raging fire breathing dragon. Alas, it was not that spicy. So mild in fact, adding sriracha sauce would’ve made it meh.

The green sauce General Curry ($7.58) was actually more flavorful because it wasn’t trying to be spicy. I’m no fan of eggplant, but it worked in the Green sauce curry. The bamboo in the red sauce was bland. Both curry dishes comes with a nice helping of delicious white rice and I had no problem balancing out the rice with the curry.

I didn’t get the spring roll the first time around, but apparently they come together if you “combo” it up with a drink and your selection of entrée. The eggroll did not look good and tasted like a badly made grocery store bought one. It was weird it was put in a paper bag like some bread.

The price was normal for this sort of food from a food court. I recommend getting the Pepsi ($1.88) to balance out the curry.

M’s Words of Food Court Wisdom:

Awesome branding and look. It’s cool to watch the chefs make your curry in a flash of fire in front of you while you wait.
I recommend trying it once. It is sort of pricey for Thai, but you pay for the uniqueness.
Pass on the Spring Roll.

M’s Food Court Corner Rating: (Not to be compared with Design Girl’s “real” restaurant rating.)

Thai Express Locations:

Park Royal
Central City
Richmond Centre
Lougheed Mall
Pacific Center

Website:

www.thaiexpress.ca

In South Burnaby

Thai House Royale

October 26, 2010

Thai House Royale has been around for a long time. My parents come here all the time because they have a large variety in their menu and it is not all traditional Thai cuisines. For some dishes they add a Chinese twist to the dish. I am not a big fan of Thai dishes because of their sour characteristics of their dishes. So, usually I have to choose carefully.

Near the entrance of the restaurant, you are greeted with really nice decor, but as you walk deeper into the restaurant, the decor starts to get very depressing. It’s probably because all the tables didn’t have table clothes.

While waiting for our food, my dad suggested ordering Singha, a Thai beer. Apparently he tried it a long long time ago. I was clearly a skeptic of this choice, but nonetheless we got it anyways. The beer was nice and light. It reminded me of Sing Tao…but perhaps even better.

My little sister had the virgin Royal Thai Special. According to the image on the menu, it looks really appealing in the tall glass. When you look at the menu at C and compare it to what came to the table…it doesn’t look so appetizing anymore….looks more like frothy milk. I know you shouldn’t judge by appearances, but you gotta admit…it’s ugly. Yes, it was delicious and my sister orders it every time we go to Thai House.

The skewers are really good. We ordered 3 kinds – beef ($8.95), lamb ($8.95), and ostrich ($9.95). Yes, somehow they have ostrich meat. Satay Skewers seems like this is our family’s favorite dish because we order it every single time. Each order comes with 4 skewers and you can also do half orders as well.

All the skewers come with this curry type of sauce. Rule of thumb, don’t eat the carrot rose because you never know if they reuse it for other people’s dishes.

We ordered the curry crab, it doesn’t have a specified price to it, but when we went, it was about $33 per crab. They do it by piece rather than pound. It is best to order rice with this dish since the sauce is really really good!! Remember to ask for lots of napkins because your fingers will be really saucy! they do give you wet napkins as well.

Pinapple fried rice ($13.50) was alright, it wasn’t amazing. Compared to Tropkia’s pineapple fried rice, this does not even compare. Don’t get me wrong, this is a popular dish! 3 other tables around us had the same thing too. Inside this fried rice, there were fresh pineapples, peanuts, raisins, pork floss, egg, and chicken.

Chicken Curry ($14.95) was not my favorite dish. It had the strong sour characteristics of Thai food. I don’t think the rest of my family liked it either. We packed it to go and tweaked the flavours at home.

I have a feeling that I should stop going to Thai places if I don’t like their types of food. I’ve been here about 5 times, so there must be something the restaurant is doing right.

Words of Wisdom: