Resolving to Find the Best Thai

Posted by Foobooz on January 7th, 2010

thai_curry_erawan

The Bite makes a food-related New Year’s resolution each year. This year the goal is to find the best Thai food in the area. Any suggestions?

To do in 2010: Find the best Thai food in Philly [Metro Philadelphia]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 9:51 am and is filed under The Bite. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Tim

Siamese Princess in Ardmore
Nate

I have tried most of the Thai restaurants in the city and have often come away disappointed. Siam Lotus (before they disappeared) used to be very good. My Thai at 22nd and South is usually average or above. But I have not found a “good or great” Thai rest in the city since Siam Lotus.
rascal b. schuylkillian

Aqua – a byo on Chestnut near 7th rarely dissapoints. Some of the dishes are spiced to the round eye palate, but there is plenty of authentic dishes too. I am partial to the whole fried fish in a chili-lime fish sauce. And the rice net spring rolls are some of the best anywhere.
Ashley

Chabba Thai in Manayunk should be your benchmark. If you can find anything better than that, let us know!
Sean

Chabba Thai’s food was very good when we ate there. But we had a problem with service. Had last-minute 8:45 reservations, didn’t get seated until 10 and the kitchen was closing so we had to rush our dinner. The wait wasn’t entirely the restaurant’s fault – they had two very large parties that just refused to finish up and leave. On one hand, parties shouldn’t sit around for an hour after they’re done eating, on the other hand the restaurant should know that large parties take forever to actually leave and shouldn’t have given us the reservation.
Amanda N.

Lemongrass on 35th and Lancaster I believe? They are NOT known for their kindness… but the food is amazing.
http://theotherguywhoateeverything.blogspot.com/ Mike

Vientiane Cafe at 47th and Baltimore. It is a tiny little 10 seat family run place that I stopped in at for a quick bite before a 7:00 class at the Restaurant school. Don’t leave anything valuable in your car, but the food is AMAZING!
Jen

Cafe de Laos at 11th and Washington is amazing.
MF

I second the Cafe de Laos recommendation. When I came back from living in Thailand, it was the only restaurant in the area that tasted like being back.
rich

smile cafe on 22nd is a favorite of mine!
Walker

Travel back in time and go to Thai Garden on 47th Street in West Philly. I will never eat a dumpling that good again in my life. (Although the Sakora Soup Buns are dangerously close)

I was not impressed by Smile. (too greasy). Vientiane is decent (there green papaya salad is amazing), but curries still leave something to be desired and is inconsistent in general.

I’m adding Cafe de Laos to my “to try” list.
sundeep

Siam lotus was the best… never had anything like it since it closed
Sonya

Aqua was so so. Vientiane is technically Laotian. My Thai can be pretty awful. Thai Noodle was tasty but not an ounce of spice anywhere makes it a subpar experience for me. Smile, Erawan, Thai Singha, Pattaya Grill are good but not great. Of this list, I would say Pattaya Grill wins. I do miss the Crying Tiger from Thai Garden. Anyone try Tamarind on South Street?
dave

Thai Singha House 40th n chestnut
Mugsy Bogues

Thai Orchid in Blue Bell: outstanding service, cozy/warm interior, admittedly questionable semi-strip mall location, it is one of the few restaurants that I can say I have never had a less than above-average meal and I have eaten there probably 12 times in the past year. Dishes and the level of spice/heat are welcomed to be adjusted per the customers’ requests. Crying Tiger salad is excellent, all the curry dishes are great (Panang, Green, Red, etc.).
Cellar Rat

Mango Moon in Manayunk. Might be owned by the dame folks at Chabba Thai. Very good food, nice service and a well thought out bar. Reasonably priced as well.
Lexington Steele

Thai Singha takeout at 20th and Chestnut is always simple, fresh and solid.
Adam

Cafe de Laos, or Mango Moon in Manayunk if I’m not feeling too lazy.
Dan

Thai Orchid in Blue Bell hands down. As far as the Coty goes, lemongrass is my favorite.
Steve

Siam Cuisine, 10th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia’s Chinatown, dishes are well prepared, hot and spicy, curries are excellent, Phad Thai better than most, courteous service, nice atmosphere.
Thai’red of Bad Thai in Philly

Hello fellow foodies!

I am Thai and unfortunately, there are no ‘authentic’ Thai restaurants within the Philadelphia area. I have tasted EVERY Thai restaurant, to my knowledge, within an hour of Philadelphia and I have left disappointed every time. I can however, point you to some of my favorite Thai restaurants in NYC, LA, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, DC, Thailand, etc. As for Philadelphia, the ‘BEST’ Thai restaurant is….. in another city.

Here are some red flags when perusing a Thai menu or sampling a dish: Look under salads for ‘som tum,’ a Thai papaya salad. If this is made with cabbage, RUN! If it’s priced over $10, RUN. Any noodle dish (Pad See Ew, Pad Thai, and/or Pad Kee Mow) over $13, RUN! You are being jipped! And, lastly, if you order Pad Thai and the sauce is made with ketchup..and you like it…You may have never tried ‘authentic’ Thai food in your life! RUN!

Maybe we should all go on a road trip and eat at Thai restaurant together? Best of luck everyone! Cheers.
Sonia Nofziger Dasgupta

My vote is for Jeenwong Thai Cuisine in Wilmington!

3 South Orange Street
Wilmington, DE 19801-5006
(302) 655-5140
brian

@Sonya, tamarind is the best in the city. many of the mentioned are american-ized versions and are ‘ok’ at best. having lived in thailand for a year, i think tamarind is the best.
Ryan

Thai Basil in collingswood.
Michael

Yeah, Tamarind is pretty great. Not as good as some Thai places in NYC, but quite possibly among the best in Philadelphia. I haven’t tried enough places around here to compare, but it stands on it’s own at least. I remember liking Lemongrass in Powelton, too.
matt

if you go to cafe de laos make sure to ask for the good stuff. there are dishes not on the menu. and ask for it thai-style, you’ll get more heat.
http://www.foodzings.com/ foodzings

i like chiangmai in conshy! i remember tamarind being good too…
Jaime

I second (or third or whatever) Tamarind on South! Never been disappointed, AND it’s BYO!
Beth

Trio in Fairmount is a tasty little BYOB…. It’s Thai fusion, not that extensive of a menu, but worth checking out!
LO

There is a new spot in Manayunk/roxborough called Thai 2 Go- the food is amazing and blowing Chabba away! the prices are way more reasonable and more traditional and authentic. the portions are huge enough for dinner and lunch the next day.
i learned about them just by reading phillyspeaks.com blog site- and i went and tried them out- amazing! the owner and chef are extremely friendly, its small but what do you expect its call thai 2 go takeout/delivery!
-also i heard that the chef that co-owns this spot was the chef at Lemon grass fpr the last 6 years- she left and is now here!
LO

Thai 2 Go
355 Lyceum Ave
215-482-1741

they have a menu on Yelp.com
http://www.houstondateblog.com alex

Thai food is the best! I will definitely look this Thai restaurant in our Philadelphia dating getaway!

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Resolving to Find the Best Thai