You have probably heard me go on and on about how good the Portland Thai food scene is compared to what we have here in Vancouver. Well, that doesn't mean we don't have good Thai food at all. In fact, some of my favourites include Song, Siam Le Bien, Zab Zaab and Silom. Interestingly, there is one highly-rated Thai spot in Ladner called Soi Ram. Since we were already in South Richmond, we decided to check the place out for lunch.
On their lunch menu, they have the option to make it a complete meal with an appetizer and beverage. We did just that with the Thai Iced Tea and the Rambuttri Temple. We could get the iced tea with cream or lime. As you can see, we went for the lime and that somewhat mitigated the sweetness. With that being said, it was still sweet. The Rambuttri Temple was a mix of mango juice, ginger ale and grenadine. This was refreshing and tropical-tasting.
As for the choice of appies, we had both including the House Salad and Maa Joy Spring Roll. Lots of fresh ingredients in the salad including crunchy cucumbers, juicy tomatoes and crisp greens. The side of Maa Joy house dressing was creamy with equal parts tangy, sweet and a bit umami. The real star was the spring roll as it was thicc! It was loaded with vermicelli and veggies where the textures were crunchy and firm. Loved the crunch of the wrapper and then the non-mushy texture of the filling. Really good!
We ended up with 2 combos and 2 a la carte dishes starting with the Chicken Green Curry. This was rich from the coconut cream where it was aromatic and lightly sweet. Good hits of lemongrass and galangal, but I could've used a bit more fish sauce for that brininess. There was a wealth of tender chicken, non-stinky bamboo shoots, eggplant, red pepper and Thai basil. It was quite the portion size, especially for lunch. Honestly, this was enough curry for 3 bowls of rice!
We had to get the veritable Pad Thai, also with chicken. Loved that they had a good amount of pressed tofu since I love the texture! My only wish would be some preserved radish for that salty crunch. With that being said, this Pad Thai was still very good. The noodles were perfectly chewy and not clumpy. Tangy and sweet, the amount of tamarind and palm sugar was on point. Best of all, the wok hei provided caramelization and smokiness.
We went off-menu for the Pad See Ew as it wasn't available on the lunch menu. Thank goodness we ordered this as it was fantastic. Once again, the wok hei afforded noticeable searing on the noodles which gave smoky vibes and aromatics. Since the seasoning for this dish isn't complex, wok hei is vital to create layers of flavour. Noodles were perfectly chewy and not clumped together while the gai lan was still vibrant and crunchy. Good balance of sweet, savoury and slight brininess.
Our last dish was the Pad Kra Pao Muu Bowl. Not trying to sound like a broken record, but this was also subject to the intense heat of the wok resulting in great wok hei. The result was totally caramelized and super flavourful minced pork and pork belly. It was bordering on salty without being so. This came with rice and a perfectly fried egg. In the end, this was a surprise! A somewhat random food adventure lead us to some really legit Thai food with excellent wok hei. Little hidden gem in Ladner!
The Good:
- The wok hei!
- Well-priced
- Legit flavours
The Bad:
- Lunch menu is a bit limited, but understandable
- Pork cracklings were the bagged variety, would've like to see freshly made if possible
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