Siam 65 Thai Street Food

For many different reasons, Portland is a surprising hotbed for Thai food.  I strongly believe that the Portland Thai food game is better than Vancouver, B.C. (where I'm from).  However, what gets lost in all this is that Seattle has a say in this too.  In fact, I've had some excellent Thai meals in the Seattle Metro Area.  The most recent of this was at a hidden little spot called Siam 65 located in Lynnwood.  You would never spot it from the Hwy 99 as it is tucked behind a few other restaurants.

We began with the Chicken Wings which were deep-fried to a beautiful golden brown.  Hence, they were crunchy with generally rendered skin.  The meat itself was quite moist but not exactly juicy.  As much as the menu description promised garlic pepper and Thai spices, the flavours were just not there.  They could've been considerably more aggressive with the seasoning.  However, there was a Thai sweet chili sauce on the side.

With a wealth of wok hei and caramelization, the Pad Thai was full-flavoured.  The rice noodles were chewy, completely loose and not clumpy.  Hence, it was very easy to eat and pick up with our chopsticks.  There was a good mix of briny and tangy elements with balanced spice.  At the same time, the dish did not have too much moisture either.  The prawns were meaty with a sweet snap texture.  Really good version of this dish.

Equally delicious, the Pad Kra Pow with fried egg was served in a generous portion.  There was more than enough tender ground pork and veggies to go with the modest amount of rice.  Flavors were impactful with caramelized sweetness, smokiness and spice.  Thai basil came through too.  As you can see, the fried egg on top of the rice was perfect with a crispy bottom and a runny yolk.  Mixed with the rice, there was silkiness and also crunch.  

We also had the Chicken Green Curry which was also full-flavoured.  It was slightly briny, plenty aromatic, creamy and a bit herbaceous.  Of course it went well with the side of rice.  The chicken breast meat was actually rather moist while the baby eggplant had a wonderful texture that was not mushy.  Overall, the dishes we had at Siam 65 were flavorful and impactful.  Caramelization from the wok hei was evident and the portion sizes were good.  

The Good:

- Impactful flavors

- Good wok hei

- Fair portions

The Bad:

- Wings could've been seasoned more aggressively