Charoen Krung Thai Noodle House

Is it just me or are there more and more Thai restaurants opening up these days?  Are we finally going to catch up with Portland's Thai food game?  Well, let's not put the cart in front of the horse now okay?  We still have ways to go...  However, in the GVRD, we've seen a rash of authentic Northeastern (E-Sarn) and also Central Thai restaurants popping up.  Many, if not most, are really good an have elevated the choices for Thai food.  One of the newest is Charoen Krung Thai Noodle House on East Hastings.  They feature a mainly Central Thai street food menu with the rarely seen Boat Noodles.  We didn't order that this time, but we did get a good amount of food nonetheless.

To start, we had the Deep Fried Wonton with Quail Egg.  Instead of the 6 you see in the picture, there should've been 7 wontons (they served it to us shortly after).  Really enjoyed these as the outside was crunchy and light.  Inside, the quail egg was not overdone.  The whites were not rubbery and the yolk was creamy with no dark ring.  Served on the side was some Thai sweet chili sauce.  Sure, a bit defaultish, but it went well with the wontons.

Initially, we were planning on ordering the assorted appetizer but seeing how there was only one wing of each flavour, we wanted more than that.  Hence, we got a full serving of the Classic Chicken Wings in Thai fish sauce.  Although I usually detest coated wings, these were actually pretty good.  Crispy on the outside while succulent on the inside, these wings were also flavourful with hits of brininess.  Skin wasn't completely rendered due to the coating, but I didn't mind it in this case.

If you blindfolded me and didn't tell me what I was eating, the Pad Thai would've been a really great stir-fried noodle.  The rice noodles were chewy and not clumpy while the wok hei was evident.  I definitely got aromas and the mild hit of funkiness of the fish sauce.  However, the dish was lacking the tang and sourness of tamarind as well as enough palm sugar to balance.  Noodles were slightly greasy, but then again, you can't stir fry rice noodles without it.   One minor detail was the little bits of tofu.  I personally like firmer pressed tofu than the soft fried cubes that were in the mix.  Overall a good dish, but needed much more tamarind and even some heat.

On the other hand, the Pad See Ew was excellent.  It had a definite hit of Maggi sauce which added both depth and umami.  There was noticeable wok hei where things were smoky and caramelized.  The crystal noodles were chewy and full of elasticity while not being clumpy.  Big chunks of fried tofu were delicate inside.  Vibrant and green, the gai lan was crunchy, yet cooked all-the-way through.  One of the better versions I've had of late.

Chicken Green Curry was flavourful and had impactful heat even at medium spicy.  It had the right viscosity neither being too thin or thick.  Aromatic with a touch of brininess as well as herbaceousness.   Normally, non-tenderized chicken breast is used in Thai cuisine.  Hence it tends to be a bit drier and chewier.  This version employed tenderized chicken breast.  In a vacuum, I thought this was great as the meat was bouncy.  I didn't mind it at all.  But for some purists, this would not be authentic.

We ended up getting both of their available desserts as we couldn't make up our minds.  The first one was a bit confusing due to its presentation.  Initially, we thought the Kanom Tuay (Pandan Coconut Pudding) was served in 2s but those upside down bowls were also full of pudding, hence we had four servings!  Good thing too as it was aromatic, lightly sweet and really great with the salted coconut cream (served on the side).

We also had the Mango Sticky Rice that was beautifully green from the pandan.  It was texturally on point too with a moist chewiness that wasn't mushy.  It was sweet and aromatic from the salted coconut cream.  Although not in season, whatever mango they sourced was sweet and juicy.  Overall, the food at Charoen Krung was generally delicious and well-portioned.  If I had to nitpick, the Pad Thai needed much more tamarind, palm sugar and spice.  Furthermore, despite me liking the tenderized chicken in the green curry, for others, that could be a no-no.  I'd still go back though to try the boat noodles.

The Good:

- Good wok hei

- Well-portioned

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Pad Thai needed much more seasoning

- Tenderized chicken could be a deal-breaker for some, I didn't mind it though