Sip Song Thai

Normally, most Thai spots in town are moderately-priced.  There are some exceptions including the fine dining Baan Lao in Steveston and Michelin Bib-Gourmand Song on Broadway.  If we look a bit further back, Maenam was probably the first pricier Thai restaurant in Vancouver.  Similar to the elevation of Chinese cuisine in the Lower Mainland (and hence higher prices), this trend might be hitting Thai food as well.  We find a brand new spot tucked away on West 16th at Arbutus in Sip Song Thai.

Don't let its cozy appearance fool you, the prices are on the higher end here.  However, they also sport a more unique menu compared to all of the typical Thai restaurants in town.  An example of this was the Raw White Prawns with seafood sauce and birds eye chili.  These butterflied and properly deveined prawns were buttery and sweet.  With a piece of garlic and chili, that meant there was heat and some sharpness.  To balance this, we had some sweet and tangy sauce in the middle of the plate.

Next up, we had the Pomelo Salad which, in my mind, was possibly the best dish of the meal.  It featured an abundance of juicy pomelo that burst with a mild sweetness accented by appetizing sourness.  It was dressed with the classic combination of briny and salty fish sauce, bright and tangy lime juice, intensely sweet palm sugar and the slight spice from bird's eye chili.  To top it off literally and figuratively, we found beautifully prepared prawns that had a sweet snap.

Another solid dish was the Tom Yum Goong (small size pictured here).  If I had to compare with one of my favourite versions in town (at Song YVR), this was almost just as impactful.  There was a big hit of flavours that were layered starting with the tanginess of the lime, then aromatics from the lemongrass and then brininess of the fish sauce as well as a considerable kick from the chili.  Being the creamy version, this had some viscosity and balancing sweetness.

There aren't many spots in town that offer Boat Noodles (they have it at Silom Thai), but they do here.  There were many options on the menu and we settled from Boat Noodles with Beef Balls.  This rich broth (as you can see in the picture) consisted of soy sauce, pork neck bones and a bunch of herbs.  It had a definite star anise hit as well as the saltiness of the soy.  The soup had some fall flavours and deep sweetness.  Normally, there is pork blood in this, but I didn't notice any for this version.  Noodles were cooked perfectly al dente while the meatballs were bouncy and tender.  On the side, we found sprouts, basil and various condiments to help make the soup spicy.

We got a couple of smaller dishes in the Grilled Pork Jowl and the Deep Fried Lemongrass Wings.  Now this was the best version of pork jowl I've had in a Thai Restaurant.  More superior than Song YVR!  This exhibited beautiful smoky grill marks and intense caramelization.  The meat was super buttery and the side of sweet and tangy dip helped cut the fat.  As for the chicken wings, they were crispy with fairly rendered skin.  They were plump and super juicy.  With bursts of aromatic lemongrass as well as some saltiness and sweetness from the marinade, the wings weren't longing for flavour.

For our curry, we selected the Red Curry Chicken with Rice.  Oh this was a fabulous curry with plenty of spice and aromatics.  It was rich, but not overly thick, hence it was natural-tasting where I could get the sweetness from the palm sugar, spice from the chillis and creaminess from the coconut milk.  There was a wealth of tender dark meat chicken which made this a very fulfilling dish.  Even the rice was perfect where it was al dente and on the drier side.  Perfect for accepting the delicious curry.

Our last dish was an add on in the Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables.   We were eating away and figured that we needed veggies!  Well, it was a great choice as this was delicious!  The cabbage was cooked through, but still crunchy.  Seasoning was on point where it was full of umami (from the mushrooms and mushroom sauce), yet not salty.  Overall, the food is quite good at Sip Song Thai.  I appreciated that they didn't use too much palm sugar and things were nicely spiced.  It is good to see more authentic Thai restaurants in town that are also elevating things as well.

The Good:

- Not overly sweet

- Good spice level

- Cozy space

The Bad:

- On the pricier side

Bangkok Blvd

As if we didn't have enough Thai food already with all the great stops in Portland and also Bai Tong in Redmond.  However, our last food adventure brought us out to Edmonds and a little place called Bangkok Boulevard.  Located in a former Dim Sum spot, we were a bit skeptical when we first walked into the place.  However, our initial judgments would be a complete misnomer.  Just sitting there, we could smell the wok hay and the food being prepared for takeout orders.  I think we were going to be in for a treat!

To kick things off, we started with the Pad Kra Praw.  From this dish forward, we knew we were in for a fantastic meal.  The smell and aroma emanating from the dish was intoxicating.  There was caramelized sweetness, smokiness and umami.   Loved the tender bits of ground pork combined with bell peppers, onions, green bean and bail.  Naturally, this went well with the side of nutty and chewy rice with a fried egg added for another $2.00.  As you can tell, this was a generous portion.

Talking about going well with rice, the Eggplant Chili Sauce with shrimp was equally good.  Exhibiting the same wok hay that ensured smoky nuttiness as well as intense sweetness, this need a bowl of white rice.  The eggplant was cooked through yet still maintained a firm exterior texture while being soft inside.  As for the peppers, they were still firm and quite smoky from the wok-fry.  The properly deveined shrimp were buttery and had a sweet snap. 

It was pretty anti-climatic when the Pad See Ew hit the table.  The smell and aromas were intoxicating with brininess and smokiness wafting around us.  By looks alone, we could tell since there was some charring with the tofu and noodles.  This meant that each bite was caramelized and the intensity of the savoriness made us want to eat more and more of the dish.  The noodles were slippery and had an elasticity to them while the gai lan was still vibrant and crunchy.

Bringing the aromatic smells few notches, we moved onto the Pork Congee featuring meatballs, onsen egg, ginger, green onions and white pepper.  Even though this was supposedly less impactful due to it being rice porridge, it was absolutely delicious and on par with the rest of the dishes.  Thick, yet still drinkable, the congee base was sweet and savory with depth.  Those meatballs were tender, bouncy and full-flavored.  Adding an onsen egg, it afforded some extra silkiness.

Staying with soupy things, we had the Braised Chicken Noodle Soup.  This was a gigantic portion of braised chicken wings.  They were super plump with tender meat and buttery skin.  Personally, I'm not a huge fan of flabby skin, but in this instance, it worked for this bowl of noodles.  As for the broth, it was silky (like texturally) with the taste of duck for some reason.  I'm sure it was the chicken braising liquid, but it had duck vibes possibly due to the star anise.

Featuring a deep fried soft-shelled crab on top, the Pad Pong Karee sported a dry curry with chili paste, curry powder, half & half cream, egg, onions, bell peppers and celery.  As you can see, this wasn't completely dry, so another bowl of white rice would go well.  I found the flavors to be a bit more concentrated as such with creaminess.  The veggies were still crunchy while cooked through.  I really enjoyed the crunchy soft-shelled crab with a custardy interior texture.

We ended the meal with the Black Sticky Rice Pudding.  Sitting in sweet coconut cream, this was the perfect ending to a fabulous meal.  Sure, I would've liked some mango sticky rice too, but not really the season for it!  This black rice pudding was appealingly glutinous and semi-sweet.  It had great mouth-feel and the coconut cream added plenty of aromatics.  Interestingly, with all the excellent Thai food we had on this trip, the best one was the last one.  Didn't expect a little Thai restaurant in a strip mall in Edmonds would be so good.  Well it is and go check it out if you are in the area!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Really great wok hay that translate into some smoky and caramelized flavors
- Reasonably-priced
- Fair portions

The Bad:
- Parking lot can be rather full

Bai Tong Thai (Redmond)

The last time I was at Bai Tong, it was at their "original" location near Southcenter.  I put that in quotations because their actual first location was near the SeaTac (but no longer there).  For those who don't know, Bai Tong got its start due to the lack of Thai food available for the flight crews laying over in Seattle.  A former flight attendance for Thai Airways started Bai Tong for that purpose.  Now it has grown to multiple locations dishing up authentic and delicious Thai cuisine.  This time around we made it to the spacious Redmond location which was bustling during lunch service.

We decided to get a few  different items than last time starting with the Moo Dade Deaw (Thai Pork Jerky).  I've had this somewhat recently in Vancouver at Zab Bite and the one at Bai Tong was miles better.  Although each slice of pork was crispy and somewhat chewy on the outside, it was ultimately tender and almost juicy in the middle.  This made for easy chew while still retaining the essence of what pork jerky is supposed to be.  It was also well-seasoned with earthy, sweet and briny notes.  Of course the side of nam jim jaew added spice, sweetness, more brininess and tanginess.

The most photogenic item we had was the Meang Kum. I've had this a few times and usually it comes on a chaphlu leaves with all of the components already on top.  Meang Kum translate to "eating many things in one bite" and this is true here with shallots, peanuts, toasted coconut, lime, chilies, ginger and dried shrimp.  The version here was DIY and instead of chaphlu leaves, we had small spears of romaine lettuce.  We also found house-made Meang Kum sauce in the last square on the plate..  This was a fun way to eat and the flavors were intense with sweetness, brininess, tanginess, aromatics and spiciness.  This was a dish best shared and was great at whetting our appetites.

With our appetites completely ready for the dishes that were arriving next, we had an equally appetizing Tom Kha.  This was a particularly spicy and full-bodied version of the soup.  With the addition of coconut milk, Tom Kha is usually more mild-tasting and naturally creamy.  Hence, any spice involved is somewhat muted.  Not in this case, we got all of the good things in Tom Yum (like the galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves) but with creaminess and plenty of heat.

Something that caught our eye on the menu was the Crispy Garlic Chicken.  The menu promised us juicy chicken with a crispy exterior.  Well, I am happy to report that they followed through with that promise as the chicken was indeed juicy and tender.  The relatively thin and crispy batter was seasoned with a sweet and garlicky glaze that took on the aroma from the fried basil.  They added some chopped red peppers mainly for color as I didn't get much in the way of impact from them.

We did end up doing a repeat dish because it was so darn good.  This was the Roast Duck Curry.  Just like last time, there was a half duck sitting in the red curry.  It featured tender cooked down duck that had rendered skin.  The red curry itself was rich and creamy (from the coconut milk) while exhibiting impactful heat and sweetness.  Adding lychees into the mix provided an extra burst of sweetness but the grape tomatoes help bring it back down with tanginess.

One dish that was a study in textures was the Garlic Fish Fry.  The fish was fried pretty crispy but in turn, the meat was a dry in most spots.  At the thickest portion, it was flaky and moist though.  This was to be expected as different thickness would cook at different rates.  Therefore, for those who like it crunchy, they can eat the belly and tail portions while the ones who want it tender, go for the main body portions.  As for the sauce, it was plenty garlicky with some peppery notes.

One of the tastiest dishes was the Thai Sukiyaki.  All I know is that Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish that is served in a shallow hot pot with meats, veggies and sometimes noodles.  This Thai version served at Bai Tong did not sit in a broth per se, but was stir-fried glass noodles with veggies and prawns with Thai Sukiyaki sauce on the side.  This was tangy, sweet, garlicky and full of umami.  This could've been due to the red fermented bean curd which also added rich saltiness.  Loved this dish, so much impact and the texture of the noodles were perfect.

Along with the duck curry, we had to order another repeat in the Crab Fried Rice.  The version they serve here was on point with chewy grains of Jasmine rice that were nutty and smoky from the intense wok hay.  Flavors were caramelized and despite this, the fried rice wasn't greasy (as they use a lot of oil generally to make fried rice).  There was ample fluffy crab to give texture and the mild pops of briny sweetness.  The rice itself was also well-seasoned.

Our last dish was also a repeat in the Pad See Ew.  Instead of tofu (our default choice during this trip), we asked for beef.  The result was a more robust-tasting version with lots of smokiness from the stir-fry.  The intense caramelized sweetness came through as well as the rich saltiness of the soy.  Noodles were not clumpy and al dente.  Beef was fairly tender for a lean cut.  Overall, this was another delicious visit to Bai Tong.  Food is prepared properly and their menu is diverse. The Redmond location is pretty busy, so best to come early or make a reservation.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Wok hay (the wok's breath) is on point here, providing smokiness and caramelization
- Generous portions
- Diverse menu

The Bad:
- Place is quite dark, mood lighting perhaps?
- One of the busier locations due to the lunch crowd, best to avoid peak times

Mee Sen Thai Eatery

Right next to Churn Cafe and their fabulous fusion brunch, you will find an authentic Thai eatery in Mee Sen Thai.  We took the opportunity to hop on over for a meal since we were in the neighbourhood already.  I've already mentioned that the Thai food game is strong in Portland compared to where I come from (Vancouver, B.C.).  In addition, what I've noticed is that the Thai food is also more diverse with an array of dishes I've never seen before.  This would also apply with our visit to Mee Sen Thai Eatery.

An example of such a dish is the Kang Jued.  This was a refreshing and comforting dish featuring a clear soup, egg tofu and minced chicken meatballs with glass noodles, carrots, shiitake mushroom, napa cabbage and bak choy.  The broth was light and a bit sweet while taking on the flavors of the ingredients.  The noodles were slippery and not overdone while the veggies were still vibrant.  Loved the soft egg tofu and the meatballs were moist.

Now 2 dishes that were more typical and I've definitely had before - Moo Ping (Pork Skewers) and Tod Mon (Fish Cakes).  Beautifully charred, the pork skewers were tender with an appealing meatiness.  They were properly marinated where there was some aromatics and sweetness.  As for the fish cakes, they had an incredible bounce texture that was great.  They were lightly sweet and moist.  On the side, we found a sweet & sour sauce with crushed peanuts.

Another dish I've yet to try before was the Larb Gai Tod.  Sure, I've had Larb before, but not with fried chicken breast.  So texturally, this was completely different than the ground meat that I'm used to having.  There was a robust quality to the dish where the usual larb flavors (sweet, spicy and tangy) were still there.  However, the pieces of chicken were not as crispy anymore due to the addition of wet ingredients.  The chicken was tender though.

One dish that I was strangely in love with was the Hoy Tod.  These crunchy pancakes had mussels and scallion hidden inside.  This provided a seafoody chewiness beyond the crunchy exterior and somewhat fluffy interior.  Not complex by any means, yet the textural contrast and the brininess was really up my alley.  I couldn't stop eating these!  This also came with a sweet & spicy sriracha sauce.

Back to the more typical dishes in the Peek Gai Tod (Fried Chicken Wings), we had them sauced in spicy basil.  These wings were ginormous and hence with the modest deep fry, they were also juicy and tender.  Personally, I would've preferred a more aggressive deep fry since the skin wasn't all that rendered.  It was still lightly crispy though and the spicy basil glaze was delicious.  There was aromatics, spice and garlickiness.

Another form of fried chicken arrived with our next dish in the Hat Yai Fried Chicken.  Unlike the North American type of fried chicken, this one featured a barely-there batter.  It was thin and allowed the skin to completely render.  By virtue of using rice flour, it was also very crispy.  Inside, the dark meat chicken was juicy and nicely brined.  I could definitely taste the sweetness as well as the brininess of the fish sauce.

Another dish I've never had before was the Goong Ob Woon Sen featuring prawns with glass noodles.  Albeit, I've had something similar in Cantonese cuisine (just like the Kang Jued), so this was familiar to me.  With plenty of aromatics from the garlic, ginger and cilantro, the slippery and chewy glass noodles were tasty.  There was some pepperiness to the dish and the addition of pork provided depth.  The shrimp were buttery with a snap.

Onto a classic Northern Thai dish in the Khao Soi Gai.  This was a good version featuring a creamy and rich red curry broth.  The egg noodles were still chewy and not clumpy.  They soaked up some of the broth and the aromatics and slight spiciness (nutty smokiness from the chili condiment) made me want to keep eating it.  The chicken leg was fall-off-the-bone tender.  Also, the crispy fried egg noodles helped soak up even more of the delicious broth.

For me at least, a Thai meal isn't complete without both the Pad See Ew and the Pad Thai.  Yes, a bit defaultish, but at the same time, when done right, delicious.  I'm happy to report that the both exhibited good wok hay which meant there was smokiness, nuttiness and caramelization.  For the Pad See Ew, the noodles were not clumpy and had elasticity.  We choose tofu instead of meat and that enabled the flavors from the stir-fry to stand out including a bit of spice (we chose medium) and balanced saltiness with sweetness.  The Pad Thai was tangy from the tamarind and also sweet from the palm sugar.  There was some brininess and of course some spice too.

Saving the best for last, we had the Khao Pad Puu (Crab Fried Rice).  We've already had some great versions on this trip to Portland and I was glad we ended off with another great dish.  The discernible grains of rice were chewy, nutty and caramelized.  There was plenty of other aromatics from the garlic, onions, scallions and sesame seeds as well.  Add in the on point seasoning and plenty of fluffy crab, the fried rice was really good!

For dessert, we were served a Thai Tea Cake that was reminiscent of cheesecake in texture.  Specifically, a Basque cheesecake where it was fairly dense and creamy.  It wasn't as sweet as it appeared but definitely wasn't flavorless either.  In the end, the meal at Mee Sen Thai was satisfying with some real highlights.  The wok hay was evident, especially with the noodle dishes and also the fried rice.  Also had some unique items we've never had before as well.  Portions are large, so bring some people to help share!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Dishes had wok hay (good caramelization and smokiness)

- Large portions

- Cute decor

The Bad:

- Maybe the wings could've been fried more golden brown and crispy 

Thai Peacock

Three straight Thai restaurants to start off our Portland trip?  Woah, Thai food is excellent here, but isn't this a bit of an overkill?  Of course not!  There is never too much of a good thing!  Well maybe except too many fried chicken sammies.  That gave me bad cholesterol!  Anyways, Thai Peacock is related to some other great PDX Thai restaurants in Khao Moo Dang and Ruk-Diew.  Since we enjoyed those 2 spots already, we were pretty confident that Thai Peacock would too!

So all of the food pretty much showed up at the same time.  Hence, I'll just put them in order of how I would've eaten them starting with the House Combo with a variety of small appies.  My favorite item on the plate was the chicken teriyaki meatball.  Sure, not really a Thai item, but delicious nonetheless.  It was moist, meaty and had all the great caramelized sweetness from teriyaki.  The coconut prawns were pretty awesome too.  They were crispy and aromatic with a buttery snap texture.  Also not Thai, the gyozas were solid having a thin crispy dumpling skin with tender chicken and cabbage filling.  Veggie spring rolls were crunchy with non-mushy veggies inside.  Salad roll was veggie too and it was okay, I would've preferred some meat but I get there needs to be non-meat options.

As always, we got the Papaya Salad since we can say we got our veggies!  Well, also because we enjoy it due to the crunch and briny tangy dressing.  This one here was no exception as it was fresh and had plenty of brightness with a touch of spice.  On that note, we could customize our spice level with their box of Sauces.  I was using the hot chili with lots of the other dishes including the following one.

Yes, I added it to the Pad See Ew since I love my noodles spicy!  Even though this was prepared medium spiced, I wanted more heat.  Loved this version as the rice noodles were intact and not clumpy.  This was the case despite the dish not being overly greasy.  Lots of wok hei ensuring caramelization and smokiness.  Also a touch of brininess from fish sauce provided that umaminess.  We opted for tofu in this one and that goes the best in this dish in our opinion.

For our choice of soup, we had the Tom Kha this time around and it was fragrant due to the lemongrass.  It was pretty prominent and of course had the bite of the galangal and brightness of the kaffir lime leaves.  Due to the addition of coconut milk, the sharp tanginess was muted while the spiciness (we asked for medium) was balanced.  We had this with prawns and they were buttery and cooked just right. For me, I wished there was even more coconut milk.

From the soup, we moved onto 2 pork dishes in the Braised Pineapple Pork and Pad Ka-Phrao with Pork Belly.  Due to the use of pineapple, the natural enzymes broke down the pork muscle fibers.  The result was super tender meat with a natural sweetness.  The stir-fried pork belly was really good with proper wok hei that produced intense sweetness.  The Thai basil really came through with added sweetness and herbaceousness.

We were all ready to order a standard Pad Thai with shrimp but it was suggested we have the Pad Thai with Crispy Trout instead.  Good call as the trout was fantastic.  Crispy on the outside but flaky and moist on the inside, it was unexpected match for the noodles.  The noodles were chewy and not clumpy with a tangy and sweet tamarind sauce.  It had balanced spice and the extra squeeze of the lime made it even more impactful.

One of my favorite dishes was the Garlic Fried Rice with Garlic Shrimp.  As expected, the wok hei was evident here with the nuttiness of the rice and the caramelization of the shrimp.  Since it was an open kitchen, we had a clear view of the flaming wok.  Lots of aromatics within the rice including plenty of garlic.  It wasn't greasy though and the rice was chewy.  Shrimp were bouncy and naturally sweet with spot on seasoning.

We also decided to try the Seafood Khao Soi where it came with a pretty impressive amount of ingredients.  The large scallops were so buttery and soft while the prawns were as good as the other dishes.  Calamari was tender while still retaining a bite.  As for the broth, it was a bit less rich than other versions I've had but still aromatic.  Noodles were al dente and did soak up some of the flavors of the broth.

For our curry selection, we had the Kaeng Matsaman with Beef.  Although this is generally a milder curry, it still had plenty of impact from its nuttiness and creaminess.  It was medium spiced with a small lip tingling at the end.  The ample amount of beef was fairly tender while the nuggets of potato were delicate and soaked up all of the sweet and peanutty goodness.  Of course this went well with some white rice.

For our drinks, we had the Thai Iced Tea and Thai Iced Coffee.  Predictably sweet, the ice tea had all of the strong tea flavors.  It was actually not overly sweet, so we enjoyed it.  As for the coffee, it was pretty strong and that was enough to balance off the sweetness.  It had Vietnamese French coffee vibes and that suited us just fine.  We also had one mocktail in the Lychee Daiquiri.  It was fruity and semi-sweet.  Great with the spicy food!  Overall, the food at Thai Peacock is solid with some memorable dishes.  Pricing is affordable and portions are fair.  Definitely an option if you are craving Thai food in Downtown PDX!

*All food and beverages were complementary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Excellent wok hei and caramelization
- Well-priced
- Open dining space with high ceiling and plenty of light

The Bad:
- Tom Kha and Khao Soi could've used more coconut milk