Pad Thai

Jaidee Thai

July 25, 2014 Posted in Richmond, ThaiLeave a comment

Jaidee Thai is one of the numerous Thai restaurants towards the Hoddle Street end of Victoria Street. Jinda Thai, iSpicy 2 and Ying Thai are also located around these parts of town. Jaidee Thai is the newcomer on the block and what they offer isn’t too different from the rest.

Jaidee Thai’s Pad Thai looks great with its combination of chicken, fresh bean sprouts and chopped peanuts. However taste wise it falls a bit short compared to the likes of Jinda Thai’s Pad Thai and even iSpicy’s. The aroma and flavour of the sauce used isn’t as strong, and if you have ever tried Jinda Thai’s version, you’ll instantly be able to tell the difference. Over there, it’s fragrant as it arrives in front of you, with the nutty smell of the chopped peanuts. Although that is not to say Jaidee Thai’s Pad Thai isn’t good, it has its pros but with so many Thai eateries around, a dish like this needs to stand out.

Jaidee Thai’s Thai Fried Rice (Chicken) served with a slice of lime smells and tastes great actually. The chunky tomato adds depth to the fried rice, along with the greens. The let-down of the dish is that the rice is on the wet side of things, which makes the fried rice feel soggy. I definitely prefer my fried rice to be drier but this might be the Thai style of Fried Rice as I recall dining at Tom Toon Thai Noodle Cafe and it was quite similar.

Impressions
Although I haven’t been left impressed by the dishes I’ve tried, you’ll still end up with a decent meal at Jaidee Thai. I’d probably give it another go sometime in the future, but Jinda Thai is still the one to beat.

Jaidee Thai
112 Victoria Street
Richmond VIC 3121

Salad King – Toronto Series

June 20, 2014 Posted in Thai, TorontoLeave a comment

Toronto has exceptional Thai food. I’m not sure why as seemingly they are a fair distance away from Thailand and seemingly there isn’t a significant community of sorts but alas somehow Thai cuisine thrives here. Salad King is situated not far from the Ryerson University, which results in the restaurant filling up quickly during peak times.

What is also interesting, that I’ve never seen in any restaurant before (other than a Nando’s) is a Spicy Scale as shown below. My sister having dined here before, recommended 3-5 Chilis, and even those were quite spicy so I’m not entirely sure how 20 Chilis tasted like. Maybe like a fireball in your mouth and stomach?

Salad King’s Phud Thai (or Pad Thai) is light and fresh in flavour, fragrant and overall a very delicious dish with the spiciness adding a nice touch. It’s not the best Pad Thai I’ve ever eaten but definitely above average.

The Bangkok Stir Fry is unfamiliar to be but I loved the peanuts added on top with the rice vermicelli (clear noodles) which are property my favourite styled stir fried noodles if done right. Tasty dish.

The Rainbow Chicken is another interesting Thai dish, with eggplant, capsicums and the combination of basil, lemon grass and chilli sauce makes quite a great dish with some white rice. Cheap and tasty.

The Green Mango Salad with mango strips, tomato, lettuce and dressed with chopped peanuts and a Thai dressing (made from fish sauce, lime juice, peanuts and sugar) is refreshing but not particularly my favourite kind of salad.

Salad King’s Tom Yum is another winner, with the perfect combination of sweet and sour and of course spice and really just want you need on a cold day (which was nearly everyday in Toronto).

Impressions

Cheap and tasty Thai food is what I’d describe Salad King in a few words. If I were to compare Salad King to Khao San Road, tastewise Khao San Road comes out on top, the dishes there just blew me away. Although in terms of price, you may prefer Salad King over Khao San Road but flavour cannot be denied in my humble opinion. However, both are probably for different occasions and settings so in someways aren’t very comparable. Salad King definitely earns its title as Toronto’s favourite Thai.

Salad King
340 Yonge St
Toronto ON M5G1H1

Khao San Road – Toronto Series

March 28, 2014 Posted in Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Thai, TorontoLeave a comment

Khao San Road at 326 Adelaide St, Toronto was one of the highlights when visiting Toronto. I never knew Thai food could be done so well outside of Thailand and especially in a place like Toronto where the climate seems so disparate. Nonetheless, Khao San Road is extremely popular with the locals and even on weeknights you can see people waiting around for a table and after dining here you can certainly see why.

Pictured above, we have the Khao Soi which is a egg noodles curry with coconut milk, crispy noodles, scallions, coriander, and lime. You can also choose from chicken, beef and tofu or shrimp for extra. It was this wonderful creaminess to it, but not overwhelming or too rich. The subtle spices just alight your tastebuds and create a warming aroma.

My favourite dish of the night was the Massaman curry, I absolutely adored this spicy dish. It’s just the right amount of creamy, and the peanuts and potatoes add a crunchiness and softness to the dish. The spices are fragrant and welcoming. I really cannot fault this dish.

Khao San Road’s Green Curry with the lovely bamboo shoots, green capsicums, kaffir lime, basil and made creamy with coconut milk is another winner but not to the same extent as their Massaman curry.

The Pad Thai was also quite good, but probably not the best Pad Thai I’ve eaten. The tamarind flavour comes through well and it tastes fresh and light.

Impressions

Although Khao San Road leans on the expensive side of things, I can say that you will find it hard to be disappointed with the quality of food here. Again, I must mention the lovely Massaman curry because it was the standout dish even though all the other dishes were excellent too.

Khao San Road
326 Adelaide St W
Toronto ON M5V1R3

Jinda Thai

October 4, 2013 Posted in Abbotsford, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Richmond, ThaiLeave a comment

Jinda Thai just off Victoria Street, and close to North Richmond Station is a fantastic Thai restaurant that has the stamp of approval from my Thai friends. The place has a mix of olden day style but still appears refreshingly modern, directly targeting the youthful demographic.

I was pre-warned that the food portions here are a tad smaller than your other Thai eateries. You can definitely see the difference with Ying Thai only a couple minutes walk away but the food here is definitely tasty and you’ll be wanting to come back here again.

Jinda Thai’s Pad Thai amazingly tasty. The noodles stir fried well, and has all the ingredients to make a great Pad Thai, plus they add chopped peanuts that give it a warm roasted nutty aroma and flavour. Stir fried with prawns, and chicken it still makes for a very satisfying meal and the chilli hit (not too hot) is a perfect combination. The seemingly very fresh bean sprouts is my arch nemesis as I prefer cooked and not blanched bean sprouts but it actually adds to the dish with it’s crunchy and crispy texture.

The Rice with stir fried Seafood and Basil is another tasty dish. The basil flavour isn’t too overpowering but it’s gentle fragrance seeps through the entire dish. Aromatic and with basil you really can’t go wrong here.

My golly Jinda Thai’s Pad Kee Mao is hot. Extreme! Stir fried rice noodles with a few basil leaves and chicken is although the spiciest meal I’ve ever had, still very tasty and leaves you wanting more (and more water). Love the flavour of the Pad Kee Mao, the balance of fish sauce, soy sauce, chili and basil work extremely well together. Ying Thai’s Pad Kee Mao is larger in quantity but also tasty, but here I find the balance of flavours more appetizing but nothing too different to comment more on.

Impressions

Serving size is smaller here and at similar prices to other Thai restaurants and that’s the only con I find. The food is ridiculously tasty and for me, if the food is great, sometimes smaller portions is just a small compromise. Jinda Thai is most definitely worth a visit.

Jinda Thai
1-7 Ferguson St
Abbotsford VIC 3067

December 21, 2011 Posted in Cooking, ThaiLeave a comment

There is just something about Thai food that I love. I think it’s probably how well balanced their food seems to be. It has this perfect blend of sweet, sour, salt and spice. Pad Thai is a rice noodles stir fry that incorporates the many commonly used Thai ingredients such as tamarind paste, fish sauce and chilli along with a mix of eggs, preserved turnip, nuts, tofu and shrimp.

I’ve used the SBS Food’s Pad Thai Recipe and made slight changes to my preferences.

Pad Thai

Ingredients

Sauce
100g tamarind in block form
300ml warm water
200g palm sugar
50g caster sugar
150ml Thai seasoning sauce

Other ingredients
Large green prawns, heads and shells removed (allow 2-3 per person)
10g dried shrimp
¼ red onion, sliced
40g hard tofu, sliced
40g preserved turnip
2 eggs
200g rice noodles, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
Garlic chives
Bean sprouts
Fried shallots
Roasted peanuts, chopped
Dried chilli
Lime wedges

Preparation

1. Soak the tamarind in warm water, kneading with your fingers to separate the pulp from the seeds. Squeeze out liquid, strain and pour into a frying pan or wok. Add palm sugar, caster sugar and seasoning sauce. Bring to the boil and boil until it has reduced and is syrupy.

2. Fry prawns until they curl and change colour. Add dried shrimp, red onion, tofu and preserved turnip. Push contents of pan to one side and add egg, breaking up just a little as it cooks.

3. Add drained noodles, 2 tablespoon of water, the tamarind sauce, garlic chives and a few bean sprouts, fried shallots, chopped peanuts and chilli.

4. Pile into a serving bowl and garnish with more fried shallots, bean sprouts, a wedge of lime, garlic chives and crushed peanuts.

Note:
The amount of sauce added to the Pad Thai can be adjusted according to how strong a flavour you like. Usually this quantity of sauce is fine for 4 people. Any unused sauce can be kept in a clean jar in the refrigerator.

Impressions:

I quite liked this recipe, it’s quite easy to make actually, and I actually used a lot of the sauce because we used the whole packet of rice noodles (Much larger than 200g). I have a slight dislike of all things coriander so I’ve neglected to add it here, but I can see how it can make this dish a bit more refreshing with coriander added to it.

I think I also may have added too much dried shrimp so the Pad Thai ended up having a strong shrimp taste, but it still tasted nice and light. It tasted similar to what I’ve eaten at Thai restaurants but I can’t really tell whether or not it’s truly authentic or not but it tastes great so that’s all that matters to me!