Now that my office is in Chinatown, weekday lunches have become a bit boring, a constant stream of Dim Sum, BBQ Duck and Banh Mi. So I definitely have to make up for this on the weekends. One type of cuisine that I was definitely missing was Thai. It's funny how there's a total lack of Thai in Chinatown. Japanese is hard to come by too, but more on that in another post. The North Vancouver location of Thai House is actually the closest one to me, so I decided to give it a shot last month. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the updated decor as well as how busy it was for a Sunday brunch! Oh, and for some reason, I didn't expect them to have a bar, although their sister restaurants Pink Elephant Thai and Urban Thai boasts great weekend traffic due to their fun and friendly bar service.
It was a bit early for drinks, so we just went right for the food. This is a dish I actually first tried at Pink Elephant as part of their appy platter. It's called the Goong Noon Hae, a Tiger Prawn wrapped with noodles and then deep-fried. It's a bit messy to eat, but totally worth it. The crunch is unreal.One of my favourite Thai dishes is the Spicy Som Tum Malagor. It's only available seasonally so be sure to try it if it's available. The raw papaya are julienned and mixed with a spicy concoction of lime juice, fish sauce and lots of Thai spices and chilies. For a salad, this packs a huge punch of heat. If heat isn't your thing, they can prepare it mild as well, as can most of the dishes on their menu. Just be sure to let the server know!Another fun appetizer idea (and great for groups) is their Lettuce Wrap. It has a bit of heat, but not as much as the salad above. The one we ordered is the minced beef version but chicken and duck are also available options. The beef is stirfried with lots of veggies and fresh basil as well as some deep fried vermicelli. The lettuce does a great job of holding everything together and gives it an extra crunch as well. This is the dish that everyone knows, the Pad Thai. The actual portions are larger than this, this is just my portion from the main serving dish. The flavours are quite mild and should appeal to those who don't crave a lot of heat. Crushed peanuts (lots!) are a traditional garnish, so if you're allergic, be sure to tell your server. They are great at asking you as well; something I am glad to be seeing more of in ethnic restaurants.We also got a few of their stir fries. The first one is the Pad Bai Grapua, which is a saute with Thai chilies, pepper and basil, for our protein, we chose chicken. It can also be made vegetarian with tofu instead. In addition to the Pad Thai, my other favourite carby Thai dish is the Pad See-Iw, made with broccoli and egg. The rice noodles here are a bit thicker than Pad Thai noodles, and are stir-fried with pork (So we had one of each protein (Beef lettuce wrap, Chicken Stir Fry and now, the pork). The veggies had a nice crunch to them still but the best part was the slightly chewy rice noodles. Often, I've had stir fried rice noodles that were clumpy and overcooked, but fortunately, these still had a bit of bite to them. Definitely a winner in my book.
Take Note:
It can get busy for brunch on the weekends in North Van, call for reservations!
The North Vancouver location of Thai House is actually the closest one to me, so I decided to give it a shot last month. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the updated decor as well as how busy it was for a Sunday brunch! Oh, and for some reason, I didn't expect them to have a bar, although their sister restaurants Pink Elephant Thai and Urban Thai boasts great weekend traffic due to their fun and friendly bar service.
It was a bit early for drinks, so we just went right for the food. 
This is a dish I actually first tried at Pink Elephant as part of their appy platter. It's called the Goong Noon Hae, a Tiger Prawn wrapped with noodles and then deep-fried. It's a bit messy to eat, but totally worth it. The crunch is unreal.
One of my favourite Thai dishes is the Spicy Som Tum Malagor. It's only available seasonally so be sure to try it if it's available. The raw papaya are julienned and mixed with a spicy concoction of lime juice, fish sauce and lots of Thai spices and chilies. For a salad, this packs a huge punch of heat. If heat isn't your thing, they can prepare it mild as well, as can most of the dishes on their menu. Just be sure to let the server know!
Another fun appetizer idea (and great for groups) is their Lettuce Wrap. It has a bit of heat, but not as much as the salad above. The one we ordered is the minced beef version but chicken and duck are also available options. The beef is stirfried with lots of veggies and fresh basil as well as some deep fried vermicelli. The lettuce does a great job of holding everything together and gives it an extra crunch as well. 
This is the dish that everyone knows, the Pad Thai. The actual portions are larger than this, this is just my portion from the main serving dish. The flavours are quite mild and should appeal to those who don't crave a lot of heat. Crushed peanuts (lots!) are a traditional garnish, so if you're allergic, be sure to tell your server. They are great at asking you as well; something I am glad to be seeing more of in ethnic restaurants. 
We also got a few of their stir fries. The first one is the Pad Bai Grapua, which is a saute with Thai chilies, pepper and basil, for our protein, we chose chicken. It can also be made vegetarian with tofu instead.
In addition to the Pad Thai, my other favourite carby Thai dish is the Pad See-Iw, made with broccoli and egg. The rice noodles here are a bit thicker than Pad Thai noodles, and are stir-fried with pork (So we had one of each protein (Beef lettuce wrap, Chicken Stir Fry and now, the pork). The veggies had a nice crunch to them still but the best part was the slightly chewy rice noodles. Often, I've had stir fried rice noodles that were clumpy and overcooked, but fortunately, these still had a bit of bite to them. Definitely a winner in my book. 
No comments:
Post a Comment