beXnlog

Pad Thai Twice

be and i have finally found some delicious Thai noodle dishes in Philly! Granted, we haven't been to every single Thai restaurant around, but Pad Thai on 2nd near South is: 1) within walking distance from our house, 2) run by extremely friendly folks, 3) very good about vegetarian-friendly adaptations, and 4) open late; so i don't see why we would go anywhere else. Their dishes are a few dollars more than other Thai restaurants around (ie: pad Thai is $12 instead of $10) but i think the quality of the food definitely makes up for it.

We first ate at Pad Thai Friday night around 10:30pm. As we are noodle lovers, we each ordered our favorites: vegetarian pad Thai for me, and pad si eew with fried tofu for be - i know it's anti-family style to have 2 noodle dishes but we just can't help it. We also ordered Thai iced teas and som tum (green papaya salad) sans fish sauce.

First off, the Thai iced tea hit the spot: strong, sweet and creamy without any flavor overwhelming the others. If you've had it with cavity-inducing sweetness or so much milk it weakens the tea, you know what i mean. Also, it was served in a good large glass.

Next, YAY for papaya salad! What is up with Philly and all the Thai restaurants making som tum with cabbage? Is it because green papaya is hard to find? Because Philadelphians are weirded out by green papaya? Is it traditional and i don't know it? Is it like how banh mi are called "Vietnamese hoagies?" Som tum is "Thai coleslaw?" Thankfully, Pad Thai makes it with shredded green papaya with no cabbage in sight, so we're glad. Make sure you order it HOT. It's strong on the lime. So addictive and crunchy. One of my favorite salads, and one of the only things be admits is better "very hot."

Finally, our noodle entrees were both excellent. I abhor overcooked, saucy noodles and find it sad that so many restaurants (Chinese, Thai, Italian) serve noodles soft and sauce-laden as most Americans prefer. Pad Thai's noodles were cooked just right, with a great bite and flavored very well. be's pad si eew contained slightly-smoky Chinese broccoli and chunks of fried tofu (he's not eating shrimp these days) and sprinkled with black pepper which smelled amazing. My vegetarian pad Thai included the same chunks of fried tofu but you can also order plain tofu. Our portions were quite large so we had enough for leftovers the next day. Overall, we enjoyed everything immensely.

So immensely, that we went again Sunday night! We were tempted to order the same exact dishes, but be changed his mind last second and chose a red curry dish with fried tofu instead of pad si eew. Like Friday, everything was tasty but even better since we requested the som tum HOT. The red curry dish was richly flavored and delicious. be says the jasmine rice was very good, too. Unfortunately, the leftover rice wasn't included in his to-go container so he cried a little at lunch today.

Verdict: we have found our regular Thai place in Philly! (I must add, however, that Tamarind on South at 1st is also quite tasty. We went there once for dinner and another time for Thai iced tea. They offer tasty mock duck dishes which Pad Thai does not, but unfortunately only cabbage som tum.)

posted by beXn @ 2:05 PM