Thai Food

[identifiler]

Did Chao Phraya close on Laurier ? I thaught that was the best thai spot in Montreal ? Last time I drove by, it looked very close... They must have had the best margin of most restaurant in montreal !... weird...

[Lesley C]

Red Thai and Thai Grill are much better.

[Big Grga]

I'm casting another vote for Thai Grill. While it may not be the cheapest meal in town, it certainly offers the most "beautifully crafted" Thai food in Montreal. They have many dishes you won't find anywhere else, such as duck filets sautéd with litchis (delicious but a bit too sweet by the end). It has the ambiance going for it too, and service, which was their weakness, has improved in the past months.

When we don't have 100$ to spend, though, we go to Phaya Thai on Guy (near Faubourg Ste-Catherine). Almost as good, with simpler dishes, for half the price. Ban Lao Thai (930, Décarie, in St-Laurent) is very good too.

[identifiler]

Just wanted to revive this thread because I did go to Thai grill with the kids the other day and many times at Red Thai/ChaoPraya/Phaya Thai (the one on guy).

I have to say, I thaught the menu at Thai Grill was great but just how far are we from Thai quality that rivals the quality of the french Bistro scene ? Very far... Every single dish that sat at our table had pounds of sugar loaded into them, sugar everywhere. Granted this may be the best spot, I believe Montreal is dealing with the best of average.

I know it's not Thai but I can get away with much nicer flavors and broth with Chef Ha at Souvenir d'Indochine... that's my 2 cents.

[Lesley C]

At had mediocre food at Souvenirs d'Indochine and good food at Thai Grill. Just goes to show...

I don't remember the Thai Grill food as sugary. However, it was very very spicy. The green papaya salad almost killed me.

The kitchen staff at Thai Grill is close to 100% Thai. If they aren't authentic, who is?

BTW, Chao-Phraya is not closed.

[muncher]

I adore Phaya Thai on Guy...

Any other MTL Thai resto suggestions out there?

[lemonpoppy]

red thai gets my vote.

[beaucher]

There is a very authentic little family place on Decarie (close to Sauve) called Ban Lao Thai. The food is laotian, but it is very similar to the cuisine of northeastern thailand - with which Laotians share a language, ethnic origins and history. You might as well say they're "lower thais" (at least thats what they say out there).

Not expensive, hot,hot,hot, and quite fun.

[jokhm]

ooh I was just about to suggest Ban Lao Thai!

Great place!!!

[Cole Tucker]

beaucher & jokhm

I was in St.Laurent this evening and upon your suggestions I stopped into Ban Lao Thai.

I remember many years ago when this space use to function as a hot dog stand.

I have to agree with you both, very simple place, good food & cheap prices.

Also you can go to the SAQ next door and buy yourself a bottle of wine, as it is a bring your own wine place.

What amazed me is that I was there at 5:30 and there was only one table left till 8:30 p.m. as they had many reservations. The place is very small, probably about 30 seats

Nice to see a mom and pop shop doing well.

One correction the restaurant is at Decarie & Cote Vertu.

Cote Vertu does turn into Sauve once you pass L'Acadie.

Thanks guys for the suggestion

Ban Lao Thai

930 Decarie

(514)747-4805

[jokhm]

That's funny, I was this '->' close to heading to Ban Lao Thai last night as well!

We would have unknowingly met.

I seem to find myself there quite often these days. Upon telling the chef that I'd be in Laos in May, she immediately planned on having me meet her brother. She told me that she'd call him that night! hehe very cute.

As for the food, I've had quite a few things so far that really made me want to get out to Laos/Thailand that second..

The Pad Thai is excellent there. Very simple. But don't expect it to me much of a seafood dish - at all. The Lao Beef Laap Salad is absolutely fantastic, as is the extremely thick green curry and the deliciously fried Tilapia. All good choices. I'd love to learn more about the Lao sausages, since those too were really tasty; and different.

I definitely find that overall the Thai food in this city has definitely walled itself into some sort of cookie-cutter mold. Each one's menu is nearly identical, with a page for each protein (beef, shrimp, chicken, duck and seafood), along with the same dishes printed on each with a word or two changed...including pricing. So I end up finding myself searching hopelessly for 'the best' restaurant by inevitably basing my results on the better of three dishes that can be found at each place. So does one choose by finding the best Pad Thai? Of course not, from what I've seen, the cheapest places also make the best noodles. So is it best duck? Curries? I don't know. Makes for interesting eGullet discussion though.

Joel

[beaucher]

Remember Joel, Pad thai is first and foremost thai, as in southern Thai - not lao - since it always contain shrimps and all kinds of seafood apart from pig. Also, it's beach food, the kind all the shacks on every beach in the country offers. I remember in the 80's, I survived on pad thai in every conceivable form, while on Koh Chang (which was at the time, completely unknown, and had no electricity!). And pad thai is pretty much street food. Of which there is an incredible variety. It seems to have hit it off with the "falangs" for some reason. Incidentally, last time I went (3 years ago) I bought this book on street food in Thailand and there were literaly hundreds of specialities explained in detail.

When I review a thai restaurant, I always look at technique (including the art of mixing spices, fresh of course), limpidity (can one say that in english?) in execution, and the quality of products used. That's what determines the quality of thai food, for me.

[jokhm]

mmm

surviving on pad thai. heh. Sounds....excellent.

Maybe you'll be able to answer this, since now there a few that are familiar with this place. One time I was at Ban Lao Thai, I ordered a papaya salad, which is fairly standard fare. I was asked whether I wanted it Thai or Lao style, the Lao style being often too strange for the 'white guys'. She said the reason was because there was shrimp paste inside. Of course I went with the Lao style salad as the shrimp paste is such a normal occurence in these cuisines. What came to me turned out to have the same shrimp...stuff.. as found on every table in the little yellow Kapi containers. I know from the cooking that I've done that shrimp paste is usually a dull pink/gray paste... and requires cooking. The stuff in these yellow containers is deep red and dry, in the form of a powder. And the smell makes fish sauce seem like rose petals. It was barely edible with this shrimp dust. Am I missing something here?

Thanks

Joel

[winegeek]

Sorry if there is already a Thai topic but I coldn't find one. I'm in Montreal for 6 nights and would like to go out for Thai on Friday. Could anyone list their top few choices? I will be staying at Hotel Nelligan so something within a 15 minute taxi ride if possible. Thanks. Will be writing a review of Le Club Chasse et Peche shortly...will be dining there saturday night.

[fou de Bassan]

Winegeek,

CHu Chai on St. Denis. We eat there every time we go back home to visit. Maybe it's walking on St. Denis, or being back home, but when we eat there we get happy.

[atomic]

thie may not be a sit down retausrant, but if you want to eat the best phad tai in mtl : bangkok in the faubourg st catherine food court

enjoy

[epicurious]

I second Bangkok in Faubourg (best bang for the buck, for sure) but a food court may not be what you're looking for. I suggest the reasonably priced Phaya Thai on Guy St. or the more upscale Thai Grill on St-Laurent St.

[carswell]

Someone ought to point out that ChuChai is purely vegetarian and somewhat Chineseified. As is its nextdoor neighbour and BYO arm, the less formal and slightly less expensive Chuch.

Red Thai on the St-Laurent glitz strip serves new wave Thai in an over-the-top setting.

Foodwise, Lao-Thai on Décarie between the Du Collège and Côte Vertu metro stations in Ville St-Laurent is my favourite Thai-ish eatery these days and inexpensive to boot. It's a schlepp from downtown, however, and the decor is borderline hole in the wall.

There've been a few threads devoted to the topic, btw.

Thai for lunch?

best thai

Any good Thai restaurants in Montreal?

Also, do a search on Thai and you'll turn up several threads with mentions of other restos.

All that said, I have a hard time believing you'll find Thai food in Montreal as good as that in Vancouver.

Edited March 10, 2005 by carswell (log)

[gus_tatory]

thie may not be a sit down retausrant, but if you want to eat the best phad tai in mtl : bangkok in the faubourg st catherine food court

enjoy

←

The same owners of the Bangkok have a sit-down restaurant on ste-catherine's--also called Bangkok--right outside, across the street from the Faubourg. It gets rave reviews from everyone that goes there.

[mjr_inthegardens]

I've eaten at ChuChai and Red Thai on St Laurent and enjoyed both.

ChuChai's vegetarian thai is great and is an interesting departure from the usual Chicken | Beef | Pork | Shrimp places.

Both places have tasty flash fried spinach.

The atmosphere is quite divergent with Chu being modern and stark decor and red being more lush and decadent.

-mjr

[iroc326]

Chao Praya on Laurier......

[iroc326]

went to Buddha resto yesterday in Ville St-Laurent.....excellent choice.

Very good service.

[blork]

I ate once at the non-food court Bangkok and was not impressed. I got a whole fish and it was bone dry and way, way overcooked. (Deep fried.) The rest of the meal was OK but nothing special. Perhaps it was just a bad night.

I rarely see people mention Restaurant Thailand on the corner of Bernard and St. Urbain. Personally, it's my favorite. With the recent reno the setting is quite nice, yet the prices are reasonable and the food delicious. It's also one of the oldest (perhaps THE oldest) Thai restaurants in town.