me, myself, and pad thai

I love Pad thai. It’s the best thing that could ever come out of rice noodles. I ate my first Pad thai in DC when I was visiting my sister at Georgetown. It was at a restaurant called My Thai, a place which my sister said had some of the best Thai food. I never really used to eat Thai food; my family eats out a lot but Thai just wasn’t a cuisine we really ate. But after our trip to My Thai all that changed. I remember eating a bite of Pad thai thinking how I possibly never had it before. After my wonderful experience at My Thai, I knew Pad thai was a part of my lifestyle now. Coming home to Champaign I knew I would eat it all the time, so I tried every restaurant to see where I could get the best. Here’s a list of Thai restaurants in CU ranked by best Pad thai to worst.

1. Bangkok Thai

Bangkok has the best Pad thai in C-U (arguably the nation). If you’ve ever had Bangkok’s Pad thai you will know what I’m talking about. It’s rich sweet and spicy flavor complements its smooth noodle perfectly. Once you take a bite you do not want to stop. Unrelated to taste it is also very cheap; you get way more flavor for less which will make you happy before you even eat it. There was a point in my life where I ate it once a week for two months. I will never get enough of it.

According to some people, the fact that I have Bangkok in front of Thara is ridiculous, but I stand by my decision wholeheartedly.

2. Thara Thai

Thara has very good Pad thai. It’s noodles are nice and soft. One of its best elements is its flavorful chicken, which many restaurants tend to neglect and leave dry and flavorless. Though it is good, I believe the flavors of Bangkok somehow manage to be better. (I will give it to Thara fans that, though, that if we were to pick best Basil fried rice Thara would be my number one).

3. Basil Thai

Basil Thai’s Pad thai I think can best be described as satisfying. It is good, but not great. I think the best thing about this Pad thai and the restaurant in general is that you can actually make your dish spicy, which really adds flavor to Pad thai. But once you reach a certain level, your dish is just all spice but little taste. That is what I think Basil Thai lacks: the right flavor.

4. My Thai

My Thai is what you would call an average Pad thai. It is not bad, but then again it is not great. There is not really much I can think about saying, and I think that really reflects what their Pad thai is like.

5. Siam Terrace

I am sorry to offend any Siam Terrace fans but Pad thai at Siam Terrace is subpar. In my opinion it is very hard to mess up Pad thai, but Siam manages somehow to do so. Noodles are hard and dry and it the taste is a little too sweet. I had it once and I never went again.