My second experience at Pai was great on a few fronts. This place is quite popular on weekdays and weekends so for big groups, a reservation is a must. By the time our group of 10 left, there was a line up the stairs and just at the door.
The service staff were friendly and swift with taking our orders and the kitchen staff was just as quick to bring the food to our table all at the same time. :-)
I like the street market atmosphere that they are trying to bring to the space in the restaurant.
My favourite points of the meal were:
1. the deep-fried squash fritters (the grabong) were crunchy and lightly fried and also tasted sweet like a sweet potato. It was great even without the garlic tamarind dip which provides some more savoury flavours.
2. this was the first time I had khao soi and I think I will want to come back to have more in the future. The noodles had the right bite to hold up against the spicy and creaminess of golden curry. Bonus: ask for a container to bring the soup home if you want to enjoy it with some rice for lunch the next day!
3. the thai milk ice tea is preferred over the lemongrass ice tea since the lemongrass is so subtle that I could barely detect it next to the stronger flavour of the thai milk ice tea.
Only small issue is the lack of coat hooks for the larger tables that use stools instead of chairs. There is no convenient hook or coat stand nearby for guests at those tables.
Till next time.