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| - After hearing about Pai as the latest must-try Thai food joint, a visit ensued. It's a fairly decent sized restaurant, though busy enough on a Thursday night that there was a wait, tucked in the sub-level of a building off of Adelaide (and around the corner of the well-known and beloved Khao San Road).
My date and I started with the grabong as an appetizer. The deep fried squash fritters were piled high and came out hot with a side of delicious garlic tamarind dip. For two people it is quite a lot of fritters, and definitely enough to stimulate the appetite of a larger group.
I opted for the Chef Nuit Pad Thai with chicken as my main and it definitely did not disappoint, especially at their "foreigner spicy" level of heat. It ranks amongst the more delicious pad Thais I've had in my life, though I've yet to visit Thailand for the 100% authentic stuff (grain of salt, if you so please).
My date had the Khao Soi with braised beef. Having had this dish from Khao San Road many times, I have to say that the Khao Soi from Pai was nothing more special than from Khao San Road. Nevertheless, it was still delicious and the beef was oh-so-tender, you can't go wrong ordering it.
The service was decent during our visit. The server was attentive enough to refill our water glasses when they were looking empty, even though they left our table with a water carafe to help ourselves when needed.
The atmosphere at Pai is different from most Thai restaurants I've visited. From hearsay and others who have visited Thailand, it resembles a market or street from which you would eat authentic Thai food with it's weathered wooden tables and dim lighting. The crowd was mostly young patrons, but there were a few older parties dining as well.
I would recommend trying Pai if you can make a reservation, otherwise the wait times can be quite lengthy.
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