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| - I've been meaning to come to Khao San Road for a while now, since it opened a few months ago. I was disappointed last week when I tried making a reservation on a Thursday night for the next evening only to find that they were fully booked. So, this time I called on a Wednesday and was able to get the last spot for Friday. They warned me about their reservation policy: they won't seat you unless your entire party arrives and you lose your reservation after 15 minutes if your party hasn't arrived. I felt this was reasonable given how popular this place is.
There were four of us on this visit and since we were starving, we decided to order 2 starters and 4 entrees for us to share. We started with the Po Pia Pak Sod Gai - Fresh rolls filled with home-made chicken sausage, lettuce, carrots, mint leaves and Thai basil, served with our tamarind, garlic sauce topped with peanuts and Thai coriander ($6). This came with 3 rolls which were cut into bit-size pieces. This was a great way to start off the meal - very refreshing and tasty!
We also ordered the Goong Taud Samoon Prai - Garlic Shrimp breaded in a crispy garlic and fresh kaffir lime leaf coating served with a sweet and tangy garlic sauce ($9). Another perfect starter. They came out hot, as they just came out of the fryer. They were really crispy and not at all greasy.
As for our entrees, we went with 2 noodle dishes and 2 curries. We ordered the Pad Thai (Sam Roas) - Special Pad Thai "three flavours style" topped with home-made roasted peanuts, dried chili and a fresh slice of lime. We really enjoyed this and was certainly more authentic than the ketchup-y goop served at many other restaurants.
We also ordered the Pad Kee Ma - Stir fried rice noodle with fresh green chili and fresh garlic, long green pepper, bamboo shoot and Thai basil leaves. I was surprised how good this dish was. When it first came out, based on looks alone, I didn't think this one would be as tasty, but again, this was another amazing dish. Be warned though, this dish was very basil-y, so if you're not a fan, I wouldn't recommend it.
As for the curries, we ordered the Gaeng Kaew Wan - A unique Thai curry dish known as "GREEN CURRY" that uses fresh green chilies to make a curry paste which gives its greenish colour. It was a very subtle green colour (unlike the kind I make with the little packets I get from Loblaws...). This was nice and didn't taste too heavy. I really liked the bamboo shoots that came with the dish too which gave it a bit of a different texture.
We also tried the Gaeng Massamam - The only Thai curry with a twist of tamarind sauce and cooked with onions, peanuts, potatoes and bay leaves; topped with crispy deep fried shallots (with beef for $13). My dining companions enjoyed this curry better, but I preferred the green curry. But don't get me wrong, they were both fantastic. Each curry dish came with a serving of rice. We found that there wasn't enough rice to soak up all the curry, so we had to order another serving.
When the entrees first arrived, we didn't think there'd be enough food as the portions weren't enormous. But surprisingly as we started plowing through it, we realized this was more than enough for all of us. Since we were all stuffed, we ordered just one serving of the only dessert on the menu, the Sa Koo Ma Prao - a personal cup of small tapioca pearls in sweet coconut milk with strips of tender young coconut ($3). This was enough for each of us to take about 2 bites. I was surprised to find that it was served hot. I think I would've preferred it served chilled as it would've been a nice refreshing end to the meal. Despite this, we all still enjoyed this.
The problem with going to such a hyped up restaurant is that the expectations are so high, that some of them can be a bit of a let down. Khao San Road was certainly an exception. We all loved it! Everything was delicious, from start to finish. I will definitely be back for more!
Things to keep in mind:
- they take reservations, so take advantage of this!
- for the entrees, you get a choice of chicken, beef or shrimp
- you also get to choose the spice level of your food (we ordered medium for everything, and as a person who can't eat super spicy foods, this was very manageable)
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