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| - Chanpen Thai serves up a decent meal in this part of Tempe and has enough vegetarian options to keep things interesting for more than one meal.
The carrots were crinkle cut, but the broccoli tasted like it was never frozen. The tofu was gently fried before going into any dish, which was a nice touch. Chanpen added chili oil when I asked for a dish to be spicier - there wasn't a thai chili pepper taste. They didn't ask how hot I wanted my dishes to be, an oddity for a Thai restaurant, but something I'm encountering more frequently. The Thai hot here was probably a medium hot elsewhere. The curry and noodle dishes were a bit too sweet.
Do you ever wonder what the history of baby corn is, and how it made its way into your stir-fried noodles and my drunken noodles? Which consumer segment continues to demand baby corn such that it commands a huge per pound premium over full grown corn? I really don't like the taste, so I'm a bit puzzled. This is something worth digging up on NPR or Wikipedia, but I feel a twinge of laziness coming on.
It was never quite clear if lunch was counter service or sit down. The food came out quickly here though. Chanpen was never busy either - I went for lunch and dinner, sometimes alone and with colleagues, and never ran into a wait or crowded restaurant.
If you don't feel like driving further into Tempe or Phoenix, this is probably the only Thai restaurant in a decent radius. Thai Elephant Bistro is nearby, but isn't necessarily a step change above Chanpen.
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