The Thai House is the premiere Thai food restaurant in Vancouver, opening up in 1986. I think that this particular location is either the third or fourth to open up not too long after the first one on Robson.
There was about 14 of us, so half of us shared several dishes, and the other side of the table went with the combo for six.
We started off with Chicken and Beef Satay (4 for $9, we ordered two orders). Marinated in a spices and coconut milk made the chicken taste creamy and the beef tender. I’m a big fan of the peanut sauce served alongside it and usually drown it in it!
Up next was #63 Khao Pad Bai Grapau ($12). I accidentally ordered this instead of the fried rice with pork floss but it turned out to be a very happy mistake! This fried rice dish with minced beef, Thai chili, onions and fresh basil was deliciously fragrant and flavourful. It was a little bit on the salty side but this made it taste better to me, personally. I’ve recently fallen in love with fresh basil so this dish was really kicked up a notch with its taste.
Our next dish to arrive was #37 Pad See Iw ($12). A little different than your average Pad Thai – this stir fried rice noodle dish with broccoli, egg and chicken is heavier and more filling than the ‘light and fresh’ taste of pad thai. I liked the fact that there was more vegetables in this dish with a good balance of noodles. There is very little sauce in this noodle dish – as it is one of the ‘drier’ noodles.
We ordered two curries, which may look similar but one is green and one is yellow curry. Green is the most spiciest of curries as it uses green chili peppers to make the curry.
The two curries we ordered was #23 Kaeng Kiew Waan Gai ($14)- boneless chicken with green curry paste, eggplant, bell peppers and coconut milk and #32 Kaeng Kiew Waan Neua ($14)- beef with green curry paste, eggplant, bell peppers and coconut milk.
Asides from the obvious meat difference, the only real difference between the two dishes was the amount of spiciness in them. I ordered the green curry because I love spicy food, Brian ordered the yellow curry which is more mild. The green curry is not overly spicy, but quite hot here. I enjoyed it. It goes really well with the coconut rice you can order.
The birthday boy ordered #19 Gai Pad Ma-Maung Hin Ma-Pan ($15). This boneless chicken with cashew nuts and roasted chili is the most popular dish at the Thai House. The chicken is tender, juicy and a little smoky from being wok-fried. Adding nuts and a little spice is a trademark Thai thing to do, and with it’s chunks of veggies, this dish is very filling and tasty.
Finally, our last dish is #28 – Moo Pad Bai Grapau ($13). This is stir fried pork with Thai chili, onions, mushrooms and fresh basil. Not as noteable as the #19, this is an average dish that you could probably get at an asian cafe as well.
The service is quick and the servers and manager are all very friendly and service-orientated. The place is a little dated, but overall clean. They also have a small patio outside that is quite nice too!
You can check out their menu and website here.