Sawasdee Thai Restaurant has been on my list of places to try for a while. So when JH was back in town, we decided to meet up for dinner here. Both JW and JH have been here before, so I relied on them to do most of the ordering. The exterior is pretty simple looking, but the inside is actually quite nice. There was a party going on when we went too so it seems like they can cater large parties.

Tom Yum

We started off with a bowl of Tom Yum soup which was absolutely delicious! The hot and sour soup had just the right amount of spice and was well balanced. It had straw mushrooms, lemon grass and makrut lime leaves with chicken. You can choose between chicken or prawns. I don’t normally get Tom Yum soup, but I really enjoyed this one.

Pad Eggplant

For veggies, we had the Pad Eggplant which was stir fried with bell peppers and basil leaves with black bean and oyster sauce. The eggplant was cooked to soft and full of flavour. This would be delicious paired with a bowl of rice.

Garlic Beef

Another dish that pairs nicely with rice is the Garlic Beef. This dish features pan fried marinated beef with garlic and black pepper, and garnished with green onion and cilantro. I thought the beef was a tad overcooked but the flavours were strong and not overly salty.

Green Curry with Chicken

Of course we had to try one of their curry dishes. You can choose between red, green or yellow curry and your choice of protein. We went with the Green Curry with Chicken which features a coconut milk base with bell peppers, basil leaves and bamboo shoots. The curry was not very spicy so I would suggest asking for more spicy. The curry was creamy and a thin to medium consistency.

Pad Thai

Of course we also had to try their famous Pad Thai. I had heard that the pad thai here is one of the best in Vancouver. The stir fried thin rice noodles were served with tofu, prawns, egg, green onion and bean sprout in tamarind sauce. You can choose between tamarind sauce or tomato sauce. Wow, this lived up to its hype! The noodles were nice and chewy and the sauce was sweet, tangy and slightly spicy. A must order when visiting Sawasdee Thai!

Overall, I was quite impressed with the food and will be returning again. Service was friendly and prices were reasonable for the portions.

Pros:
– Well executed Thai dishes

Cons:
– Dishes were more on the mild side (perhaps ask for more heat if you enjoy spicy)

Price Range: $25-30 per person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4.5 Service: 4 Ambiance: 3.5 Parking: Paid street parking Overall: 4