review: Restaurant: Khao San RoadCuisine: ThaiLocation: Entertainment DistrictAddress: 326 Adelaide St WPrice Range: $10-151: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: ExcellentFood: 4Service: 3Ambiance: 3Overall: 3.5Extra information:*Vegetarian Option Avail*Closed on Sundays*Take out AvailAfter reading so many reviews and comments online about how crazy they get at busy hours, I made sure to get there early for lunch. They open at 11:30 for lunch on weekdays and I arrived around 11:40 and ended up being 2nd customer walking in for lunch. Restaurant is decent size with small tables for 2, 4 and larger tables for bigger groups- and there is also a bar area where you can dine by yourself.Ordered: Garlic Tofu (Tao Hoo Taud Samoon Prai) 4/5*Fried tofu breaded in a crispy garlic & fresh kaffir lime coating served w/ sweet & tangy garlic sauce for $8.00*11 pieces of semi-hard tofu almost looked like chicken nuggets*A lot of the reviews said it came super hot but it was just hot when I got mine*Usually I don't like tofu but this was bursting with flavor*Because they use semi-hard tofu, it feels like you are eating soft chicken nuggets*Big for an appetizer, it might be good to share between 3-4 people*These deep fried tofu don't even really need the sauce, it's already seasoned within the batter*Sauce is fresh and the sweetness balances out the strong garlic batter*Watch out for garlic breath after eating this (I swear your breath will smell like raw garlic after)*Not recommened if you are on a date!!Ordered: Pad Thai (Street Style) 5/5*Steet Style Pad Thai with broccoli with option of chicken/tofu for $10*Their lunch portions are quite generous*Broccoli pieces looked kind of random sitting on top of the Pad Thai*Chose tofu option for the Pad Thai*This had really good flavor, just sweet enough with spiciness that kicks in after*Notice how the Pad Thai (sauce) is not at all red*It didn't taste artificial or overly ketchupy like many express Thai places do it*This Pad Thai was probably closest to what I had back in Thailand, no doubt*I would go back for this dishOrdered: Khao Soi 3/5*Tender braised beef with egg noodles in a coconut milk enriched curry topped with crisp fried noodles for $10.00*This looked absolutely gorgeous on some of the photos I saw prior to visiting this place*I was looking forward to trying this because it's nothing like what I've tried in the past*Option of braised beef or chicken for this dish, I went with beef cause that's what everyone recommened*Curry is beautiful bright yellow color, very thick and rich and there is a lot of it*Noodles go very well with the coconut curry and the braised beef is very tender*Curry wasn't very hot when it came...not sure if it's suppose to be like that*The way they serve this dish, it makes me think that the curry is suppose to be like soup for this dish*Curry is too thick to be a soup for this dish which makes it quite difficult to eat cause you don't want the curry splattering everywhere*Half way through this, I realized this is somewhat like Islamic Noodles I had at Salad King (see here)*Now they serve Khao Soi at Salad King as well (but haven't tried it there)*I would personally prefer this dish to be served on a pasta plate with less sauce *Curry tasted a little too sweet half way through*I wouldn't recommened eating this if you have nice top on or anything white (or just really be careful)Ordered: Thai Iced Tea (Cha Nom Yen) 4/5*Thai spice and Black tea blended with condensensed milk served over crushed ice for $4.50*This somewhat reminds me of Vietnamese coffee (drip coffee with condensed milk served over ice)*Dark orange liquid in a huge glass filled with ice*This is almost like Chocolate milk without the chocolate but with the bitter tea aftertaste*Good to have with their food, to wash down all the spicinessI know many people compare Khao San Road to Salad King (check out my review here)- saying Khao San Road is authentic Thai and Salad King is somewhat westernized- which I do agree, it's true. Khao San Road's chef doesn't hold back on Thai spices and garlic which allows their dishes to be bursting with Thai flavor. Salad King's dishes are much more toned down and compared to Khao San Road, it could seem a little bland in terms of flavor. Because of the spices, Khao San Road's dishes feels heavy whereas Salad King's dishes seem lighter (if that makes any sense). It's really a personal preferance as to if you prefer Khao San Road or Salad King.Summary: Khao San Road focuses on staying true to Thai flavors, so be aware and get ready to taste some garlic if you've only tried food court Thai food. Personally, I like both places- I def think Khao San Road makes better Pad Thai but if I wanted noodles in coconut curry, I would visit Salad King for Islamic Noodles.
question: What food in California is good?
Ordered : Garlic Tofu ( Tao Hoo Taud Samoon Prai ) 4/5*Fried tofu breaded in a crispy garlic & fresh kaffir lime coating served w/ sweet & tangy garlic sauce