What more can you ask for when you get a Saturday to spend with best friends, get facials and massages and follw that with a great Thai lunch! Give me thai food every day of the week and I'll eat it with a smile and no complaints. Such is my love for this awesome cuisine.
One of my recent favorite places to go and devour some good thai food is Thai Cafe at the intersection of Jeffrey and Walnut in Irvine. The fact that I've been here at least once every 2-3 weeks for the last few months says plenty about this place. Now, anytime someone says - let's go thai food and someplace close by, this is where my car automatically navigates. Thai Nakorn still stands my favorite even though its a 20 min drive for me. So, I can rate this my second favorite thai restaurant in OC.
Yes, this is one more place where they can cook up a vegetarian version of all their entrees if you ask them nicely. And always be nice, didn't your mama teach you? And besides that they also have a list of vegetarian specialities on their menu.
Veggie Fried Rice. Except for the big stalks of cilantro, this was a wholesome plate of comforting goodness. Loads of veggies, some tofu and a flavorful rice. This would be a perfect take out food that you can gorge (without anyone seeing) while watching your gotto see movie on HBO with your legs up in a recliner. Not that I did that. Just saying.
This was my find of the week. This was a veg substitue of the cashew chicken dish and this is now becoming a fast favorite for me. The sauce was delicately flavored and it was just the kind of thing that you still want to put the last piece in your mouth even when you are stuffed and food is all the way to your throat. You just can't get enough of this. If you go there and want a new dish - do try this. It'll make you happy!
Panang Curry. When you're really hungry and someone gives you a piping hot plate of panang curry and some comforting rice, you feel blessed and want to give that person a great big hug or something. Not that we hugged the guys working here - but we thanked them enough. And paid a good tip. Because this panang is worth it.
My favorites entree I order by default in any Thai restaurant is the flat noodles -the one that has many names - monsoon noodles, drunken noodles, pad kee mao, kee mow pak..and so on and so forth. Well - its the flat noodles cooked in a brown sauce with veggies and tofu. Just the taste of this helps me determine what kind of a restaurant I'm sitting in and in Thai Cafe, this dish is just awesome. Try it for yourself and you'll go back many times just like me.
And Pad Thai's always got to be there, right? My friend's fav and she loved it too! I have moved away from Pad thai over the years though - maybe it was the mixed sweet and spicy flavors and my palette was just confused all the time. I still don't mind a couple of forks of these.
Check out the restaurant's website here for all they offer and the prices. There is usually 5-10 min wait time if you go for a friday lunch or a weekend dinner. But, stay hungry and wait it out. Coz you'll fill up happy once you're seated. The service has always been consistent and good. They do offer some coupons in the Irvine mailers, so make use of it if you get those.
Enjoy. Peace out.
