[REVIEWS] The Thai Quest

For the past month, I've lightly embarked on The Thai Quest, or an attempt to find the best Thai restaurant in the area.

I'm pretty mainstream when it comes to my Thai food, as my favorite dishes are Pad Thai and green curry. But really, a restaurant that can't serve good versions of these dishes can't be trusted with anything else. It's like a Japanese restaurant without a good chicken teriyaki bento... mmm, pass.

With that said, it's been more difficult than expected to find good Pad Thai in the area! Green curry has been easier to find, but I suppose that's because it lends itself to less places for variation than the noodles, which must be smooth, not oily; hearty, not heavy; and sweet, not cloying. Mmm, Pad Thai. The perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and savory.

And ever so elusive!

I've tried Thaibodia (Santa Clara), Siam Fine Thai Cuisine (San Jose), Thai Pepper Cuisine (Sunnyvale), Amarin Thai Cuisine (Mountain View), Rice Thai Cuisine (Palo Alto), Thaiphoon (Palo Alto), and Siam Royal Authentic Thai Cuisine (Palo Alto).

Lots of places, right?

Well, according to my palate, I still haven't found the perfect Pad Thai or Green Curry yet. And according to Yelp, I still have a lot of highly ranked places to try!

I'm not quite sure what I'm seeking in the perfect dish, but I think I'll know when I taste it. So far, however, my favorite Pad Thai has been at Thai Pepper Cuisine (although the quality varies with each visit), and my favorite Green Curry has been at Rice Thai Cuisine. Siam Fine Thai Cuisine came in with a close second for the Green Curry, and Thaibodia had some good yellow curry, although their drunken noodles (Pad See Ew) were bland. Thai Pepper Cuisine has some good Pad See Ew and AMAZING Tom Yum soup, but their curries fall short in flavor. Amarin and Thaiphoon didn't stand out in any way, while Siam Royal Authentic Thai Cuisine stood out for its beautiful interior - but awful service!

Because I visited some of these restaurants before I started to blog, I didn't take pictures at some of them, nor do I remember much beyond those details given. I will, however, be revisiting Rice Thai Cuisine and Siam Fine Thai Cuisine later, after finding some Green Curry and Pad Thai to go head-to-head with them!