Pad Thai Thip Samai (ผัดไทยทิพย์สมัย) is one of the latter. It's been on my list of places to go for a long time, but I just hadn't made it until recently. Pad thai is good, but it's not one of my favourite dishes. Plus there are other places near Thip Samai that I know I love, so it's always remained on the 'to-do' list.
With our upcoming departure, it finally made it to the top of that list and off we went. It's just as busy as one would expect from reading about the place. The lines start immediately upon opening; table service and takeaway are crazy busy. The food comes pretty quickly, and it is indeed really good pad thai.
After the visit, I decided to look up some reviews for fun. It was interesting because they ranged from the raving 'best pad thai ever' variety to 'yuck, don't go'. The majority were very positive, but I think I know where the bad reviews are coming from.
So many of us have been trained by the thousands of Thai restaurants around the world to expect something very different from what pad thai really is. For some people visiting Thailand, pad thai is a real disappointment because it doesn't match those expectations.
Thip Samai is kind of an extreme version of that. Their version is delicious (seriously), but it's also quite shrimpy. For someone 'trained' in the peanutty, sweet, and light version of pad thai some common around the world, this would be a very, very different pad thai. So, if you go, be prepared.
Anyway, Thip Samai, thanks for the fine meal, and thank you very much for being one of the small steps in my long and love-filled goodbye to a place that I love.
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| The line, minutes after opening. |
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| Signature style, wrapped in egg. |
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