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Mon-Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Just had this for lunch and its was delicious as usual.
I had the pineapple fried rice with chicken and the yellow curry dish with potatoes and carrots and sticky rice and cucumber salad (yea i can really pack it in, so what?) It was divine. Like everything was cooked and seasoned to perfection.
You know what is amazing about this place? I got a take out order and unlike other places i've been that shove my food in those styrofoam containers with too small portions the food was put into separate take out trays and they were presented as immaculately as they are when I dine there. so not ONLY does the food taste good it LOOKS good too! kudos for that!
Another hole in the wall, on another Oakland neighborhood. Place is a little small, but the food is good, price is decent.
Had the kaosoy noodle and it is the best comfort heart, stomach dish you will ever experience.
somtom = spicyyyyy but omg, lovee it.
tofu tod = so simple, yet so good
sticky rice - never go wrong!
lunch specials are awesome too, 5.99 beats the $5 footlong at subway!
service was good, actual employees, not underaged teenagers, or moms..
For those who complained about spice; most thai / laos places have different scales, so maybe their medium was a mild, btw, its not like you couldn't have added the killer spice yourself with the spice trays they have!
parking - a little difficult, considering the fact that this is known to be the '2nd chinatown" in oakland..
Yippee! Finally a good Thai place that is open late and well priced.
The fresh rolls were awesome- VERY fresh and big with a dipping sauce that was oh-so-tasty. We had Kao Ka Moo- a delicious pork in sauce- served (as is tradition) with fat, but since we don't like it, we just set it aside. The red curry chicken was fantastic, filled with fresh veggies and lots of sauce. We also had the Chai Thai Noodles and loved them, too.
We'll be back there and soon.
Love the Chai Thai Fried Rice with the Fried Chicken, very good, would be nice if the portion was larger, or if it was available in a larger size, but still good!
This update is just to say again that Chai Thai Noodle is the best Thai place around. I can't believe the incredible consistency of impressive flavor. Seriously, I love you.
Yes, this place is delicious and I would recommend it. The entrees come fast and they are good good… Read more »
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OMG mouth watering goodness! I spent nine months in Thailand and this is the best Thai food I have ever had in America!!! I asked for spicy and it was spiced to perfection. The veggies were fresh and crispy. I was moaning and groaning all through the meal as each bite was as good as the next.
I tried the larb with chicken. Yummy!!!!! I cannot even express in words how incredible this was. If you like spicy dishes this one you have to try.
The tom yum goong rocked. They use fresh mushrooms in the broth unlike the crappy places that used canned ones. It was a perfect blend of sweet and spicy and the shrimp was totally fresh and had that fresh crunch to it.
The pumpkin curry, which we also asked be made spicy, was so fresh and delectable...especially with the sticky rice we ordered to soak up the yummy sauces!
This is hands down my all time new favorite restaurant in the East Bay!!!! The prices was hard to beat, the food was fresh and amazing, the place was clean (despite the shithole location) and the service was five stars!!!!
Strangely I found out about this place because Chai Thai started following me on Twitter. I did a little research and decided to check it out since I'd be in the area anyways.
Chai Thai Noodle is a bit of an oasis in an area of slow urban decay. The interior is modest yet pleasantly colorful. The flat screen television is actually a good addition since it is placed in the corner and isn't too big. If you want to avoid the television and have an intimate dinner you can, or, if you want to watch it and hang out you also have that option.
I ordered the chan pad poo (stir fried spicy Thai noodles with dungeness crab meat, egg and green onions). It felt a little odd ordering "poo", but it sounded good enough. The dish came to me on a square plate. On the side were bean sprouts, a nicely cut orange, and a lime. The noodles lay on a piece of lettuce. The attention to the entirely edible presentation was a nice touch.
The noodles were good. The amount of crab was decent yet it didn't taste like very fresh crab. Oddly enough the first bite I took had a crab shell in it yet I didn't find any other shells in the rest of the dish. Chai's chan pad poo tastes a lot like pad thai noodles except with crab instead of peanuts. I love pad thai so this was pretty good. You also get to pick your heat level and they did a good job of making my "mild" request.
Service is very good. Prompt and lots of refills. They only had two people in the dining area but they seemed to take it in stride. A lot of fast-paced walking from the wait staff!
This would be one of the first places on my mind if I were in the mood for some East Bay Thai.
Alas, my hole in the wall Thai restaurant has been found! I've only been here once and can't wait for more. It's one of those places that you want to sample everything on the menu. Fast, friendly service. Decent decoration. Easy street parking. Cheap prices. Exotic flavors. I don't think I need to say more.
So far I've tried the Kao Ka Moo, which is the stewed pork with spicy garlic lime sauce, served over rice. Delicious! Be careful with the sauce (served on the side, with good reason), it can get quite spicy if too much is consumed at once.
Bah. Enough talk. Hulk like eat!!
THis place is a dream.
The service is great, the food is manna from heaven.
And the dessert plus watching Monday Night Football on the TV is so great.
Thank you Chai Thai for all your hard work.
Actually, I'd give this place 3 and a half stars. You get complimentary shrimp chips, which are nice and kind of sticks to your tongue. It came with dipping sauce that I didn't like. This place makes the best chicken pad thai I've had. It was hot, not in a spicy sense. It came with fresh chilled bean sprouts ( maybe to cool it down?), alot of soft, chewy rice noodles (I'm discovering I'm a fan of chewy), fried tofu, and lots of chicken and eggs all mixed in a delicious sauce that was not overly spicy or too salty. We also had Thai boat noodles (pretty good). It has a sprinkling of pork rinds and sliced Chinese broccoli, noodles, meatballs, and beef. We also ordered Thai sausage and a side of sticky rice. That was good but didn't come with enough sausage. We did standard calamari too. The whole meal entirely was pretty good though.
The atmosphere is pretty dark and there were dim lights. The decor was nothing memorable, there might've been a picture of an elephant. The atmosphere is not one for a romantic night out. Come here with friends, family or your honey buns if your not celebrating a special event!
Not too impressed.
The curry was bland, felt like it was too washed out by the coconut milk. I was warned by friend to order "medium" because their spicy was supposed to be really spicy but the medium was quite mild.
Still. Fast and cheap service I'll make a return to try what my friends had so I can judge what others have raved.
Oh boy, now I have a dilemma on my hands. 2 weeks ago I thought Vientiane Café was god's gift to Oakland, but Chai Thai gives them some serious competition. Granted I did not do a full apples to apples comparison. First off, Vientiane is on this residential street where we felt pretty safe. Just families out on their front lawns or streets having get togethers & playing with their kids. International St. however is a bit more sketchy. We felt compelled to find very nearby parking to minimize the walk in the dark back to the car.
On to the food: unbelievable!!! In order from top to bottom:
1. Laotian sausage - served here like miang kam where you take a bit of sausage, raw cabbage, diced lime, raw onion, peanut and "build a bite". Sausage itself was chock full of herbs and stood on its own, on par w/ Vientiane. But how it was served gives Chai Thai the edge.
2. Fried minced catfish salad. So not what I was expecting. The salad part was straightforward bed of greens. The catfish was this huge puffy light crunch fried mass that didn't resemble fish in taste nor texture. I pictured flaked fished that was fried until it's crispy on the outside, but still looks like fish at the center of each morsel. In hindsight the word "minced" should have evoked images of deep fried fish paste. It was more like the texture of a giant shrimp chip (doesn't taste like shrimpchip of course) in the shape of a slightly flattened grapefruit. I like being surprised & liked the dish. The dressing made me feel like I was at Kasma's house again: fresh lime juice, fish sauce, chilis, shallots, cilantro, tiniest touch of sugar, etc.
3. Pumpkin curry. I know that this is more Thai, but still it was thick & good. Husband loves this dish at Thai restaurants and Chai Thai does it justice.
4. Pork over rice with pickled greens. Don't get me wrong, this was well done. But it's in last place because there's at least 50 Chinese places I can get this at in the south bay, not to mention I can make it at home with almost no effort other than tending to the pressure cooker from time to time. The sauce was garlicky and good but doesn't hold a candle to the catfish salad dressing.
I cannot wait to try their fried rice salad, larb, jun pad poo (can't help it), fried rice w/ shrimp paste, noodle soups, and on & on...
Breaking my 5 star streak!
Opening of conversation with apathetic Chai Thai employee -
Me: "Hi! Do you deliver?"
Employee: "Kind of."
KIND OF?! Forgive me if I'm off-base here, but I was under the impression that "Do you deliver?" is a yes or no question. Apparently, the said employees at Chai Thai and I were not on the same page. From reading other Yelp reviews, I knew that they did indeed deliver, but I guess it depends where in Oakland you live. It took me, I kid you not, 5 straight minutes of insisting to two different employees that I only live a 7 minute drive away. Very strange way to treat your customers.
The aforementioned employee estimated a 25 minute wait time. 45 minutes later, our food arrives carried by a pleasant-enough delivery man. At this point, I'm starving, so I slip him $4 for his troubles and trudge back upstairs.
Menu for Friday night: Tom Yum Goong w/ noodles, Pad Thai + crab and Pad Kee Mao. While I've tasted better Thai food, it wasn't bad. The noodles were on the dry side. We asked for medium spiciness on all our dishes, but it was a little too spicy for us. Methinks they might have upped the spiciness a teeny bit since we were so insistent about the delivery. Psh. Prices were pretty average. All in all, I might order delivery again if I'm super super lazy to cook/go out, but nothing special about this place at all. Mediocre much?
What is not to like about this place. This preggo woman goes Coo-Coo for Chai-Thai!
I been here now once a week the past month and a half. Always somewhere clean to sit, it's always vented so I can breathe air and not other people's food. I usually order pad-thai, I think they can give you more than 4 shrimp for what you pay for. Tofu in the dish is cooked throughly and its flavorful and crispy, noodles are excellent overall the presentation for this dish is awsome.
I also loved #76 Gai Ga-Prow (mild) over rice, it's like miced up chicken almost grounded and it has basil and sauteed pieces of ginger.
TRY THE Peak Gai Tod(its on the appetizer), Chicken wings overall man better heaven, 8 pieces to an order and I loved how it was tender and crispy outside and I have no complaints here, The staff is friendly and they also just have good setting, it maybe in the busiest part of the town, but way worth for me to come from the DEEP EAST to enjoy 30 minutes in heaven with my Chai Thai.
I totally recommend coming here with a friend that way you can pick off their plate
We ordered takeout from Chai Thai Noodles on Saturday night to accompany several bottles of wine and me getting my ass unceremoniously kicked six ways to Sunday at Wii boxing. Our neighbor said it is the best Thai food he's found in the Oakland area, and I will now enthusiastically agree with him.
It seems like Thai is one of those quality culinary genres that for some reason seems to be lacking within a 5-10 minute drive of Adams Point. Yeah, Neecha is ok. Yeah, Lotus is ok. But nothing special. Or maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. Anyway, I digress.
Chai Thai is pretty damn delicious, and it made me sad that I had been such a curmudgeon and not listened to my neighbor earlier when he was lauding the place. Dishes that really stood out were the pork leg stew, the rice noodles with dungeness crab, and the ground chicken with basil and peppers. The garlic rice was also totally solid. It does lie in a borderline-sketchy area to be traipsing around at night, but it seems like that's the story for most of the really authentic haunts in the east bay.
I can hang if you can.
Someone once told me the best thai food around is in East Oakland (or maybe i just told myself that because its rare as gold in north and west O). Regardless, I think its true, and Chai Thai made sure i knew it.
Their vegetarian pad thai was the second best i've had. the fried tofu was so crispy and flavorful. and the eggplant was great. And the waitress was so friendly and the prices were pretty good. I'll be back next time I miss the Parkway Speakeasy, as its ghost lies blocks from this noodly heaven. That was sad-sounding.
4.5 stars, maybe 5
Needed a girls night out with Adriana G and we decided to meet up at Chai Thai after reading the off the chart reviews. It's in the New Chinatown of Oakland which isn't as bustling at night, but it's safe with plenty of street parking nearby.
Ordered the Pumpkin Curry and Dungeness Crab Pad Thai Noodles. I'll be in Thailand by the end of the month and will verify the authenticiy when I get back, but these two dishes were off the heazy. Both had a spicy kick to them without changing the flavor of the food.
Service was wonderful and the owner let us stay way past closing while they cleaned up. We were just yapping away when they turned the lights off signaling time to go. Hehe, it reminded me of grade school when lights off = mouths closed!
Definitely worth a visit if you're stomping around the East Bay.
This place has great comfort Thai food! Came here with a group of six, and we ordered a lot of food for a great price. I don't normally like Pad Thai, but this Pad Thai blew everything out of the water. The pumpkin curry was mouth-watering, and my favorite dish. I wish I remember everything we sampled, but know that everything tasted wonderful.
The waitress was very nice, and they were quick to get food out.
I LOVE anything that has cilantro in it! especially thai food that is spicy! this is a great restaurant. whenever you need your fix for thai food, this hits the spot nicely. A very roomy place. I never have to wait for a table, the waitress/hostess is always around to fill your glasses and its clean!! the hostess recognized us from the many times we have dined here (+1) I just don't understand why this place is never packed. It deserves to have business, the food is freaking fantastic! I love sticker on the door that says "people love us on yelp" show your support!
Everytime I come here w/ BF. We are always fully satisfied & stuffed! You will never be disappointed with your meal. I'll give you a quick rundown of what I tried & love!
papaya salad w/ salty crab- OMG I love the salty crab, its hard to find any thai rest. in the bay area that makes the perfect papaya salad (dark sauce) w/ the salty crab! this is a good dish, but it might be an acquired taste for some of you if your not familiar w/ the fermented/salted stuff.
chicken or duck laap salad - It's very light and refreshing dish to help balance out the spiciness from the other dishes.
tom kha gai - (hot and sour chicken soup w/ coconut milk & LOTS of mushrooms, red onions & cilantro!) this soup is really good! I can really have this day & night. the sliced chicken is nice and tender, NOT overcooked and dry as you find in many other places. The bowl is loaded all around with mushrooms! you will never be skimped. My pictures will show for it!
chan pad poo (noodles with dungeness crab and egg) it is just like pad thai, but with dungeness crab! This dish is always fresh & hot. From all the times I have had this dish, they haven't skimped on the crab I think it is just the right amount to go w/ the noodles!
one day we finally stayed for dessert. I wanted the the mango w/ sticky rice. the waitress told us they aren't carrying it at the moment since the manila mangoes are out of season. She recommended the egg custard w/ sticky rice. I was kinda skeptical at first, but when we both tried it! we loved it. It was light, soft dish, except for the sticky rice. since we were already full, it made us even fuller! this dish has to be eaten at the restaurant or if you take it to go. You need to eat it once you get home. once the sticky rice gets hard, you will not be able to enjoy it much. same as for the egg custard. they are both meant to be eaten warm.
this is my main go to thai restaurant. my main note: is that everytime I come here I will take pictures of the different dishes I have tried so that you guys can see what your missing out on! =)
enjoy!
I was in for such a treat when my friend's Thai friend ordered for a bunch of us stuff on and off the menu. Amazingly good food overall, and I can't really recall exactly what we got, since I didn't order. According to her, this is the most authentic Thai restaurant she's tasted in the bay area. The end cost was also ridiculously cheap. I'll definitely be back!
Yelp, you really led me astray this time...
I went because of all the great reviews, maybe I happened to go on an off night? The service was OK and the the atmosphere was nice but I was pretty disappointed with the food. My chicken satay was pink and the texture was just wrong. I only had a few bites but it made me sick to my stomach and pretty much ruined the meal for me since it was the appetizer. The pad thai was just alright, and I had some yellow curry with chicken and potatoes that was good. Everything was pretty salty and nothing really sat well.
Too bad :(
Alright! This is my new favorite thai place since the place that used to be in its location. I just got back after having veggie spring rolls, param tofu, pork leg noodle stew, and custard for desert. It was all really good. Especially the pork leg noodle stew. I am pretty sure it will be floating in my dreams tonight. So flavorful. Not too salty. Excellent portions for everything, and pretty decent prices to boot. What's not to love about this place?
Well, maybe the slow jazz radio station and 42" LCD shopping network vying for my aural attention. But other than that?
pineapple friend rice
padthai
chicken bbq plate
angelwings total of about $30 enough to feed 3 people.
nothing extraordinarily great, but fairly decent. its kinda dark in there for my taste. and i think i saw a tiny squashed fly on the rim of my glass of water.
I don't know what the inside of the restaurant looks like or what the service is like because I was too busy being a sadfaced gf in the car. We ate the noodles when we got back to my house though.
The bf successfully ordered me a Pad Poo (Crab and egg with noodles) and it was HUGE and DELICIOUSLY FULL OF CRAB. I found the medium not spicy at all, and I'm a wimp when it comes to chili.
So...highly recommend. I mean, where else can you get a tasty Pad Poo?
Well it was a rainy day and I wanted to try this place . I had seen it many times driving by it. People on yelp had said it was good. ....I went there at 1145 am Thursday. I got lucky with a parking space 60 feet away. Parking is hard here. Just as I thought not busy on a rainy. A very nice and clean hole in the wall. A great place so far. A table of 3 - Thai people having lunch. That was a good sign.
(My wife does not like Thai food....Ahhhh so she said.)
The hostess/waiteress was very much with smile and nice. I looked over the menu . So many choices, but , I had made up my mind.
I order the pork leg/rice and the crab/noodle for my wife.
I got it to go. They were very fast.
When I got home food is still very hot. It was great.
The crab was so great my wife ate it all. I loved the pork and rice. I was suprise.about the crab dish. It was a bit on the hot side and I ask for medium. But it was so good. Wifey ate it anyway..
So if you need the urge for Thai food let support this place it is Great or as they say in Brasil. OBA OBA.
This place deserves 4 and a half stars but yelp does not provide that option (they should) so I had to round down until I try some of their other stuff.
I'll keep this very simple. I love rice. I love meat. I love rice combined with meat.
Please order the Pork Leg stew. It is great asian comfort food. The Meat was very tender. The sauce was perfect. Man I am in love with that dish. It's simple yet so well done.
My girl ordered a noodle dish, which I thought was very tasty also. I can't seem to recall what the name of the dish is now. Anyways, portions are generous.
This place gives Champa Garden some major competition although champa's prices are lower. I feel so lucky I get to eat at so many wonderful places. Life is GRAND!
*edit: I have one pet peeve and that is asian places that charge for tea. When did this start happening? Growing up Tea was always F.R.E.E. This is completely bogus. Chai Thai charges 1 dollar for their tea. I know we are in a recession and all... still I don't like this new trend that I am beginning to notice.
Chai Thai Noodles gets five stars because:
1) CHEAP AND DELICIOUS
2) Best thai food I have had outside of Thailand
3) My dad loves thai food, and this place is now his favorite!
4) Consistent quality in all dishes; every dish we had (duck salad, pumpkin curry, pineapple rice, and fried whole fish) was superbbbbb
5) And hey, you know it's authentic when the waitresses and chef are Thai!
6) Good place to impress people of my knowledge of delicious hole-in-the-wall places to eat. Now I'm a true foodie!
7) Nice presentation :)
8) You get your money's worth.
dear god the duck salad was sooooo good. lol. i tried to eat it faster than my parents just so i could get more. every man for his own!!!!
Rodney really likes this place (my husband).
I think it was just ok.
So we compromised and I gave it 3 stars.
Went here two weeks ago with Jon K and Clara K as part of our Day of Nom.
The place is located just south of Lake Merritt and if you know that area you know it's not the most savory, but nevertheless we decided on this place party on a whim because the temple in Berkeley seemed like it would be a wait.
We got there around 11:30am and it seemed as they had just opened becuase it was crazy cold in there. It's a very simple and unassuming place, and what I've heard is that what it lacks in ambiance, it makes up for in food. Since we got there early, we barely beat the lunch "rush" (the place filled up about halfway) so the one person waiting tables was able to accomodate us without problem.
The three of us split an appetizer and 3 dishes. Thanks to Clara for Twittering them so we had a reference of the dish names! See my uploaded photos.
nommage part 1: angel wing appetizer. Chicken wing stuffed with noodles and other veggies. Great beginning, good taste. Crispy and light and a good accompanying sauce. [4/5]
nommage part 2: chan pad poo. Noodles with dungeness crab and egg. This tasted similar to a combination of Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. The noodles are a little mushier and the sauce is not quite as sweet. There isn't a ton of crab in it, but it was still good. The dash of fresh lime over the top really livens it up. [3/5]
nommage part 3: gang panang nuer (beef curry). I love curries, typically those with a little less coconut , and this one was perfect. It wasn't too milky and creamy nor was it too spicy. The beef wasn't super tender and there was maybe a little bit of substance (veggies and beef) lacking but the taste was fantastic [4/5]
nommage part 4 at chai thai: kao ka moo. This was pork leg stew with mustard greens. This was a great dish! The pork had been braised for what seemed to be hours given how tender the pork was and how soft and gelatinous the pork had become. The only thing was that the sauce for the mustard greens and pork didn't have as much body as I'd thought, it tasted like it wasn't part of the dish during the cooking process. Where is all the rich collagen-filled juices from braising? [4/5]
All in all, great place. Would definitely come again for the curry and the pork leg.
Chai Thai, where have you been all my life!?
You are wonderful. On the better end of International Boulevard, you're in a great spot where parking isn't too difficult and everyone felt safe. This place is sort of a hole in the wall, but their food is top-notch.
We all got something different off of the delicious menu. I had a mint lemonade to drink, and my girlfriend had some coconut juice/milk. It was all great.
She and I had some curry - me the spicy, and her the not-so-spicy. Wait, that's not right... she's the more spicy of us two!
The others had pad thai and a few other things.
Great experience, and prices are definitely in the post-college scraping-by-person price range.
Chai Thai Noodle has a reasonable lunch special for only $5.99 where you choose from one of about 8 entrees, and you also get a friend egg roll, small soup, and white rice. Although Chai Thai Noodle is located in a sketchy neighborhood and the exterior of the restaurant looks dirty, the interiors are relatively clean and well kept, and the service friendly. My red curry was on the watery side and not very flavorful - and my friend's meal was a bit too salty. Perhaps there are other tastier items on the menu, but I do not have enough desire to return. I will keep looking for good Thai food elsewhere.
just like the little sticker on the window says "people love us on yelp"
I love Chai Thai Noodle, some of the best lower priced Thai food Oakland has to offer.
my favorite would be the Pad Thai, everything else Ive had here was delicious as well. very clean inside, you can see into the kitchen when you're paying for take out and its also really clean back there too! haha.
I live a few blocks away and never knew this place existed until a friend mentioned it. I love their shrimp paste fried rice! I was wowed by the service, and the dishes are pretty cheap. Theres also complimentary shrimp chips during dinner.
OMG i never know Oakland has such a good Thai food!! After I read the review and rating from Yelp and I decided to have a try. At first when I drive on the street and look at the outfit of the store, I thought it might be a little bit too dark and the store doesnt look very nice. Well it was a very cold night and I want some hot and spicy food so I decide to go and have a try.
It was amazing and fantastic! Wonderful experience!!
Dont get scared because of the dark surrounding and cold temperature inside, the food tells you all! You all Thai food fans should all come and have a try!!
recommending
1) Angel Wings - different from how other Thai restaurant cookd, totally different style!!!!!!
2) Fried Tofu, - crispy outside and juicy inside, 5 star
3) Yellow curry noodles - one of the best noodles I have ever had in the bay area.
I also tried Thai ice team and Tom yum soup, they are very nice too!
I think I will keep going back and try their whole menu!!
My cousin, aunt, and I were debating on where to eat lunch Saturday afternoon. My aunt suggested this restaurant because her friend ate here and raved about the Roasted Plum Duck in the a la carte section of the menu.
Food: We ordered four dishes: the Roasted Plum Duck ($9.95), Pumpkin Curry (approx $8.95), Pineapple Fried Rice (approx $8.95), and Pad Thai ($8.25). The pumpkin curry was pretty good and the right blend of flavor without the flavor circumventing the ingredients. The pineapple fried rice was slightly bland and felt a bit watered down, but it was not super greasy compared to some of the other Thai places I've ate at and ordered the same dish. The Pad Thai was pretty good and tasted better after I asked for lime. The roasted plum duck dish was a bit small, but it was interesting the way they cooked it- crispy yet tender, and utilized the plum sauce to flavor the vegetables that was on the dish. My favorite out of all the dishes was the pumpkin curry.
I hesitate to consider anything "authentic" as authenticity is a word that should be carefully utilized given the globalization of food. However, given that I've had thai food in Thailand (Bangkok), the food here comes close to "authenticity" vis a via "Bangkok" food for a good price.
Service: The waitress was friendly and courteous although she did not speak a lot of English. A good gauge on "mom and pop" Thai places is to see whether or not they have a picture of Thailand's King on the wall (and they did).
Payment: The place took credit card including MasterCard,VISA, and Discover with a minimum $10 dollar charge.
Location: It is located in East Oakland "New Chinatown" - not the best neighborhood and also difficult to find parking.
Ok, so I also reviewed Champa, and am a huge fan now of both. On our way to a Pho place on International that was recommended by Nancy of Grand Hairport (see my review of them), we saw this place on the right. As the aforementioned Pho place was closed, we decided to stop in, and, as we sat down, I quickly pulled up Yelp to see what to order.
I LOVE YELP. Wow, thanks to all of you for the help.
So, we ordered the staples: Thai Iced Tea, and rolls to start.
Then we decided to split the salmon red curry.
Thai Iced tea was weak, but i imagine it varies, I'll ask for less Ice next time.
The egg rolls were amazing. I can't emphasized enough...they were amazing! I could make a meal just off the rolls!
Interesting note, the curry was great, not as spicy as I thought "Medium" would be, but just enough for my wife not to complain. However, the menu said Salmon curry, and I'm 99% sure the fish we were served was NOT salmon. That being said, it was very tasty, probably flounder, catfish, or cod. Some white fish...so make sure to EMPHASIZE that you want the salmon. Our waitress wasn't a native english speaker.
Bottom line, Delicious, authentic Thai food, rivaling that of Champa Garden, with HALF the crowd and 2/3 the $. That makes it a Deal. This is one of those places you're glad you know about as an 'insider' to the great places to eat in a neighborhood!
I don't branch out enough in my thai cuisine to make recommendations like some of you have.
All I can say is GO. You won't be dissappointed!
After reading all the positive reviews here, we decided to cruise over and pick up some Chai Thai last night. This was kinda a mistake.
Overall: Food was sub-par. Something that was in it left myself and my dining companion with upset stomachs.
Couldn't find a menu online so we just ordered some of the things we found in an SF weekly review and on here.
Papaya Salad with Dungeness Crab: Stinky. Very stinky. Papaya didn't seem fresh at all. Crab was still in shell and hard to extract.
Veg. Pad-Thai: Whomever it was that said that this was the 2nd best pad thai they've ever had must have had very few PTs in their life. This was quite run of the mill. Not terrible, but not very good either.
Pumpkin Curry: I think this is the most to blame for the stomach unhappiness. Spices didn't really seem to add much to the dish and the curry was quite watery. We had better a couple of weeks ago at Thai Noodles in Berkeley.
On the whole I would definitely patronize either Thai Noodles or Tuk Tuk in Berkeley before this place again.
Sources tell me that this is run by the Thai House Express people. (It's an awesome Thai place near the Tenderloin in SF.)
The menu was nearly the same, and my personal favorite, Chan Pad Poo* tasted nearly identical to what you get in the SF shop.
*spicy rice noodles with crab meat and egg.
It's not exactly as pretty or hip as Thai House Express, but the food is EXCELLENT. The armed guard (who likely doubles as a chef), kind of kills the mood.
Friendly. Bold. Precious
Shhh...if you're reading this, you've discovered the best Thai cuisine all of East Bay. The price tags makes you question your geographic locations- Am I really in Cali? Oh yea...welcome to Norcal, a state of excellence.
The quality of a restaurant can be expressed through each grain of rice. The rice at Chai Thai beams you to the villages of Thailand. On a cold wintry day, the Tum-Yom soup bolster the strength of my stomach, it chases the chill in my bones away.
The friendly hostess invites you to dine in a thai place unlike any others. The Thai basil flat noodle engulfs you in a traveling rickshaw, journeying through the spice fields. Both tangy, sweet and spicy, this is my favorite dish! Plus- it's also vegan.
It's my precious gem of East Oakland. The items are very affordable, around $6-10 for a very generous plate. I really want to try more of their noodle soup dishes.
Bottom line is- you pay $20 for 2 people. Not fancy, gimicky, just the raw goodness of authentic Thai food.
Today, I am very pleased to upgrade Chai Thai to 4*'s, Let's face it, we all knew it would happen!
We ordered for lunch again today. I was contemplating a veggie stir fry vs. veggie green curry. I was having difficulty deciding. It finally occurred to me that the only way I was really going to be able to properly rate Chai Thai was by trying their Veggie Green Curry.
F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.!!
And I will make mention, YET AGAIN, that the staff of Chai Thai is super super sweet!
Chai Thai is special, for sure. I want to give it a few more tries before bumping my rating to 4*'s.… Read more »
Neighborhood: East Oakland
Category: Vietnamese
Berkeley, CA
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: East Oakland
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Lower Hills
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: East Oakland
Category: Thai
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