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Royal Orchid Best Thai Food
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
11 reviews for Royal Orchid Best Thai Food
I'm not sure what to make of my lunch at Royal Orchid. In my 12 years living nearby in St. Paul, I've heard that this is *the* place for Thai food, but just never made the time for it. I'll admit, the strip mall it's housed in didn't inspire confidence.
But today I was right next door at lunch time. Paused briefly at the door to scan the menu and was patronizingly charmed by the broken English and spelling errors (a laser-printed ad for Royal Orchid gift certificates (they make great Christmas gifts) misspelled "Orchid").
Opted for beef Panang Curry from the lunch menu of 10 or so items (with an endless selection of chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu within that list).
First, it looked not so hot--like chipped beef--but lots of deliciousness comes in homely packages, so no biggy.
Second, the curry sauce was perfect! A perfect balance of coconut sweetness with peanutiness and red curry spices. I've often had this type of dish tip so heavily toward the coconut as to wind up more of a rice pudding, but this was sublime.
Third--and this is what is still unsettling to me--the vegetables were very obviously from frozen, and included peas, carrot cubes, corn, and lima beans. On the side sat two "real" broccoli florets, a "real" slice of carrot, and some cabbage leaves. No matter how I look at it, I can't wrap my mind around this one. The flavor of the beef and the sauce (and the rice) were fabulous, but I left with a happy tummy and a puzzled mind. Knowing that Royal Orchid is so well-loved, I wonder if the frozen veggies just fill in when the fresh have run out or aren't looking so hot?
Regardless, I enjoyed the food, enjoyed my meal, and truly truly enjoyed the heat index levels listed on the menu:
Mild: No hot peppers added (Wimpy)
Medium: a quarter tea spoon added (Moderate)
Hot: a half tea spoon added (Sweaty)
Very: one table spoon added (Intense Heat)
Super: two table spoons added (Spitting Fire)
Oh--and they serve Guinness, naturally.
I adore Thai food (and the one Thai friend that I have. . . Hi Roongie!) and so it follows that my husband and I popped in here soon after it opened. I of course ordered tofu Pad Thai, the standard against which I judge any new Thai restaurant and was delighted! The veggies were wonderfully fresh and it was not too oily which is a Pad Thai Don't. My husband ordered fried rice and it came out in a hollowed out quartered pineapple which was really cool.
And again, it isn't a chain Thai restaurant, which is always worth a few stars.
Since moving to the cities I have been searching for good Thai food. Sadly I only got OK Thai food here. From reading other reviews maybe I got it on a bad day. I only tried the Basil Fried Rice maybe I need to try more.
Here was my problem with the Basil fried rice... it did not taste one bit like basil. Even eating the pieces of basil alone did not lead me to get basil flavor at all. I even asked for extra basil because I do love it. I also asked for it to be spicy and it had no spice to it.
I ended up trying the basil fried rice because the restaurant did not have my two usual dishes.
I do think no matter what the other reviews say I probably will not venture here again.
OK here is why I am giving it 5 stars: taste, value, service.
Having been all over Asia and through Thailand a couple times... this Thai place was fantastic. Here is another bold statement, not something in my reviews but "these were the best pot stickers I have ever had!" they were huge, the meat was perfectly cooked, and the dumplings were intense. I had the Pad Thai with chicken which was very good, hosting fresh ingredients. I struck up a conversation with the little old lady who was running the place, she grew up and lived most of her life in Thailand, hence the almost as good as being there taste. If you like Thai you have to check this place out. I will be back every time I come up here.
Trying to find AUTHENTIC Asian food in MN is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Its HARD! So when my girlfriend and I find a decent place to eat, we usually hit it...HARD. On our quest to find that ideal Asian restaurant, we did what any other hungry fellow would do in search of Asian food in MN. We google'd it. And since the mood called for something Thai-related, we started our search.
Now, the criteria for the restaurant we were about to dine at had to be similar to our expectations of Thai food over at our native home of California. That is: taste, price and service. So, if the restaurant is satisfactory in those respects, all I can say is..."lets eat!" And we found such a place.
Royal Orchid boasts an authentic Thai experience, not only in food, but also in its decor and atmosphere. Upon entering the restaurant, I really felt as if we had left MN for that little time of dining.
All I can say is this: the food is good. I recommend trying the Pineapple Fried Rice and the Pad Thai. The portions. Hearty. And you GOT to get it spicy. Go spicy or go home. "Much mochi" to you if you are able to finish your dish
As far as service is concerned: an occasional check-in if we could handle the spicy, and water refills were all we needed to enjoy ourselves. Royal Orchid is a good eats . And if you love a bargain, and if you enjoy good food at reasonable prices, then this is the place for you.
I give Royal Orchid a 4-star rating, though with a tiny bit of hesitation.
Having grown disgusted by the "we want to be a chic bistro"-style Thai restaurants in Minneapolis, I decided to venture out into the suburbs to see what was available. I thought to myself, maybe outside of the city center one can find honest, simple Thai food that isn't dumbed-down or industrialized for co-ed taste buds in Uptown.
Royal Orchid, cozily tucked away in the corner of a strip mall in Roseville, offers an effective antidote to the mediocre, standardized Thai food in Minneapolis.
My green curry was hearty and had a good, strong flavor that suggested a personalized touch---this was home-cooked Thai food, carefully prepared, by someone with a welcoming idiosyncratic preparation sytle. That's the way Thai food should be.
The restaurant, most importantly, accommodates vegans and doesn't screw around with furtive fish/oyster sauce or other unsavory ingredients. The statement on the menu about "strict vegetarians" was reassuring. This restaurant, like most in Thailand, respects vegan and vegetarian diets and doesn't make it a guessing game for patrons.
My only reasons for hesitation on the 4-star rating: the curry, however tasty, had corn and carrots in it, which is strange and completely irregular; oddly enough, the curry DID NOT contain eggplant, which is the one staple of green curries. While the food tasted good I have to disagree with some of their ingredient choices. On the other hand, it does show the sign of an independent cook willing to do his/her own thing. Also, the service was fairly friendly, but a little bit inattentive. I could have used some more water fill-ups, for example.
Now I just wish that Royal Orchid were actually in Minneapolis. But at least whenever I have to go the big-box stores at Rosedale Center I'll have a great restaurant to eat at.
After a day or two in Minnesota, I start to crave the food of my people - that is, Californian food. A friend brought me here for a taste of home. I ordered the coconut noodles and the tofu lemongrass soup. Super-hot, I told the nice lady I'm from California, I can handle it.
It wasn't hot at all, but it was *flavorful*. Any idiot can dump in more chilis, or hand me that bottle of liquid happiness known as Sriracha sauce, but it takes a real cook to make flavor.
Another nice thing about this restaurant is how customizable everything is. You can order any dish with any type of meat or tofu, at any level of spicy. A good place for picky eaters, or a good place to bring people who are trying Thai for the first time.
If you're an expat living in the Midwest, definitely give this place a try.
I went over lunch today and it was alright. I had the Pad Thai lunch special with chicken for 7.95. Decent portion for the price. I asked for spicy cause I'm a glutton for punishment with spicy foods but it didn't deliver. A bit of a bite but but no raging inferno in my tummy. My favorite Pad Thai is definitely still from Krua Thailand in St. Paul which I recommend to everybody, but this hit the spot.
Years ago, the Royal Orchid was located on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis in a drafty, funky building and was instrumental in generating the ethnic restaurant traffic that has come to be marketed as "Eat Street."
Since moving to St. Paul, Pat & Nita haven't missed a beat, and continue to be without peer in producing supurb Thai dishes.
Don't let the suburban strip mall location fool you, this is serious food, very well prepared.
I live in foodie's paradise San Francisco and love Thai, but to my continuing disappointment I have yet to find comparable Thai cooking anywhere else in the United States.
I love food...especially Thai and Asian food. This, I did not.
Best. Pad. Thai. EVER. The restaurant itself looks pretty nondescript from the outside, but the inside is simple yet classy with nice Thai decor. I love things with elephants on them! The food was delicious (they claim to have the best pad thai in the cities, and I will agree with them) It's reasonably priced, not any more or less expensive than Thai restaurants usually are.
