The tastiest of the Thai here
I find that Thai food is easy to love, more so than almost any other cuisine. My tastes for it are rather simple, to be honest, often one of the curries, panang, massaman or of the traffic light variety, green, yellow or red. Always piquant, sometimes incredibly spicy, and made mostly of coconut milk, these are creamy and usually delicious, and perfectly suited to its steamed rice accompaniment. These curries are found everywhere, studded with chicken, beef, and maybe pork, shrimp or tofu.
At local Thai restaurants, you’ll also find the much-loved noodle-based trio of pad Thai, pad see ew – flat rice noodles stir-fried with garlic, eggs, Chinese broccoli, soy sauce – and pad kee mao – often Drunken Noodles on the menu – that are also served in seemingly every Thai place around the globe. Restaurateur Watcharee Limanon, originally from Bangkok, explained their popularity in a recent New York Times article was because these are “extremely inexpensive and legendarily delicious. It’s also because they have…the balance of tastes (hot, sour, salty, sweet and bitter), textures (crunchy and soft, chewy and crisp) and flavors (fishy and herbal, rich and light) that Thai cooks – and fans of Thai food – appreciate.”
Unfortunately, there are not that many really good Thai options in Houston. Too many, most, serve dishes with simple flavors and really cheap-tasting proteins. A longtime favorite and always a fun visit, Kanomwan, closed after several decades and Thai Gourmet, that was popular among Asian immigrants, also shuttered somewhat recently. But there are at least a few and these are worth the drives. Listed below in order of preference.
Updated on January 26, 2024.
Vieng Thai – About a mile-and-a-half west of the West 610 Loop, you are traveling there for the food, as there is not much else: décor, service, or alcohol. But the noticeably vibrant, always well-executed Thai fare that is seemingly more authentic than most and always worth the trip. This is “Thai homestyle cooking” and the setting is quite homey. A few of the highlights from the long menu are E-Sarn Sausage, Grilled Eggplant Salad, with shrimp, minced pork, scallion, red onion, cilantro and mint in spicy herb dressing, Green Chicken Curry, and Pad Prik Khing, thin pieces of pork sauteed in a red curry paste with kaffir lime leaves and long green beans. Just remember to bring your wine or beer, as it is BYOB-only and still no corkage fee. It might be a good idea to bring wine glasses, too, as the staff advised me to do before traveling there for a recent visit. Spring Branch
Songkran – Clustered near several other dining spots from some of the city’s top chefs – Hugo Ortega, Philippe Verpiand, and Maurizio Ferrarese – this has all the accouterments of the typical nice restaurant while serving Bangkok-style Thai food that is often excellent. Proprietor Chef Junnajet “Jett” Hurapan spent years in David Burke’s kitchens in New York and that experience shows. This is mostly more refined versions of the familiar, both the plating and complexity. The chef has said that he cooks traditional Thai fare, and without the filler – the excessive mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes and the like – that is commonly served at American Thai restaurants for cost reasons, and the fact that diners don’t know the difference. That meatier fare here is also as spicy as spicy as it is in Thailand he has asserted, something that customers in New York could not take. Popular dishes abound including Tom Kha Gai, coconut soup with chicken, Chicken Satay, Yellow Curry, Green Curry and the dramatic Pla Tod, crispy whole red snapper those presented a little differently like the red curry that can be had with a crispy clay pot-cooked duck. It has been excellent, as has the Wagyu Braised Short Rib, especially tender, moist and very flavorful, probably not the first thing that comes to mind at a Thai stop. Uptown Park
Street to Kitchen – Probably the most unique and maybe ambitious of the local Thai restaurants, this is has moved from its initial gas station location further east on Harrisburg Boulevard to the much more attractive spot that had housed Louie's. If you can dine in, the still-quaint space is packed tight with noticeably happy customers; both because of the food and that they scored a reservation. The hospitality of the extremely affable husband of the married couple that own and operate the place helps, too. Portions are also on the small side, but are usually quite flavorful with a menu that changes regularly. The Pork Panang Curry and Red Curry with Chicken have been excellent in the past, and we can hope for their return. Those and the Green Curry Fish Balls are on hiatus and there are more restaurant standards like laarb, green papaya salad, Drunken Noodles, and green and massaman curries today. East End
Sao Lao Thai – A bright, ten-table counter-service café near St. Pius High School is inviting and engaging, featuring a friendly staff and a very short menu of attractively plated – in ceramic bowls – Thai and Laotian dishes that feature some preparations that are not widely found here. There’s only one of the common curry dishes, an easily likeable red curry with slices of tender steak and nicely firm purple Thai eggplant, but also green papaya salads, tom yum soup with shrimp, and also Drunken Noodles. Nam Kha, a crispy rice salad from Laos, is a great way to start when there are at least a couple of you, a beautiful plate with red curry, shreds of coconut, cilantro and fermented pork. No alcohol. North Side
Yi Ping – This handsome brick-lined space with a contemporary bistro-style vibe in the heart of CityCentre is the second restaurant from Chefs Jett and Jira Hurapan. The theme here is “traditional family dishes inspired by Northern Thailand cuisine.” Fetchingly presented, there is plenty from which to choose, both commonly found and not: Tom Kha Gaia and Pad Thai; Kang Hung Lay, a Northern Thai style curry with beef short rib with spiced pineapple; and Thai with Lobster Tail. Roti, too, which really is perfect with Thai curry, as the menu asserts. There’s a full bar and a chef’s table for a special experience for up to eight. Memorial
A dish at Songkran
At local Thai restaurants, you’ll also find the much-loved noodle-based trio of pad Thai, pad see ew – flat rice noodles stir-fried with garlic, eggs, Chinese broccoli, soy sauce – and pad kee mao – often Drunken Noodles on the menu – that are also served in seemingly every Thai place around the globe. Restaurateur Watcharee Limanon, originally from Bangkok, explained their popularity in a recent New York Times article was because these are “extremely inexpensive and legendarily delicious. It’s also because they have…the balance of tastes (hot, sour, salty, sweet and bitter), textures (crunchy and soft, chewy and crisp) and flavors (fishy and herbal, rich and light) that Thai cooks – and fans of Thai food – appreciate.”
Unfortunately, there are not that many really good Thai options in Houston. Too many, most, serve dishes with simple flavors and really cheap-tasting proteins. A longtime favorite and always a fun visit, Kanomwan, closed after several decades and Thai Gourmet, that was popular among Asian immigrants, also shuttered somewhat recently. But there are at least a few and these are worth the drives. Listed below in order of preference.
Updated on January 26, 2024.
Vieng Thai – About a mile-and-a-half west of the West 610 Loop, you are traveling there for the food, as there is not much else: décor, service, or alcohol. But the noticeably vibrant, always well-executed Thai fare that is seemingly more authentic than most and always worth the trip. This is “Thai homestyle cooking” and the setting is quite homey. A few of the highlights from the long menu are E-Sarn Sausage, Grilled Eggplant Salad, with shrimp, minced pork, scallion, red onion, cilantro and mint in spicy herb dressing, Green Chicken Curry, and Pad Prik Khing, thin pieces of pork sauteed in a red curry paste with kaffir lime leaves and long green beans. Just remember to bring your wine or beer, as it is BYOB-only and still no corkage fee. It might be a good idea to bring wine glasses, too, as the staff advised me to do before traveling there for a recent visit. Spring Branch
Songkran – Clustered near several other dining spots from some of the city’s top chefs – Hugo Ortega, Philippe Verpiand, and Maurizio Ferrarese – this has all the accouterments of the typical nice restaurant while serving Bangkok-style Thai food that is often excellent. Proprietor Chef Junnajet “Jett” Hurapan spent years in David Burke’s kitchens in New York and that experience shows. This is mostly more refined versions of the familiar, both the plating and complexity. The chef has said that he cooks traditional Thai fare, and without the filler – the excessive mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes and the like – that is commonly served at American Thai restaurants for cost reasons, and the fact that diners don’t know the difference. That meatier fare here is also as spicy as spicy as it is in Thailand he has asserted, something that customers in New York could not take. Popular dishes abound including Tom Kha Gai, coconut soup with chicken, Chicken Satay, Yellow Curry, Green Curry and the dramatic Pla Tod, crispy whole red snapper those presented a little differently like the red curry that can be had with a crispy clay pot-cooked duck. It has been excellent, as has the Wagyu Braised Short Rib, especially tender, moist and very flavorful, probably not the first thing that comes to mind at a Thai stop. Uptown Park
Street to Kitchen – Probably the most unique and maybe ambitious of the local Thai restaurants, this is has moved from its initial gas station location further east on Harrisburg Boulevard to the much more attractive spot that had housed Louie's. If you can dine in, the still-quaint space is packed tight with noticeably happy customers; both because of the food and that they scored a reservation. The hospitality of the extremely affable husband of the married couple that own and operate the place helps, too. Portions are also on the small side, but are usually quite flavorful with a menu that changes regularly. The Pork Panang Curry and Red Curry with Chicken have been excellent in the past, and we can hope for their return. Those and the Green Curry Fish Balls are on hiatus and there are more restaurant standards like laarb, green papaya salad, Drunken Noodles, and green and massaman curries today. East End
Sao Lao Thai – A bright, ten-table counter-service café near St. Pius High School is inviting and engaging, featuring a friendly staff and a very short menu of attractively plated – in ceramic bowls – Thai and Laotian dishes that feature some preparations that are not widely found here. There’s only one of the common curry dishes, an easily likeable red curry with slices of tender steak and nicely firm purple Thai eggplant, but also green papaya salads, tom yum soup with shrimp, and also Drunken Noodles. Nam Kha, a crispy rice salad from Laos, is a great way to start when there are at least a couple of you, a beautiful plate with red curry, shreds of coconut, cilantro and fermented pork. No alcohol. North Side
Yi Ping – This handsome brick-lined space with a contemporary bistro-style vibe in the heart of CityCentre is the second restaurant from Chefs Jett and Jira Hurapan. The theme here is “traditional family dishes inspired by Northern Thailand cuisine.” Fetchingly presented, there is plenty from which to choose, both commonly found and not: Tom Kha Gaia and Pad Thai; Kang Hung Lay, a Northern Thai style curry with beef short rib with spiced pineapple; and Thai with Lobster Tail. Roti, too, which really is perfect with Thai curry, as the menu asserts. There’s a full bar and a chef’s table for a special experience for up to eight. Memorial
A dish at Songkran
