10152 82 Avenue NW, Edmonton

My friends, Jamie and Karly, recently moved to the Bonnie Doon area, and we decided to go out on Whyte for some Thai food. Thai food is one of my favourite kinds of food. I really love fragrant dishes like curry and Thai food always delivers. There are a few places in Edmonton that I usually go to when I’m craving Thai, but my friends really recommended this place! They’ve ordered from this place a couple times before and said it was pretty good, so we decided to try and dine-in. Kaengthai Bistro is located on Whyte ave, around 101 street. The outside of it is typical for what you’d expect to see from any place on Whyte. The inside is fairly small, with only a few tables. This place is more casual-fare and I saw a lot of people taking out from here.

They have a giant menu displayed, and you can customize the spiciness of your dish. The protocol is to order at the front and pay, and you can sit down and they’ll bring you your food. The service was friendly and prompt. The prices of this place is really good compared to the other Thai places in Edmonton! Definitely a plus.

I decided to order a beverage this time around. Usually I don’t order a beverage and just opt to drink water, but my friend, Steph, from Red Deer insisted that I try some Thai iced tea. It comes with a nice layer of milk on top that you mix, and it creates a nice and smooth drink. It was actually quite refreshing, and it was one of those pseudo-hot days of spring in Edmonton so it was really nice to drink on warm day.

We decided to start off with the spring rolls and the Calamari. The spring rolls were okay, not great. I’ve definitely had better spring rolls. They are pretty thick, and though vegetarian, there didn’t seem to be that many flavours going on. I usually like vegetarian options for spring rolls, samosas and things alike because the meat alternatives are often single-noted. There was just a lack of flavour in these. The calamari, however, was probably one of the best that I’ve ever had. Calamari is one of those dishes where it can either be really well done, or just completely overcooked and rubbery. These were seasoned well, and cooked perfectly. The squid was very tender and soft, and the accompanied sauce was amazing. The sauce was light and garlic-ey with a hint of sweetness. Definitely one of the highlights of the meal.

The Tom Yum soup came out nice and hot. The broth was mild, and not too sour. It was a little bit smaller, but honestly, compared to some of the portions you get at Bua Thai, it was more than enough. I didn’t know this before coming, but if you don’t indicate how spicy you want it before ordering, they just stick with the default and keep it as mild as possible. I think I could have done with a little bit more spice to be honest! Otherwise, there was nice amounts of meat and vegetables.

The chicken pad Thai was a really generous portion. It came out nicely plated and with some cool green chopsticks! It was really good, and well seasoned. Maybe a little bit on the sweet side, but still good. The noodles might have been a tad overcooked, but all the flavours were definitely there. There was also a very nice heaping amount of chicken! They definitely didn’t skimp out. I’ve had pad Thai at a few places now, and White Elephant in Calgary had one of the best Chicken Pad Thai’s I’ve ever had, but the one at Kaengthai is definitely up there as well.

The Panang curry was one of the best things in my opinion. It would have been even better with coconut rice (we forgot to substitute our jasmine rice, ah well!). Nice and sweet and spicy with just the right amount of coconut milk. It was so flavourful. I could eat the curry sauce alone with rice! Panang curry is one of my favourite curries, followed by red, and then green. I typically like red curries that are cooked with pineapples because it adds a nice element of sweetness and citrus.

Overall, I’d have to say that I really like this place. It’s nice and casual, and you can get a really good meal for a very good price. Honestly, it’s probably one of the cheapest places you can go for good Thai food in Edmonton. Syphay and Viphalay and good alternatives for quality, but the prices at Kaengthai Bistro are ridiculously cheap. If you’re ever in this area and are wanting some Thai food, I definitely recommend this place.

Quality of food: 3.9/5
Service: 4/5
Value: 4.1/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Expectation: 4/5