Thai Takeout, Tried and Tested

There’s something rather comforting about ordering takeout, getting cozy on the couch, switching on the tube, and eating decadent food out of a plastic, cardboard, or aluminum container. The formality of a meal goes out the window, you don’t  have to cook, and often you are diving into something you really enjoy. But the art of takeout is just that—an art. Whether it is Chinese, Indian, or even pizza, some places do it well, and some don’t.

My friend complains about the takeout from a Thai place in Stamford. He's still a regular customer; but while he relishes the savory red curry sauce in their chicken massam, there’s never enough chicken; rather, a pool of spicy coconut milk with potatoes and onions and an occasional piece of white meat. He has to remind them every time he orders to “please make sure there’s plenty of chicken.”

I decided to do my own comparison of three Darien restaurants that do a bang-up takeout business. I ordered the same dish, Pad Thai, from each place and took notes on everything from the way they answered the phone, to the ease of parking, the packaging, to the food itself.

Pad Thai, as the name suggests, is a rice noodle dish from Thailand. Its ingredients typically consist of a stir-fry of eggs, tamarind, chili pepper, fish sauce, peppers, bean sprouts, and a protein such as shrimp, chicken, and often tofu.  It’s widely recognized by its garnish of peanuts, cilantro and a wedge of lime. With so many local Asian restaurants, it was easy to find on a number of menus. My experiment took me to Matsuri, Wild Ginger, and Little Thai Kitchen.

First call: Matsuri 203-655-4999

My first call to Matsuri was with a fast talking, rushed woman, who seemed annoyed that I only ordered one dish. I couldn’t understand much of what she said, but I did hear her say that it would be ready in ten minutes, and it sure was. The large parking lot makes the in-and-out experience convenient. I expected to walk into a crowded restaurant, early on a Thursday night, but with the entire staff merely hanging out and chatting with one another, this was clearly not the case. The woman handed me my credit card slip, my little brown shopping bag (nice as can be—obviously not the same gal who answered the phone earlier), and off I was in a flash.

Matsuri’s Pad Thai is in a large rectangular plastic container, still hot to the touch, packed to the top of the lid with large tail-on shrimps quite evident through the clear plastic. It’s by far the largest portion at $16.95, with 6 meaty shrimp. But, my excitement is soon squashed as I lift my fork from beneath the shrimp, slivered eggs, peanuts and peppers, to find a dry, stuck together, block of starchy noodles. If it had come with lime, a squeeze or two might have loosened it up a bit.  The flavor is quite good, a bit spicy, which I like. Perhaps the portion was too big, and therefore caused the noodles to fuse together?

Second Call: Wild Ginger 203-656-2225

I ordered my next Pad Thai with shrimp (I decided to go with shrimp as they are often quite different everywhere you go) from Wild Ginger. The young girl on the end of the line was super friendly and told me she would “look forward to seeing me in fifteen minutes.” I found a parking spot on the Post Road right in front, lucky me; but also see Wild Ginger takeout customers grabbing a spot in the neighboring Dunkin Donuts. My order, handed to me in my favorite smiley face plastic bag, comes from a hostess with just as big as a smile. I leave smiling myself.

The large tin container is brimming with small shrimp (15 or so), lots of crunchy bean sprouts and toasted peanuts. The glistening noodles are a bit heavy, but the sweet, tangy flavor and abundance of shrimp make up for it. It’s a value meal at only $9.81. The squeeze of lime that came with it perked up the flavors even more.

Third call: Little Thai Kitchen 203-662-0038

My last call was placed to Little Thai Kitchen. A quiet friendly voice answers the phone, “Little Thai Kitchen, please hold for one second please.” I can hear screaming kids in the background before I am put on hold. Ten seconds later she returns, “So sorry. It was rather noisy in here and I would not have been able to hear you.” That was handled nicely, I thought. I pull up right in front of the restaurant after the fifteen minutes she quoted me. She recognizes my order and again apologizes for putting me on hold. How nice, again. She apologizes again as the credit card terminal seems to be processing slowly. I leave to find a car already waiting for my spot. Only street parking is available so on a busy night a quick pick-up could be challenging.

Little Thai Kitchen's takeout Pad Thai comes in a small, round plastic container. Deceivingly, this little bundle packed six rather big shrimp, along with a fabulous, moist portion of light rice noodles. Now here’s the Pad Thai I’ve been dreaming of! While there weren’t as many vegetables in it as the other two, making it lack somewhat in texture and contrast, the moist noodles, along with the sweet smoky flavor, juicy shrimp, and decent size portion for $13.73, made this one stand out with me.

Verdict:

Sweet, smoky and slightly spicy, Little Thai Kitchen's Pad Thai wins the takeout tug-o-war this time. There's plenty of tempting thai takeout on the menu. Check out what's on offer, and place your order online here.