This morning I woke up and wrote a quick list of five things that I’m currently grateful for, and Pad Thai was actually on it.
Just above, “my outfit coming together effortlessly, even when there was nothing to wear” and just below Kendrick Lamar recently jumping onto the song “Bad Blood” to literally remix the crap out of it – anyone who knows me well wouldn’t be surprised to see that Pad Thai squeezed it’s way into my heart and onto the page somewhere between Taylor Swift and fashion.
Pad Thai is one of my all-time favourite dishes and you should know now that I consider myself to be a bit of a Connoisseur in both Thai food and Salt and Vinegar chips.
Okay, now that we’ve established how serious I am about Pad Thai … on to the part worth sharing.
I will begin by telling you the truth – that the restaurant is really called Maenam.
But for the sake of this clever joke it must be named nom, because I love clever jokes and because the restaurant is just so delicious – that I could honestly nom nom nom everything on the menu.
It won’t come to a surprise to you if you’re from Vancouver or live in Kitsilano that Maenam is one of the most celebrated spots for Thai food in the city, but if you’re like me you don’t normally dine out on casual Tuesday’s and get to indulge in their exceptional (and above my budget) share plates, so you may have never gotten the chance to dine there.
But never fear, if you’re pushing the poverty line like me – Maenam also has a fantastic lunch feature that makes for a great time-out from your busy day. For 18$ between 12-230pm the kitchen offers a cold Singha beer and the best Pad Thai in the city.
I work a few blocks away from Maeman and I spend a lot of time wandering around Vancouver trying to find the most exciting, interesting, coolest places in town … i mean, Catch me if you Can.
But Maenam is a classic for a reason and I’ve been on so many first date’s with seemingly serious Pad Thai’s in this city that I can confidently say theirs is one of the very few that I wouldn’t swipe left on. The portion size fills me up, the bean sprouts crunch under the force of your fork, the ingredients are true to Thailand and not just rice noodles swimming in sweet chilli sauce ( I’m looking at you, Spoon restaurant) and is the closest Pad Thai that I can find to rival the best of Bangkok’s. www.maenam.ca
go: 1938 West 4th, Kitsilano
eat: everything.
– Pad Thai – the classic combination of fresh rice noodles, tamarind sauce, crunchy peanuts, crispy bean sprouts, hot chilli flakes, tofu (that not as scary as it looks) egg and prawns
– Tom Kaa – soup for two. Coconut mushroom soup with galangal root, oyster and enoki mushrooms, chicken
– Any kind of Curry, my favourite’s no longer on the menu
hours:
lunch: Tuesday- Saturday, 12-230pm
dinner: Monday – Thursday, 5-10pm, Friday – Saturday, 5-11pm
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