Philly area Thai restaurants: overpriced? (Philadelphia, Reading: incomes, taxes, live in)

[FrankieGoesToExtremes]

It's usually about $15.00 for an entree (any of them, and I don't find Pad Thai to be that amazing or exotic, while delicious) at any of several Thai restaurants in Media, Havertown, Ridley, West Chester, Glen Mills, Springfield, Newtown Square, Ardmore, or a number of other places. I do recall reading somewhere that Thai restaurants are aimed at folks with higher incomes, but I don't remember the rest of that article or its reasoning.

[MikeNigh]

sa bai dee thai & laos cuisine upper darby
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Sa+Ba...m&z=16&iwloc=A

You will get Pad Thai for $8 that blows away anything we've had in philly yet.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by FrankieGoesToExtremes

It's usually about $15.00 for an entree (any of them, and I don't find Pad Thai to be that amazing or exotic, while delicious) at any of several Thai restaurants in Media, Havertown, Ridley, West Chester, Glen Mills, Springfield, Newtown Square, Ardmore, or a number of other places. I do recall reading somewhere that Thai restaurants are aimed at folks with higher incomes, but I don't remember the rest of that article or its reasoning.

I think the problem is where you're looking, more than the cuisine itself. That said, Thai tends to be more upscale-oriented in these parts (compared to, say, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, which can run the gamut from hole-in-the-wall to super-gourmet).

MikeNigh's suggestion sounds as good as any (I'd offer something additional, but I'm not a huge Thai afficionado).

If you're interested in something exotic, though, I highly recommend Rangoon in Chinatown. It's Burmese cuisine, which is basically a cross between Thai and Indian, and, while not cheap, is very fairly priced in my opinion. Splitting appetizers and an entree or two between a group of four shouldn't set you back more than $15 per person.

http://www.rangoonrestaurant.com/

[rotodome]

It's true that Thai food in the Philly area for whatever reason has generally been a bit more upscale/expensive vs other Asian cuisines. It's only remarkable since Thai food tends to be really cheap in many other places.
I always wondered about the history of this. What was it about how Thai cuisine was introduced to the Philly area?

[FrankieGoesToExtremes]

Thanks all! I also meant to mention Thai restaurants in Chestnut Hill (Northwest Philadelphia) and on the waterfront/riverfront in Wilmington DE fit the "expensive" description. The Wilmington one was no bargain despite being in a state with lower taxes than PA. Years ago I ate Thai in West Virginia and should have compared prices there but I didn't.

Upper Darby is a dump... I stay far away from that city to begin with, and don't ever plan to go back. I've traveled all over the world and UD has been the ugliest and most dangerous place I've ever been.

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

sa bai dee thai & laos cuisine upper darby
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Sa+Ba...m&z=16&iwloc=A

You will get Pad Thai for $8 that blows away anything we've had in philly yet.

Thanks for the heads up.

I know that little shopping center and as I live in West Philly I find myself shopping in H-Mart about once a month. There is a great little Asian food court up the escalator from H-Mart on the second floor.

I love Thai food and I've been to Thailand four times. I find most Thai restaurants in Philly mediocre, but I heard there is one on Main Street in Manayunk that's very good. Gotta try it.

The cheap little place in Reading Terminal Market called Little Thai Market is pretty good - not great - but very very popular with the lunch crowd.

[FrankieGoesToExtremes]

I've ordered Pad Thai at two Chinese restaurants in the past year: one in Media PA and one in Collingswood NJ, and it was awful at both, but that makes sense. Thai, Chinese, and Japanese cuisines are all like apples and oranges compared to one another. Don't know much at all about Korean cuisine myself, but I ate at a Vietnamese restaurant once in West Chester and all that was familiar to me on the menu was fried rice, and iced coffee very similar to the Thai variety. Giant sells microwavable peanut noodle kits that would seem to be Thai but are either Malaysian or Indonesian, I can't remember which.

There's a Thai restaurant in Cherry Hill on 70 which is identified as Thai "French", as is La Na in Media, but nothing seems French about either restaurant except for the creme brulee, which seems to be a staple of Thai restaurants, as is fried ice cream, even though that seems to have been introduced to the USA via Mexican restaurants. Matter of fact I think Chi-Chi's may have invented fried ice cream.

Apparently Goya coconut water is a product of Thailand, even though Goya is a Secaucus NJ company specializing in Hispanic foods. Speaking of Goya, why might it be that Acme stores almost all have Goya paella, but Giant stores never do, even though they have other Goya rice boxes?

Other than H Mart, what might be the nicest Asian supermarket in the Philly area? I love Oregon Market in South Philly, but there also is a wonderful market that I forget the name of, on the basement level of a building in Chinatown. There's a Chinese supermarket at Rising Sun Plaza in North Philly that used to be called Hong Kong Supermarket but is now Farmer's Best Supermarket, and was an Acme years ago. The old Pathmark on Whitaker nearby is now a Vietnamese store called Ben City Supermarket. There also are at least two Korean markets in Cheltenham on Cheltenham Ave, and Cherry Hill has at least one Asian market on 38 near Cherry Hill Mall. I was very surprised (though in a good way) to find an Asian supermarket in Pleasantville NJ, as well as in North Wales. Pleasantville is more diverse than your average small town in South Jersey, but I thought Puerto Ricans were the only sizable minority there until I found the Asian store.

The two Super Fresh stores in Center City, at 5th and Pine and on South Street at 10th, have Goya sugarcane juice by the can, next to the coconut water. Would that be impossible to find in the suburbs? I've only seen it at those two particular stores and nowhere else.

[MikeNigh]

Originally Posted by FrankieGoesToExtremes

Upper Darby is a dump... I stay far away from that city to begin with, and don't ever plan to go back. I've traveled all over the world and UD has been the ugliest and most dangerous place I've ever been.

Upper Darby may be a little offsetting. Particularly west chester pike itself is ugly. However around 69th station and east is still an authentic asian/indian town but I'm pretty sure they are starting to move out as black people are moving in. Asian flight? That area is not dangerous though. And ya every time we're there we get some food from H-Mart.

[templeu]

Originally Posted by FrankieGoesToExtremes

I've ordered Pad Thai at two Chinese restaurants in the past year: one in Media PA and one in Collingswood NJ, and it was awful at both, but that makes sense. Thai, Chinese, and Japanese cuisines are all like apples and oranges compared to one another. Don't know much at all about Korean cuisine myself, but I ate at a Vietnamese restaurant once in West Chester and all that was familiar to me on the menu was fried rice, and iced coffee very similar to the Thai variety. Giant sells microwavable peanut noodle kits that would seem to be Thai but are either Malaysian or Indonesian, I can't remember which.

There is a Thai place in Collingswood that is good ... but it's not cheap.

I was in San Fran a few years back and stumbled across a whole in the wall Thai place (primarily just noodle dishes). For $5 (!), I got a huge bowl of Pad Thai (too much to even eat). I always wish for a place like that to open up in Philly.

[Cnote11]

Originally Posted by FrankieGoesToExtremes

Thanks all! I also meant to mention Thai restaurants in Chestnut Hill (Northwest Philadelphia) and on the waterfront/riverfront in Wilmington DE fit the "expensive" description. The Wilmington one was no bargain despite being in a state with lower taxes than PA. Years ago I ate Thai in West Virginia and should have compared prices there but I didn't.

Upper Darby is a dump... I stay far away from that city to begin with, and don't ever plan to go back. I've traveled all over the world and UD has been the ugliest and most dangerous place I've ever been.

Sa-Bai-Dee is right next to H-Mart. I've been meaning to go there for the longest time because it looks pretty good. The area isn't bad at all! I do the majority of my grocery shopping there, so I frequent often. It is only a few minutes walk away from 69th street station on the main road. No big deal whatsoever.

Having said that... the Thai in Philadelphia doesn't seem to be too high quality, especially for the price... so I just make my own stuff. I can make batches of curry paste that will make me numerous pots of various thai curries for much less than what I can get for one tiny bowl at a restaurant - not to mention much more delicious. The Korean here isn't very good either... even the places some people rave about, although there is a new place I tried out two days ago called "U-Town" that had pretty good kimchi! The only problem was you had to pay 1.50 for a refill on it... hopefully they change that someday. Banchan should be free and unlimited! They had nice pickled radish too, though.