Recent Thai Moon visit

[Sal Monella]

Wife and I had an urge for Thai food last night so we went to Thai Moon in Arlington Ctr. It's one of our favorite low key places for this type of cuisine. Before anyone chimes in...it's not "authentic Thai". We like 100% authentic cuisine as much as anyone else so unless we went to Thailand, this will do. Plus, we love the menu selections and the fact that it is a small family owned place that's been thru a lot in the past year (co-owner Paul died suddenly and his wife/chef is left running it) we feel a loyalty to her. She updated the menu and added a few more things e.g. chicken broccoli. My wife enjoyed that dish while I had the red curry chicken and we split some Thai noodles (forgot the exact name), an app of chickent wings and a nice banana wrapped in filo dough dessert. No 9 beers for me and a some merlot for her.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants a nice quiet dinner at the $10-15 price point with convenient parking in the back. They also do a lot of take out. Supporting the owner (Yuphin) carry on goes a long way too.

[Alcachofa]

Finally gave them another try a couple nights ago. Definitely improved from the time I went a few years ago. Everything was just fresher tasting and livelier. Perhaps even too spicy... the "2 out of 3 peppers" basil dish was sweat inducing. I liked it, but Mrs. A would have preferred it kicked down a notch. But, anyway, will definitely order from them again soon (we got delivery). The pad thai was also more than serviceable and the spring rolls nice and crisp.

[Ferrari328]

Went back to try a curry and decided to try the Red Curry with Pork. Pork was very tender, crispy veggies, velvety eggplant and a really nice and tasty red curry. Marked as two stars but was on the milder side, not a problem can be adjusted on the next visit. For $7.50 you get a good amount of very tasty food. Perfect lunch for an overcast day. Can't wait to try the three star Green Curry!

http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot....

[Ferrari328]

Went back for another lunch visit today to try something spicy. Chicken Basil was marked with 2 stars out of 3 and when I ordered I was asked if I liked spicy and I said yes. This was indeed nicely spicy with a good amount of heat. Didn't detect any bird eye's chili just the red chili's. The basil was the normal basil, Thai hot basil is fairly hard to find. Nice dish, chicken might have been a tad dry but otherwise OK. Just noticed that the website doesn't have any lunch menu online but they do serve from a special lunch menu. Service is very friendly and pleasant and my water glass was topped up frequently.

http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot....

[StriperGuy]

Was that you with the white hair? I was the guy in the couple with the baby. The Thai Hot Basil was pretty good on your recco though wish it has a little fish sauce just to funk it up a bit. Thanks for the rec.

SO had the pineapple shrimp, Americanized for sure, but VERY fresh and quite tasty.

[Ferrari328]

Yes, that was me in the window seat. I agree about the fish sauce, they got all the other elements.

[StriperGuy]

Nice to almost meet you. Ya gotta try Thai North over in Brighton center... takes Thai to a whole different level...

[KWagle]

Is there an app to make your smartphone beep when you're within a hundred feet of a fellow Hound?

[StriperGuy]

There should be ;-)

[Parsnipity]

I've always liked Thai Moon. Our last 2 visits, both in the past year, we noticed that the food seems spicier. I like it even more now-- their equivalent of pad kra pao (which I think is called something else on the menu) had me sweating.

My only complaint is that their takeout portions seem a bit skimpy.

[fantundo]

I don't consider Thai Moon Destination Dining, but as a place to stop on my way home from work, it is reasonably priced, good food, always with pleasant service. The pad thai is moist and the flavor is neither too sweet nor too vinegary. Sorry to hear about the frozen crab rangoon, tho - theirs are usually my favorite, with that hit of curry.

[nasilemak]

FYI - Yuphin sold off Thai Moon over a year ago and is now operating Erawan of Siam on Moody St. in Waltham.

[Alcachofa]

Does that mean Thai Moon has improved or stayed the same? When I was last there (over a year ago), it was passable at best. Kinda boringly seasoned.

[rlh]

Ahh - thanks - that explains the unevenness of the our last few meals - too spicy one time, too bland the next, and last time the usually stellar crab rangoons were FROZEN in the middle but golden brown on the outside...what a shame .. it was a reliable, enjoyable Thai destination - need to head to Moody St, now and see if the old magic is in their kitchen now.

[KWagle]

Interesting. I enjoyed Thai Moon's rendang curry many years ago, and went to Erewan a couple of years ago and found it mediocre at best, not even good, just boring. I hope it's picked up.

[Ferrari328]

I went for lunch today and had a nice lunch in this impeccable clean place. Nice interior and a fairly extensive lunch menu with very reasonably prices. Wasn't to busy, some takeouts, all of them seemed to be regular customers. Very friendly and nice service. I had the Garlic Squid, squid was cooked nicely and not to garlicky and could have done with some sauce. I'll be back to try some other things from the menu.

http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot....

[WeirdSam]

Thats so sad to hear that that man died. He would always deliver the food to my house and would always remember who I was, a genuinely nice person.

[Sal Monella]

It truly is. He was a wonderful man as we got to know him very well over the years. We still miss him terribly.

[nasilemak]

Their noodle and curry dishes are excellent.

[litchick]

I have always been pleased with our visits to Thai Moon. They do good drunken noodles -- a dish I use as a calibrating tool at Thai joints. ;)

[joebelt]

It was always one of the best American Asian restaurants in Arlington in my opinion (and by far might I add)

[mr mangia]

is the owner who passed away, the guy who would come and speak with you in the dining room ?

[Aromatherapy]

Yes.

[phoebek]

Thanks so much for this update - I haven't been to Thai Moon for awhile, and having heard that the owner had died, I was wondering whether the restaurant was still open and still good.

[Sal Monella]

Give it another try Phoebek...it's still as good as before and in some ways improved with the addition of the a few new items. The service can be spotty as we grew accustomed to Paul running the front of the house and now there are several other ladies doing a balancing act. Can't complain really as the food meets or exceeds our expectations still.