Ban LaoThai Restaurant

[jaynel]

My husband and I went to this restaurant on Saturday night and we had a different experience to what most other people on this site seem to have. We started out being the only people there but eventually four other people turned up. We thought the staff were quite nice although that may be because my husband used to live in Thailand and so he speaks Thai. I have read on other people's posts that they didn't like the staff there. The restaurant itself is quite small and definitely not fancy but we liked it. I would not consider going there for a special evening though. The food was really nothing special. I LOVE Thai food but I just didn't enjoy it here. We started out with the Tom Yum Soup with shrimp and it was very good but it lacked any lemon grass or galangal flavours completely! Besides that the soup was good. After that we ordered 3 dishes to share. The first was the Laotian style sausages that were raved about on this site previously so we decided to try them. Neither one of us liked them because they seemed to be almost musty or not fresh. Another dish was the beef red curry which left something to be desired also. The chicken salad (lap) was not tasty to me. That could be because it definitely had chicken liver in it which I despise. I took one bite and gave up on it. All that being said, the sticky rice was very good. We tried to order Mussaman curry but they don't serve it. Big letdown for me since its my favorite!

[hungryann]

Which thai restaurants do you enjoy here in Montreal? What are your favorites?

[jaynel]

Unfortunately I don't have any favorites as I just moved back here after being gone for 7 years. We are now on a quiest to find one though so if you have any suggestions I would appreciate it greatly! :)

[bopuc]

Cuisine Bangkok inside the Faubourg Ste-Catherine
recent discussion here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/592526

definitely a "must go-to" in any case

[hungryann]

The above thread should give you some good leads. Also although I have never been a friend whose opinion I trust swears by Phayathai on Guy. If anyone remembers Sawatdee in Old Montreal...now that was tops for thai food in the 90's.
I look forward to hearing your reports on other thai restaurants as you refamiliarize yourself with Montreal's offerings.

[SnackHappy]

From my one meal at Phayathai I would have to say that it's typical of most Thai food in this town. The decor is nice. The service is efficient. The dishes are well executed, but unfortunately they are criminally under-spiced. And it's not cheap.

[bomobob]

Phayathai, much like Thailande on Bernard, does curry well, but everything else is just, well, plain. I can fully empathize with the OP, whose husband lived in Thailand. Apart from the Faubourg Bangkok, nothing in Montreal comes remotely close to scratching the itch. Which is not to say the Thai food in town is bad, it's not. It's just miles away from what the real stuff tastes like. Many miles. Many, many miles.
The only solution we've found is to cook it at home.

[hungryann]

What do you think of Chao Phraya? Is it comparable to Thailande?

[bomobob]

Honestly, I haven't been to Chao Praya in many years, like probably 18 or so. I know that Lily has been running Chu Chai for a good 9 years now, and I believe she may have poached the old cook, but that's all ancient history.
For what it's worth, back in the last century, 1990, they had the only Tom Yum in Montreal that actually tasted like Tom Yum is supposed to. That's always been my personal, horribly biased bellwether for Thai restaurants, as it's one of the most complex flavour combinations, and most places just squirt in a glob of hot sauce, because they assume that's what people want.