Orchid Chai Bistro (Thai ), Markham - Chowhounder confirmation needed

[Charles Yu]

Came across a writeup on this newly opened Thai restaurant in Markham just across from First MarKham Place. Chef apparently is a real Thai and food like Pad Thai is not the orangey Ketchup version but the real thing. Same authenticity applies to their Green and Red curries as well. Has any fellow chowhounder given it a try? And if so, can you confirm the food quality? The review I read gave it a 4.5 out of 5!! Too good to be true?

[mrsleny]

Found this Facebook page for Orchid Chai.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Markham...

[aser]

It looks Cantonese owned, from the pics and their feature on "Trendy Zone", but that's just my (un)educated guess.

I'll give it a shot since it's in my area.

[Charles Yu]

Yes, its Cantonese own but with Thai chefs.

[aser]

thanks...

"consisting of authentic Thai fare created by Executive Chef Siripong Ratanakosit of Bangkok, Thailand."

they're only open for dinner according to the facebook page, which is odd considering the area it's in.

[ultimate4g63]

I went there last night. It was OkAy...

I've never had "authentic" thai cuisine so I can't really draw any comparisons. The portion sizes are a bit on the small side, however, the dishes aren't all too expensive. Prices range from $7-10 on average. The pad thai definitely did not have any ketchup in it. It was, however, sprinkled with crushed chili peppers which made it interesting.

At the bottom of the menu there is the typical 1 pepper, 2 pepper spiciness rating system with an option to ask for even spicier. For the green curry chicken we ordered, I asked for spicier. I was a bit disappointed when it came though. The green curry "sauce" tasted great...but there wasn't much spice at all. Mind you, I can handle a good amount of heat. There was also very little chicken! Mostly small scraps of dark meat which was really upsetting. I've yet to find a better green curry chicken than the one served at Restoran Malaysia. They provide nice big hunks of chicken breast.

Next we had the "golden eggs" which are simply fried (deep fried maybe?) boiled eggs with a tamarind-like sauce over top. Nothing to write home about.

The basil fried rice with shrimp was also rather mediocre. Nothing special about it.

Lastly, we had the basil beef which was reasonably spiced, but VERY VERY small. I'd say it was more like a small appetizer than an entree.

I don't know if it was because the tables there are small, or just a lack of kitchen staff but they were only bringing us one dish at a time. We had 4 starving people at this tiny table. We were demolishing each small dish shortly after they arrived. After the first two dishes we found ourselves trying to savour each one because the next took so long to arrive.

At the end, I was still hungry and requested the bill. They actually gave us another table's bill which was MUCH more than ours. I didn't actually catch it until I had my jacket on and was ready to leave. An honest mistake, but considering I was still starving it left a sour taste in my mouth.

All in all, the pad thai there is quite good. Portions are rather small. Wait times between dishes are long. I don't think I'll be going back. Maybe if I want bubble tea. Oh did I forget to mention that it's also a bubble tea cafe? I wished i noticed that before sitting down and ordering.

[Apprentice]

Thanks for the review. Does this mean Stars of Thai is closed? I'm confused about this location is it on the corner of a strip mall right across from Burger King?

[ultimate4g63]

I think Stars of Thai is still open. At least the sign is still there. Orchid is one of the restaurants on the outside of First Markham Place which is on the south side of Hwy 7. It occupies the same unit that the old bubble tea restaurant Eternity used to be in.

[Charles Yu]

Thanks for the feedback! Guess I'll give it a pass! Plenty of goodies in the area.

[fk500]

Is this in the Fedex plaza? There is (was?) a Thai resto there called Stars of Thai Cuisine.

[Apprentice]

Which is pretty good for a lunch!

[vincechan]

where's the article Charles? do you have info on location etc? I'll probably check it out sometime this week.. :)

[Charles Yu]

I first saw this place featured on 'Trendy Zone' - Omni2 TV. Also, read a couple of reviews ( how accurate? I don't know ) on http://www.ourfaves.com/place/1042074
Good luck and do report back!
Address is 3235 Hwy7, # 19

[pinstripeprincess]

ourfaves tends to be based on quantity over quality (ie. who can first fave a place and how many faves can you post in a week). curious how the main item mentioned in both of those "reviews" are the bubble tea.