Siam Smiles Matawan NJ

[shabbystorm]

All this talk of Thai food has me missing Cafe de Thai so very much.
Has anyone had the chance to try Siam Smiles, the place that replaced, took over, etc, the restaurant that Cafe de Thai used to occupy?

[shabbystorm]

We had a wonderful dinner at Siam Smiles last night.
Will post specifics shortly..

[RGR]

We also miss Cafe de Thai. Honestly, more for the excellent French side of the menu, though we could never pass up the seriously delicious curry puffs.

Lately, our "go to" spot for Thai has been Manow, in Lincroft. Siam Smiles is a lot closer to us. Looking forward to reading details about your dinner there.

[shabbystorm]

Siam Smiles
1016 Rt 34 South
Matawan NJ 07747
732-566-3651
No web site found or printed on menu

Siam Smiles is a small restaurant with about 14 Tables located right next door to West Lake Chinese.

This is not the same restaurant or menu as the previous, Café de Thai, no more french dishes. The gracious new owner explained they sold the restaurant to her, and the original owner and previous chef returned to Thailand for happy reasons.

This is a family business. They take pride in their restaurant and the food they serve.
Our server was a young man who was very professional.

Restaurant is unpretentious, casual-cozy, dimly lit, candlelit on each table.
Very busy Saturday night, with a steady stream of families, couples, and take out orders. BYOB. Good acoustics.

Appetizers
Beef Satay, this came with a peanut sauce and cucumber salad. good.
Mee Grob, excelled. Perfect flavor, grilled deveined shrimp and egg omelette over a nest of crispy rice noodles, raisins, scallions, and tamarind sauce. Loved this so much, wish that the plating was done a little differently to pair every bite of noodles with shrimp and egg.

Dinner
We shared two dishes.
Chicken Pad Prig excellent. This came out of the kitchen with a perfect kick!
Triple Delight was good, chicken, beef, shrimp bell pepper, onion, and scallion in chili sauce. This dish was even better when we went for seconds, the flavors more distinct.

Rice fluffy!

No room for dessert.

Chili Paste and Powder will be brought to the table on request.

Siam Smiles offers a similar menu to most Thai restaurants. Regionally do not know where in Thailand this food is influenced. They do not offer extensive seafood choices, like mussels, salmon, and whole fish options that are available at Thai Chili Spotswood NJ. They did have additional dinner specials on Saturday, soft shell crab dishes, and drunken spaghetti.

We both were smiling after dinner - Will Be Back!
For next time, admired the Shrimp and Scallop Dumplings, Siam Noodles, Spicy Green Papaya Salad!

[njchowgal]

thanks for the review, shabbystorm!

[RGR]

Appreciate the review, shabbystorm. Putting Siam Smiles on my "go to" list.

[shabbystorm]

Another Great meal from Siam Smiles. We did take out.
Although very enjoyable, for me, most meals seem to be a notch or two better when dining in house.
Same dishes as last time. The chicken was SPICY!!!! Yum.

[arpad]

Tried Siam Smiles for dinner - crispy pork , medium spicy .
Pork and vegetables very good , rice though plentiful was a bit mushy .
Service a little slow but not bad .
Prices very good .
Overall a more limited menu than Pad Thai in Highland Park but a good choice in the area .

[eleeper]

Thai Thai in Old Bridge is another good option for the area.

[storky]

You will not find a better Thai restaurant in the Monmouth County area. Not only do they cook authentic meals, but the ingredients are the freshest! The Vegetables are crisp and juicy, the sauces are cooked to perfection, and the portions are plentiful. The owner and her sons are very hospitable, and appreciate the business. We eat there several times a week (take out included). The only dish I am not fond of is the Whole Fish, as its not a fresh catch. Otherwise the squid , chicken and shrimp are extremely fresh and tender. Enjoy!

[jonahswenska]

Nice place to bring the wife or whole family. The prices are reasonable and the food is excellent. My fave is the Chicken Pad Prig.

[foxmackenzie]

If you'd like more information on Siam Smiles (directions, menus, prices, hours, etc), they do have a new website to peruse :)

Judy is just the absolute best - it's so nice to see an owner so passionate and involved with their business. And the food...good lord. I think I'd kill a man for the Massaman curry.

http://siamsmiles.homestead.com/

[Barzillai22]

The Homestead website is no longer active. The restaurant is still open. We ate there today and the food is still great. My daughter had pad thai and I had a chicken and mushroom soup.

[Steve988]

My wife and l live in Aberdeen NJ and love Thai food. While we liked Cafe de Thai, we LOVE Siam Smiles, the new Thai restaurant that replaced Cafe de Thai. This is some of the best tasting Thai food that we have ever eaten, and that includes several places that we have eaten at in Manhattan. We have eaten at Siam Smiles around 8-10 times so far, and we have never tried a dish that we didn't like! This includes the curries and the noodle dishes as well as the listed "entrees." Also note that portions are copious, service is friendly, and you can have brown rice instead of white rice if you want.

[Rogsmom]

My husband and I finally made it to Siam Smiles for dinner tonight. The food was absolutely delicious.

For appetizers we had the tofu tod and beef satay. We both enjoyed the appetizers especially the satay. I'm impressed the peanut sauce was so good, not sickeningly sweet like some Thai places that I went to in the city years ago. For the mains we had the pad thai and the crispy pork mildly spicy. Both dishes were excellent.

We will definitely be back again and try out the rest of the menu. I'm so glad there's a good Thai restaurant nearby.

[oldbridge1967]

Truly exceptional and authentic food. Not shy on spice and perfect sized portions. This family run establishment is a breath of fresh air for central NJ and proof that fresh ingredients are not imposible to find in central NJ restaurants

[junkliss]

My son and I ate their last night. We each had chicken hot and sour soup - quite good, crispy rice noodles with 3 small shrimp as an appetizer, I had the pad thai and my son had a whole snapper in curry sauce (head and all). Everything was good, not at all spicy. After tip and tax, the bill ws $50.00. I would go back, but I just don't understand why all Thai food has to be so expensive.