When people ask me what my favorite Thai restaurant in Seattle is, I don't think I can name just one. Mostly because each of my favorite Thai dishes comes from a different restaurant. In my search to discover the next best Thai dish last week, my friend Selina and I revisited Jai Thai in Fremont. What I like about Jai Thai is that it's one of the few restaurants in Seattle that stays open till midnight. This may not seem like a big deal to the average New Yorker, but here in Seattle, if you get off work past 10pm, you would be hard pressed to find a decent restaurant without having to take a road trip across town. With an authentic Thai friend on board who grew up with a family owned Thai restaurant, we were sure to land on something spectacular.
Selina suggested the Phad See Ew, which literally translates to "Fried with Soy Sauce." I generally hesitate to order this noodle dish because I feel the noodles can be overcooked and bland, none of which was the case here. When it arrived, our eyes lit up and we knew this one would be a hit. Without even tasting it, the chicken looked tenderly marinated in a black sweet soy sauce, the broad rice noodles were thick and firm, the large pieces of chinese broccoli looked like they had just been chopped down, while the egg appeared to hold everything together.
After the first bite, I knew it would be hard to ever find a Phad See Ew that matched the love and care put into this one. The Chinese broccoli, known as Kai-lan in chinese, opened my world to a delightful new leaf vegetable. So crispy, fibrous and delicious, the Chinese broccoli was the highlight of the dish. To complement the crunchy vegetable, the wide rice noodles had been saturated in a satiating Thai sauce. Almost certainly, the eggs had acted like a glue, helping to retain the flavors along the walls of the noodles, which filed my mouth with every bite. A healthy serving of chicken had sponged up the sauce and added another dimension to the vegetables and noodles. If you're in the mood for a crisp noodle dish, I highly recommend getting the Phad See Ew at Jai Thai.
One of my favorite thai dishes.
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