We were walking down W Broadway with no specific restaurant in mind when we walked past Bob Likes Thai Food. The small restaurant had a bar on one side and some booth seats on the other. When we asked our server, she said that Bob is just a name and not the name of their owner.

The pad thai came hot and had a good mix of rice noodles, prawns, tofu, peanuts, egg, bean sprouts and chives. The first few bites were delicious but the more I ate the more uncomfortable I felt. That was because the dish was too sour. The sauce was too flavourful and the sourness from a pickled vegetable in the pad thai was overpowering.

Pad thai ($13)

The masaman beef curry is made with coconut milk, tamarind broth, bay leaf, cinnamon, star anise, palm sugar, beef, potato and peanuts. The curry was very rich and aromatic without being too spicy. The beef was definitely overcooked and a bit tough to chew. The curry doesn't come with rice which you can order for an extra $2.

Masaman beef curry ($13)

We opted for the Thai iced tea with lime instead of with milk. It was cooling and refreshing but tasted very similar to sour plum juice. The taste is not for everyone so if you know you dislike sour plum juice then I'd suggest ordering the iced tea with milk instead.

Overall the flavouring of their food is quite strong but in general I had a good meal here though I'm not sure if I would return.

Upon recommendation we went to Thai Basil for dinner. If not told, I don't think I would have noticed this restaurant around the corner because it is very small (seats approximately 10-13 people inside). The tables inside were too small for our group of four so we sat outside on the sidewalk which was fine because it was a nice summer evening.

Thai Basil opened a second location on Cornwell, I wonder if that one is bigger? Anywho, onto the food!

Green Curry with Eggplants (choice of chicken, beef, tofu or pork): medium spiced green curry, eggplants, basil

This was a simple but colourful dish with the aromatic coconut milk made green curry and plenty of rice on the side.

Green Curry with Eggplants

Pad Gra Prow: minced meat, chili, garlic, holy basil

I was told that this is a popular dish among Thai teenagers because it is such a quick, easy and tasty meal. The minced pork is actually quite spicy with the peppers mixed in. There is fish oil on the side for more taste.

Pad Gra Pow

Pad See-Ew with beef: rice noodle wok fried with gai lan, sprouts, cabbage, carrots, egg

This dish actually tasted very Chinese-style to me with the rice noodles and gai lan but the sauce is sweeter than the typical Chinese savoury noodles.

Pad See-Ew

Pad Thai: Rice noodle wok fried with sprouts, egg, green onions, tofu, tiger prawns, crushed peanuts, cilantro
This dish was tangy (slightly sour) which made it appealing and not too filling despite all the carbs from the noodles. The tofu soaked up all the sauce and there was plenty of crushed peanuts on the side for the nut lovers.

Pad Thai

Fish cake: deep fried fish cakes mixed with curry paste, lime leaves, green bean, sweet chili sauce

While eating this I honestly couldn't tell which part was fish. The texture was like those pan fried squid cakes at the nightmarket. The fish cakes aren't spicy at all and are a pretty good starter to the meal.

Fish cake

Overall, Thai Basil is a great place for good and affordable Thai food but do not come with too many friends! Two to at most three people would be the perfect number to eat here.

Upon walking into Salad King, it gave me the first impression of being bright and fun. Almost all the tables were filled at lunch hour but we were seated promptly at a half booth seat.

Satay Chicken: Grilled chicken on skewer, peanut dipping sauce

The peanut dipping sauce didn't actually taste of peanuts that much (at least not the peanut butter strength) but tasted good. So we saved it to dip the shrimp even after we were done with the skewers which were quite juicy for being chicken breast.

Funny thing about the skewer I ate was that there was a toothpick holding the meat together in addition to the big skewer.

Satay Chicken

Veggie Phud Thai: Rice noodle, carrot, peanut, tofu, green onion, bean sprout, coriander, egg, fish sauce, tamarind sauce
The noodles were easy to digest because they were slightly sour so it didn't feel heavy or filling. We opted for the most mild spiciness level but for those who can eat spicy, it would probably taste even better.

Veggie Phud Thai

Breaded Shrimp Fried Rice: breaded shrimp, egg, pea, carrot, ketchup sauce
The fried shrimp reminded me of fried wonton when I first saw it. The pieces of breaded shrimp were hot and crunchy. The fried rice was slightly oily which is expected with all the oil used in this dish but quite tasty especially with the peanut sauce from the chicken satay.

Breaded shrimp fried rice

Overall, Salad King is a good place to eat Thai food if you're not looking for authenticity. The food was served quickly and there is a good variety on the menu.