Thipsamai - Best Pad Thai in Bangkok, Legendary and Famous Worldwide
This was my first time at Thipsamai and I was very very very excited
The other day I went on an excursion to Wat Saket, the Golden Mount Temple, on the way I decided to stop for lunch at Thipsamai, the most famous and oldest Pad Thai restaurant in Bangkok (and all of Thailand).
No doubt you’ve heard of Pad Thai before, it’s the most famous Thai dish outside of Thailand as well as being the country’s national dish. Go to any western Thai restaurant and Pad Thai will be front and center on the menu.
While many people outside of Thailand swear by Pad Thai, I don’t like it.
But I was open minded and eager to try Thipsamai due to its legendary status for having the supposed “best Pad Thai” in Thailand. I was actually looking forward to eating Pad Thai, could you believe it?
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Pad Thai Thipsamai Pratu Phi
Who would’ve thought that this high end restaurant started off as a humble outdoor street food stall?
Thipsamai started off as a humble street food stall in the late 1960s but has since expanded to an elaborate restaurant with multiple branches throughout Bangkok like in ICONSIAM and Siam Paragon.
The restaurant that I’ve visited is Thipsamai Pratu Phi, the original branch.
Fun fact: the legendary one Michelin star street food stall Raan Jay Fai is located literally right next door, it’s so cool that the 2 most famous street food restaurants in Bangkok are right next to each other.
The interior is very vintage and also quite cramp
When you enter Thipsamai you’ll immediately be greeted to a display of cooking mastery, the kitchen and staff are on full, only separated by a pane of glass. You’ll be able to admire the pure skill and craftsmanship of the chefs as you are led to your table deeper into the restaurant.
There are some seats in the front area but those are always reserved, no doubt they are special seats meant for food important guests and food critics.
You’ll also notice that the walls of Thipsamai are decorated with numerous awards alluding to their legendary status as the best Pad Thai in Bangkok.
Thipsamai’s Secret Weapon: Shrimp Oil
The incredibly talented chefs at Thipsamai hard at work to make you the best Pad Thai in Thailand
The secret behind Thipsamai’s legendary Pad Thai? They stir fry their bouncy and chewy rice noodles with Shrimp Oil. This genius addition gives the Pad Thai a subtle sweetness and extra addition of umami.
More specifically, the shrimp oil is made from the head butter of the shrimp, also known tomalley which, if you are a big foodie, you’ll know that it’s the most prized part of a shrimp, lobster, or crab.
Thipsami Menu
Simple yet focused, Thipsamai has mastered the Pad Thai
Thipsamai’s menu is small yet concise, the only dish you’ll find are different varieties of Pad Thai:
Vegetarian Pad Thai
Pad Thai with Shrimp Oil, Grilled Prawns, and Egg
Signature Pad Thai Song Krueng (with all the works)
The recommended dish at Thipsamai is the original Pad Thai with Shrimp Oil and Grilled Prawns all wrapped in an Egg.
The drinks are all what you would expect, water, orange juice, and coconut water, etc… Typical tropical Thai flair.
Thipsamai also has their own brand of Ice Cream that they recently released, unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of it but they have the standard flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and Thai Milk Tea.
Thipsamai Pricing
Thipsamai’s Pad Thai is quite pricy, coming in at 150 THB for the most popular Pad Thai, the one wrapped in egg. Usually street food Pad Thai will be around 70 THB, but I can forgive Thipsamai because I’m getting a taste of the most famous Pad Thai in Bangkok, so I guess it’s worth it.
What I cannot agree with is the exorbitant pricing for the 500 THB Special Pad Thai Song Kreung and don’t even get me started on the 700 THB Pad Thai with slightly larger prawns.
Stupidly overpriced. Almost as insane as Raan Jay Fai’s 1000 1400 THB crab omelette…
Egg Wrapped Pad Thai with Grilled Prawns
The shrimps were pretty small not gonna lie
You already know I gotta go with the original, most popular item on Thipsamai’s menu.
The original Pad Thai with Shrimp Oil, Grilled Prawns, all wrapped in a thin layer of scrambled egg.
First off, I just want to say the service at Thipsamai is impeccable, everyone was so friendly and attentive, easily the best hospitality in Bangkok, so good in fact, that they literally won an award for best restaurant hospitality.
Anyways, onto the actual Pad Thai itself, the presentation is stunning, I especially love the little slices of red bell pepper on top to give it some color.
Pad Thai usually comes with crushed peanuts, but if you have allergies don’t worry because the peanuts are optional, a waiter will come to you after your Pad Thai has been served to ask if you would like peanuts.
You know me, I gotta get the full experience, so I went ahead with the crushed peanuts.
Have you ever had a banana blossom before? It’s very nutty and a bit chalky
Pad Thai also comes with some side vegetables like bean sprouts, green onion, and banana blossom.
The way to eat these vegetables is you can bean sprouts to your Pad Thai to give it an extra refreshing crunch.
The green onion and banana blossoms are eaten separately alongside your Pad Thai. So you’ll take a bite of your shrimp oil infused Pad Thai, and then take a bite of green onion or banana blossom.
Bright neon orange from all the shrimp oil
Your plate of Pad Thai might look pretty plain, and to be honest that’s what I thought as well, but as you break open the egg wrapper you’ll be revealed to a bed of bright orange bouncy and chewy rice noodles coated in that sweet umami shrimp oil.
Underneath the noodles are the other ingredients of the Pad Thai like the salty died shrimp and soft pieces of tofu.
The Pad Thai was mild and actually quite balanced in flavor. You can tell straight away that the prominent taste is the little hint of sweetness from the shrimp oil.
I prefer my foods to be bold and punchy, luckily Thipsamai has extra condiments, I added quite a bit of crushed dry red chili flakes along with some lime juice to brighten up the flavors to suit my personal tastes.
Wake-y wake-y, now say ahhhhhhhh
Thipsamai’s Pad Thai really comes to life when you mix all the ingredients together along with your extra seasonings.
Despite being coated in buttery shrimp oils, this plate of Pad Thai actually felt quite clean and healthy to eat, usually after eating Pad Thai I would feel very guilty from eating all the carbs ands fatty oils, but Thipsamai’s is ok.
The egg wrapper is a great addition that added another bit of protein and it makes for a satisfyingly complete feeling meal.
Oh I almost forgot about the grilled prawns! The prawns didn’t really taste like much… It was fresh, and tender, but it was quite bland…
Conclusion
Pros
Extremely friendly and attentive staff, best in the business
The Pad Thai was tasty and filling, although a bit sweet, the shrimp oil is what elevates the dish
Everything was cooked perfectly with the freshest ingredients possible
Cons
Service was quite slow, when I was there the restaurant wasn’t that busy, there were no queues but the food took a bit of time to come out
Price is too high for some dishes, 150 THB is ok but 700 THB??? No way.
Overall I recommend you try Thipsamai, they’re known as the best Pad Thai in Bangkok and for good reason. While Thipsamai isn’t the best Pad Thai I’ve ever had, it still is a really good contender for that title. I especially admire their quality and dedication to good service.
The only downside is the price, while the most popular Pad Thai dish is priced ok, there is no way that you can convince me that slightly larger grilled prawns are worth almost x5 the price.
Thipsamai Pratu Phi | 8 / 10
Phone: +66 2 226 6666
Location: 313 315 Maha Chai Rd, Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200
Opening Hours: 9:00AM - 12:00AM | Mon - Sun (Closed Tuesdays)
Pricing: 150 THB | $$
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