Lady Thai

I visited Portland 1.5 months ago and this food stand caught my nose.
I was debating with my roommate on what we should order, and observed the portion sizes given to the patrons before us. Pad thai looked gigantic for the price (6 bucks I believe?). I decided to go with the Tom Yum Soup (love me some hot and sour) and my roommate got the Chicken Pad Thai.
The Pad Thai was okay and tasted like any other decent Thai place. The only win for this dish is the price.
The Tom Yum Soup however… AMAZING. LOVED IT. I loved it so much I got another order the next day.
It’s pretty darn spicy and has the right amount of tang. Mmm. So good.
The reason why I’m writing the review now is because my roommate went on a camping trip and was passing by Portland. He made the whole car take a detour to DT Portland so he could get 2 orders of their Tom Yum Soup :)
I’m eating it as I write this review. Best Tom Yum Soup I’ve had (from all the Thai places I’ve been in Seattle/​Bellevue and in Texas!)

$ 5 for about 5 pounds of Pad Thai. $ 3 vietnamese-​style subs. I try to find excuses to be in this part of the city just to visit this spot. Yum!

I have been to Lady Thai several times and get the Lemon Grass Chicken every time! It is wonderful. I have not been able to find Lemon Grass Chicken elsewhere that is as good as Lady Thai. The meal comes with a small salad that isn’t much but still adds to the meal. I like the meal is prepared fresh while you wait (as opposed to some other Thai carts that have the food sitting in warming trays). I would definitely take friends there for the Lemon Grass Chicken.

Ugh, I wish I had read some of the curry reviews before I hungrily ordered it today.
I have ordered the yellow curry before and it was pretty decent… good enough for a try at the red curry. Before, my curry came in a large round plastic container with a side box of rice.
This time, the nice lady who works there piled a bunch of rice into half of a styrofoam plate. Then, she poured a bit of the soupy part of the curry over half the rice and a shallow portion of the curry into the other side of the plate. The portion of curry was just sad. Then she sprinkled tofu, green peppers, and bamboo shoots over the curry.
I admit I don’t know how they do their Thai curry in Thailand but I like curry with my veges actually mixed in. And in a bowl… not a plate.
I’m never going back out of principle but if you’re into cheap decent pad thai I recommend that you try this place once. I do not recommend the curry.

Wow, this Pad Kee Mao really sucks. It’s mostly plain noodles lightly mixed with some veggies and spices.

This review is based on one visit. I have plenty of other Thai carts to visit before I consider a return to this one.
Thai Food and Street Cart together in a sentence makes my heart flutter. It makes my stomach hope for similar to the street carts on the streets of Bangkok.
The woman who was working the cart was very nice, but she was not Thai –neither was the Pad Thai that I ordered. Ordering «spicy» seems to indicate more Vietnamese chili sauce on the side, not the wonderful Thai chilies that should be there.
The quantity was good, but I’ve had better from mall food courts.
I had hopes for this one, being so close to my work. Looks like I’ll be getting my exercise when I feed my Thai cravings.

I’m sad. My dear Lady Thai has moved on to bigger better things (apparently some restaurant waaaay to far for me to patron). She’s left my beloved cart to the care and keeping of some friends who insist she still has her hands in the mix and continues makes the sauce for my Pad Kee Mao. However, the all important carrots, broccoli and basil (!!!) are missing… and when I say spicy, they don’t understand. Boo! I miss you Lady Thai!!! Come back to me! When having a bad day at work, you were always a quick cure…3 stars because the flavor really is the same…

Normally I would feel guilty & slightly dirty for cheating on my Thai food cart paramour but I feel strangely sated & dreamy. I really don’t think I’m a fickle filly but apparently I’m able to multitask, cuz variety is the curry, er, spice of life, right? On those rare sunny PDX days with cerulean skies nothing beats sitting outside eating al fresco unless you’re guzzling down a massive tureen of green curry with chicken, kabocha squash, bamboo shoots, eggplant, & basil but a measly $ 5.50. Tack on a can of soda for $ 1 to maintain those fluid levels. I’m still eating the leftovers despite enthusiastic help from the pooch & Capt Hook, they’re such givers I tells ya. Easily 2 – 3 times the amount you get elsewhere for the same price.
The sauce is a bit runny but still flavorful tho not as sweet as the green curry at the Thai cart that my heart resides at (read: Sawasdee). Love the addition of eggplants & kabocha squash (hint hint). Overall tho, the leftover category goes to Sawasdee as the thicker sauce is more flavorful as the meals go on into overtime. The rice here is also a little less fragrant than I’m used to for Thai food. Very friendly staff. No seating but just walk a couple blocks east & lounge along the waterfront park watching the clouds go by. Just make sure you keep an eye on those ravenous tourists tho cuz you’ll probably have to beat them off with a stick.
So the question is, do I need to bring chocolates & flowers the next time I stop by for a quickie with my Thai paramour?

i got some food from this cart years ago, and it was great.
i did not return since last year when i ordered my favorite vegan pad see you, which was not vegan, and it tasted a bitter. i later found out that they are not real thai, but vietnamese. i guess they don’t know thai food.

This is one of my favorite dining experiences from my trip to Portland. Seriously.
We had the crab roll (fake crab meat and cream cheese in a crispy egg roll) and the rice key mao (fried rice with egg, basil, peppers, onion) and they were both SO GOOD. It was my first time having the crab roll, which was surprisingly palatable. The fried rice was awesome and tasted extremely authentic!
If I lived in Portland I think I’d come here every day. No joke.

Surprisingly good Thai food from a trailer parked in a parking lot!