Thai | Arizona Reviews

Little Thai Kitchen in Flagstaff

We were in Flagstaff recently looking for a place to eat. After seeing various Thai restaurants while walking around downtown Flagstaff we decided we absolutely must try some of the local Thai restaurants.

We decided to begin our tour of local Thai restaurants by sampling Little Thai Kitchen.

As the name suggests,this place is little. I think I only saw about 10 tables, but there were seats available as soon as we arrived.

We ordered pretty much what we order every time we eat Thai food: The red curry with chicken, and the Pad Thai with chicken.

While both entrees were flavorful, they were smaller than what is served at other restaurants in the area. It actually seemed like a lunch sized serving, but we were there for dinner.

The red curry was certainly flavorful, and it came with white rice on the side. I’d give it a B rating. Iv’e tried red curries at dozens of restaurants and nothing really stood out here.

The Pad Thai had an interesting sweetness to it. Almost as if it had been rolled in sugar during cooking. Some places make Pad Thai that way. It’s not my favorite, but I can’t discount them for doing what others do.

Overall, we were satisfied and left happy. Sure, I’d have been happy with a larger portion, but it was also 9 pm and I was glad they had stayed open late.

Getting there

Little Thai Kitchen
1051 S Milton Rd
# D
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Phone: (928) 226-9422

Thai House: The curry’s & my favorite dishes

Thai House just might be the best thai food in Scottsdale. All of the curry dishes at Thai House are served with white rice, and include either chicken, beef, tofu, shrimp, salmon, or duck. Lots of options! The dishes can be ordered on a heatness scale of 1 through 5, with 5 being the hottest. Oh, and just a note: You can ask for multiple meats to be included in each dish (may be an extra charge).

I have photos of most of the dishes here, and will update this post with additional photos as I take them.

As of this writing, I have checked in to Thai House 70 times on the Swarm app. No kidding. I’m probably their number 1 customer when it comes to frequency.

Massaman Curry

This curry dish has a distinct peanut taste. Let me clarify that: if you like peanut butter, you’ll love this dish! The curries at Thai House have two distinct ingredients, and in this one they have potatoes, and fresh vegetables. The Massaman Curry is one of the milder curries, because of the sweetness provided by the peanut butter. It is served over white rice and the peanut butter will really blow you away.

Panang Curry

Perhaps the most popular of the Thai curry dishes, the Panang Curry is sweeter than the others because brown sugar is used to create the curry. This is one of my favorite foods and Thai House is my favorite place to order Panang Curry in Arizona. It’s absolutely perfectly created, and has tons of flavor. If you’re new to Thai curries I recommend starting here. What makes a Panang Curry so popular and delicious is the use of brown sugar to create the base. This, along with fresh curry and chicken and vegetables creates one of the worlds greatest comfort foods.

Red Curry

The Red Curry dish has become my favorite Thai curry dish. If you like a Panang Curry, then you will definitely want to try a Red Curry. If you’re looking for a little bit less sweet curry, that has a little bit more spice, go with the red curry! It is served with the same ingredients as the Panang Curry, and doesn’t have potatoes. The red curry has such a delicious and refined flavor. Surely one of the best curry dishes. Like all of the curry dishes, it is served with white rice and your choice of chicken, beef, shrimp, salmon, or tofu. Also, it’s worth mentioning that the “red” doesn’t mean it’s spicy. You can order this dish with no heat. I like to order mine with a “three” (out of five) on the heat scale. Nice and spicy, but still consumable. The dinner portion comes with enough for almost two-meals.

Green Curry

The green curry is a milder curry with excellent flavors. The green curry has a base of vegetables with potatoes and brings out the curry flavors that aren’t as sweet as the red curries.

Pinapple Curry with Shrimp

Uses the red curry as a base and adds in delicious shrimp. The pineapple adds a sweeter flavor to this dish. If you like the Panang or Red Curry, you’ll also enjoy this one.

Other favorite dishes:

Pad Thai

We’ve tried all kinds of other dishes at Thai House, including the traditional Pad Thai. Easily one of my favorite pasta dishes in the state. The Thai House Pad Thai is served with crushed peanuts, lots of noodles, and your choice of meat. The flavors are spicy and if your comfort food is Pad Thai, this one will satisfy.

Pineapple Fried Rice

One other dish we often order is the Pineapple Fried Rice. It’s absolutely awesome, and can be ordered with no spice, or hot — your choice. This one is served with pineapple’s, cashews, rice, and yellow spices (not hot). Definitely one of the best side dishes that you can order. Can be ordered with no heat, or up to 5 on the scale.

Pan Fried Noodles

A personal favorite and our recommendation if you want a noodle dish. The pan fried noodles are absolutely a winner every time and the way it is fried in the pan creates awesome flavors. Can be ordered with chicken, beef, or any of the other meat options.

Teriyaki Chicken

One of the milder teriyaki chickens I have tried, but more authentic. While some teriyaki dishes have an extremely strong flavor this one doesn’t overpower the natural taste of the chicken. Served with white rice and broccoli and carrots.

Getting there

Go check out Thai House! They have two locations in Scottsdale, and one in Mesa. I’ve been going to the location on Shea most of the time.

Thai House On Shea
6949 East Shea Boulevard
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Phone: (480) 991-5004

Thai House
15576 N Pima Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85260-1915
Phone: (480) 607-2214

Superstition Marketplace
1155 South Power Road #121
Mesa, AZ 85206
Phone: (480) 924-1623

Thai Basil at Paradise Valley Mall

While working on a rush project for a client, we decided to pause and break to order some dinner. We decided to order take-out from the new Thai Basil at Paradise Valley Mall.

The Thai Basil at the mall is located on the south entrance, next to the Starbucks.

Thai Basil is one of the better-known Thai restaurants in the Phoenix area, and has numerous locations around the valley. Thai Basil is considered by many of my friends to be the best Thai food in the state.

We ordered the following: A red curry with chicken, a pineapple Thai fried rice, and a drunken noodles with chicken dish. They were all really fantastic!

Above: Red Curry with Chicken

If I could find one way to describe the food, it would be that it tasted more authentic than other nearby Thai restaurants. Maybe because the red curry was less sweet than others I’ve tried. It has a real Thai curry taste and I think it had less brown sugar than I’m used to which explains the flavor difference.

Above: Drunken Noodles

The other nice plus was that the drunken noodles were served with fresh vegetables on the side. Something that other Thai restaurants don’t offer as part of the entree. We really liked the drunken noodles. Big noodles mixed with fresh vegetables, soy sauce, and chicken and spices. Delightful!

We really are beginning to love the pineapple fried rice. We’ve been ordering that from every place we go lately. What a great dish! If you have a hankering for a fried rice, give it a try!

Above: Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken

Thai Basil has a really beautiful interior. They have awesome blue and purple mood lighting that makes the restaurant look futuristic. They also have a bar where you can eat if you are by yourself (that’s where I sat while waiting for the food to be ready).

Enjoy your visit to Thai Basil!

Getting there

Located inside Paradise Valley Mall, on the south side in the middle by the Starbucks. You can park and enter the restaurant without entering the mall.

Paradise Valley Mall
4550 E. Cactus Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85032
Phone: (602) 788-0899

Thai Elephant

I had a chance to stop in at Thai Elephant on Monday for a business lunch.

I ordered the Red Curry, and my colleague ordered the Panang Curry.

My red curry was delicious! While there are lots of great red curies around the valley, this was certainly one of the best. They have a lunch special, and the two of us got out of there for about $24 including a tip.

The lunch special includes a small eggroll, white rice, and the curry dish. They also provided us with a sweet soup that was awesome. A nice touch that many local Thai restaurants don’t provide.

They accept all major credit cards.

The Thai Elephant interior is nice and comfortable, and decorated sparsly. It’s a popular place for business lunches in the Tempe area.

Getting there

Located on University Rd. on the south side of the street.

Thai Elephant
815 W University Dr
#108
Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: (480) 966-0351

Thai House

I am now ready to crown Thai House as the best Thai food restaurant in the valley. I’ve been to most of the cool places around town, and I keep coming back to Thai House. We tend to visit the location on Shea Blvd., however we’ve also visited the location near the 101.

We go to Thai House frequently and our typical order lately has been the following:

Panang Curry with Chicken
Pan Fried Noodles with Chicken

If we’re really hungry, we’ll order a couple of appetizers, like the chicken or peanut sauce.

Thai House has a 4 star review with more than 100 reviews on Yelp. The staff are absolutely the most friendly people. We’re definitely “regulars” because they recognize us, and know what we normally order.

I’ll include some photos of these dishes here, as well as the peanut sauce which is absolutely delicious. It’s a tad bit spicy.

I’ll be doing some additional reviews as time goes by, as I’m working to review literally every item on the menu. I can heartily recommend every single curry dish, as I’ve tried them all.

Thai House On Shea
6949 East Shea Boulevard
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Phone: (480) 991-5004

Thai House
15576 N Pima Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85260-1915
Phone: (480) 607-2214

Superstition Marketplace
1155 South Power Road #121
Mesa, AZ 85206
Phone: (480) 924-1623