It's a cold evening. As you drive on Rosemead Boulevard, there is one restaurant that is very enticing. Sharp triangular roofs, and a beautiful logo pinpoints its location.
What is this place? President Thai, a place that has been featured in many different magazines and awards.
And the shocking and interesting details of the building are actually "original Thai architecture" according to their website. The exterior is full of details on the roof, walls, and decorations- it is certainly something very interesting.
An exterior wall of President Thai
The parking area, although small and narrow, fits plenty of spots. But remember to go early on weekends, where the parking lot gets cramped. You definitely do not want to deal with annoying parking situations in a narrow parking lot...
And as you enter the door, take notice of these beautiful elephants. There's one elephant on each side of the door; are they being guards to the restaurant? Maybe.
And as you enter the door, take notice of these beautiful elephants. There's one elephant on each side of the door; are they being guards to the restaurant? Maybe.
Enter the door, and you will notice even more Thai architecture. The interior, as you can see, is also decorated very nicely with lots of decorations, moldings, and fabrics. It's definitely a bit fancy looking compared to some restaurants in the area. In addition, there's also outdoor seating which also has heaters.
The outside view isn't bad either. There's a small garden area, the street, and a fountain to look at from the window.
And when you do get situated, take a notice of the plates. Yes...they are the same type of plates that seem to appear a lot in Thai restaurants (example: Thai Paradise). Very heavy...
But let's get talking about the food and service. Service here is definitely good- constant water fill ups, friendly staff, and more. Once, we got a dirty spoon here, and when we talked to the manager he gave us another spoon which was shiny and definitely new.
What are some starters available? Well, soup is always a good option. And above are the Tom Yum and the Tom Kah Soups. Tom Yum is flavorful- with all the tom yum flavors- spicy and refreshing. The Tom Kah on the other hand is creamy with a hint of coconut plus the tom yum flavors. Never had we had a bad experience with their soups. And the meats are pretty good too- never are they dry.
This is basically our most frequently ordered dish here at President Thai- the Pad Thai. (What a tounge twister) It is pretty much always consistent with good flavors and chewy rice noodles. After all, it has to be good anyway. Pasadena Star News made a article on this dish for this restaurant. It better be good?
Speaking of which- which of the 2 look the best tasting? The skilled eye will say the bottom one. That one did taste better- it was from a earlier visit from last year (the one on top is from this year). If you can see, the color of the noodles is a bit brown. And if you read about my Lotus of Siam experience, a brown colored Pad Thai is probably the best tasting one. In this case, it was. The more orange-y Pad Thai on top was not as flavorful and the noodles weren't as chewy. Slight fluctuations happens after all...
Their Thai Fried Rice isn't bad either. There are many ingredients like dried pork sung, pineapples, meat, cucumber, and vegetables. Good flavor too- and the fried rice is not dry but actually slightly moist.
The outside view isn't bad either. There's a small garden area, the street, and a fountain to look at from the window.
And when you do get situated, take a notice of the plates. Yes...they are the same type of plates that seem to appear a lot in Thai restaurants (example: Thai Paradise). Very heavy...
But let's get talking about the food and service. Service here is definitely good- constant water fill ups, friendly staff, and more. Once, we got a dirty spoon here, and when we talked to the manager he gave us another spoon which was shiny and definitely new.
Tom Yum Seafood (sorry about the yellowish lighting...)
Tom Kah Chicken Soup
What are some starters available? Well, soup is always a good option. And above are the Tom Yum and the Tom Kah Soups. Tom Yum is flavorful- with all the tom yum flavors- spicy and refreshing. The Tom Kah on the other hand is creamy with a hint of coconut plus the tom yum flavors. Never had we had a bad experience with their soups. And the meats are pretty good too- never are they dry.
This is basically our most frequently ordered dish here at President Thai- the Pad Thai. (What a tounge twister) It is pretty much always consistent with good flavors and chewy rice noodles. After all, it has to be good anyway. Pasadena Star News made a article on this dish for this restaurant. It better be good?
Speaking of which- which of the 2 look the best tasting? The skilled eye will say the bottom one. That one did taste better- it was from a earlier visit from last year (the one on top is from this year). If you can see, the color of the noodles is a bit brown. And if you read about my Lotus of Siam experience, a brown colored Pad Thai is probably the best tasting one. In this case, it was. The more orange-y Pad Thai on top was not as flavorful and the noodles weren't as chewy. Slight fluctuations happens after all...
Their Thai Fried Rice isn't bad either. There are many ingredients like dried pork sung, pineapples, meat, cucumber, and vegetables. Good flavor too- and the fried rice is not dry but actually slightly moist.
Green curry here for dinner comes in a big pot, chockful of veggies, meat, and the curry sauce. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with rice. And in our opinion, we like Sampan Thai Cuisine's green curry better- but this version is pretty good too. Way better compared to another restaurant in Pasadena called City Thai.
But what about some other dishes that are not putting noodles, soups, or curries in the limelight? Well, this spicy chicken tofu had ground chicken with a slightly spicy sauce with basil. The tofu was fried and had a crispy outside and soft interior.
Their Ong-Choy is cooked very well too. Lightly crisp and slightly spicy, it's a good veggie dish to accompany the meal.
As for dessert, we have had their ice cream before. They are very smart with it- since it's served in a sundae like cup, they first fill it with ice cream to the top of the cup. And when you ask for the ice cream, they then put a scoop of ice cream on top to top everything up. This means that you can be able to get two flavors at once. We have had their green tea ice cream and their coconut ice cream before and both are fantastic. The green tea has a good intense green tea flavor and the coconut is rich and has pieces of coconut in it, just like in Lotus of Siam!
Overall, a great place. And it's a relatively good deal too- there are coupons in local magazines, and they also have a lunch special which is a very good deal.
President Thai
Their Ong-Choy is cooked very well too. Lightly crisp and slightly spicy, it's a good veggie dish to accompany the meal.
As for dessert, we have had their ice cream before. They are very smart with it- since it's served in a sundae like cup, they first fill it with ice cream to the top of the cup. And when you ask for the ice cream, they then put a scoop of ice cream on top to top everything up. This means that you can be able to get two flavors at once. We have had their green tea ice cream and their coconut ice cream before and both are fantastic. The green tea has a good intense green tea flavor and the coconut is rich and has pieces of coconut in it, just like in Lotus of Siam!
Overall, a great place. And it's a relatively good deal too- there are coupons in local magazines, and they also have a lunch special which is a very good deal.
President Thai
498 S Rosemead Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91107
Tel: 626-578-9814
Pasadena, CA 91107
Tel: 626-578-9814
Comments
Ooo... I wonder what the chocolate elephant's filling would be! :)
Just wait till the next Thai restaurant! We had bamboo and fishcake fried together. Mmm. Plus a sticky rice coconut dessert soup that is always so tasty. :)
The inside is nice I have to agree- it's actually a bit darker at night and a bit more yellow than what the photo shows (I edited the photo...). The only other restaurant that could compare to it would be the Thai Paradise near Ocean Star and Superco.
Well, there are also other great choices too for Thai food nearby San Gabriel. We like Thai Paradise and Sampan Thai Cuisine and both are fairly good. Sampan I have written about; Thai Paradise is on my to do list :).