My wife and I ventured from our neighborhood in Valley Ranch to the great white north of Allen to try some authentic Thai cuisine Saturday night. Let me tell you boys and girls; it was worth the journey.\r
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We started by ordering spring rolls. There were two rolls that came with a sweet and sour sauce. The sauce was fantastic. Where you would typically see a gelatinous red sauce at other resturants, it seems that Thai Cafe's sauces are made from scratch. The rolls were very crispy and not oily at all. The vegetables were very fresh and crunchy. With our rolls came a ""chip"" that, when asked, we were told that it was the equivalent of getting tortilla chips at Mexican food resturants. The chips were light and crunchy with just a hint of spice. We were told that they were made of shrimp.\r
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I wanted to have a small salad, so I ordered a side salad with peanut sauce. This dish was a pleasent supprise and helped prepare my pallette for the spicy food which I would soon ingest. The peanut sauce was placed on top of the salad which I prefered in lieu of mixing it into the salad during preperation. The diner would be allowed to mix the sauce as they pleased. It had just a hint of spice that seemed odd for a salad, but was actually very good.\r
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My wife ordered the Pad Thai with chicken while I ordered, what I was told was a Thai signature dish, the Thai Cafe Ground Chicken with Basil. I will start by saying that there is an ample amount of food. The proprietor of the resturant was concerened because there was still so much food on her plate. I assured him that it was because she weighs only 105 pounds and not because she did not enjoy it (we were able to share the leftovers for lunch Sunday). The pad thai was very good. The noodles were fresh and the chicken was well prepared. You can really tell that the sauce was prepared fresh. The peanuts tasted like they were ground that morning, because you can still taste the natural oils from the nut. It was not dry at all. The chicken with basil dish was phenomenal. I ordered the dish with medium spice (at the recommendation of my waiter) which was perfect. The herbs and spices in the dish were very clean and fresh. They tasted like they were picked out of a garden just before they were cooked. The aroma from the dish when it was presented to me caused me to eat the whole plate. The vegetables in the dish were fresh and crunchy. Each dish was served with a white rice. It helped cool down the spice and soak up the sauce.\r
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We ended the meal with an order of fried ice cream. The ice cream was breaded in a sweet breading and fried quickly and drizzeled with a chocolate sauce and a side of whipped cream. AWESOME!\r
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The price was very reasonable. We spent $35.00 for the two of us to eat. I know they deliver, but I don' think that I can get them to make the trip to Valley Ranch. We will be going back for sure to try other items on the menu. We have found an authentic Thai resturant that we will frequent.
Pros: Excellent food and friendly service.
Cons: Distance from my house.
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