By BlueZero
09 Sep 2012 18:10
So you have the burning desire for tasty Thai food but don't want to pay restaurant level prices. I suggest you try out Thai and Chinese Express like I did and see if it can hit your Thai cravings at a very reasonable price:
Background:
After an earlier restaurant mixup where I told my friends a Taiwanese restaurant was a Thai restaurant, we all had a huge craving for Thai food. One of my friends found Thai and Chinese Express and we just couldn’t align our schedules to go as a group. So I decided to check it out and report back on if it passed the test.
Ambiance:
Thai and Chinese Express is located in a food court, in Irvine. So take all your preconceptions about food court layouts and then throw them into a small strip mall in downtown Irvine. I knew this going in, just don't be fooled into thinking it is a sit-down restaurant with waiters and you will be all right. Also so you know, the food court is not open Sundays and closes at 5pm Saturdays and 8PM weekdays.
The food court is probably one of the nicer ones though it was very empty when I went on a Saturday since not many people work on the weekend. There were a few couples and dinners eating alone. Thai and Chinese Express is one of the food stalls available in the food court. On Saturday, most of the other places were closed. They had a LCD TV that was playing Seinfeld, so the ambiance was good, for a food court.
Food and Service
I had read other Yelp reviews that had said the pad thai was restaurant quality and delicious. I of course ordered a chicken pad thai with a "spicy" level when asked about spice. I told the woman I would like to eat it here but have it in a togo box. She said they put the food in the styrofoam container by default, so that made me happy. The menu price for chicken pad thai is $6.50 so the final bill came out to $7.01. $7 is a really good price for pad thai.
Service was good and I got my food about ten to fifteen minutes later showing they actually cook their food to order. The woman taking my order was nice enough to bring my tray over, so this is really good service for a food court.
Chicken Pad Thai
I opened the white styrofoam container that read "Have a Nice Day!" and took in the large portion of noodles. My initial though was I probably wouldn't be hungry enough to finish it. Oh how I was wrong!
The pad thai quality was excellent for a food court and better than most restaurants. For once there was an excellent balance of leeks, other places love to go leek crazy. I also appreciate them holding restraint on the number of bean sprouts.They were smart to put the crushed peanuts to one side so I could decide the level of nuttiness of individual bites. The chicken quality was passable where I felt like they are usually used in their Chinese soups rather than as a main dish entree. The noodles were the hero of the dish and were light, cooked well enough to be separated and had just the right level of sauce.
As I was reaching the point where it wouldn't make sense to take it home, I was getting quite full. As the only full meal I had that day after exercising earlier in the morning, the chicken pad thai hit the spot and filled me up well.
Conclusion
I'll add Thai and Chinese Express to my list of places I'd be willing to go to on a weekly or monthly frequency. My friends will be glad to hear there is another good Thai place in Irvine to check out and the next time I go, I'll try out the chicken pad-see-ew. You really can't go wrong with restaurant quality food at from a food court for around $7.