Lahn's Phad Thai
2 ratings since posting on Monday, March 12, 2007
Overall Rating   based on 2 ratings |
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We went to Lahn's Pad Thai for lunch today. It is in a small strip mall and the decor is, well, funky. The floors are painted black, the lower half of the walls are dark brown, and the upper half of the walls are dark red. In other words, it was very dark and felt not very clean because the dark surfaces show every bit of dirt. It has been open for six weeks. We started with two appetizers -- fresh rolls and grilled calamari, and were disappointed with both. We liked the shape of the fresh rolls - more like a cone than your standard, evenly-rolled fresh rolls -- and had pieces of greenery sticking out the end . They looked pretty. But they were bland. The shrimp in the rolls was watery and tasteless, and the rolls included cold tasteless chicken. They also didn't appear to include any herbs, which really improves the flavor of fresh rolls. The "grilled" calamari (pieces cut from large squid, not the small tubes) were not overcooked, but there was also no evidence that they had been anywhere near a grill. As a result, the dish consisted of very bland pieces of squid drizzled with standard, run of the mill, sweet chili sauce on a bed of shredded cabbage. I would not order again. Had we stopped our meal here, I would have rated it a 1 (poor). But we continued, and the entrees were tasty and flavorful and well worth eating. Drunken Noodles with Pork were made with thick, homemade, flat rice noodles, and was spicy and wonderful. The broccoli was perfectly cooked and a terrific complement to the spicy noodles and thin pieces of pork. The dish had lots of chilis and lots of Thai basil. I really enjoyed it. Shrimp with Sweet Basil Leaves (I think this was called Kra Pao -- something like that anyway) had many more vegetables than you normally see in this dish, which made it taste better than normal. It was very spicy and very good. We enjoyed it and would order it again. The total price for the above dishes (and rice), plus endlessly refilled glasses of iced tea (not Thai style) was $42. Would I go again? Maybe. But I wouldn't want to order the fresh rolls, and I love fresh rolls, so I'm maybe not. On the other hand, I did really like the entrees. I also agree with the other reviewer that the prices seemed higher than normal for Thai restaurants in Anchorage. - Antonia , posted 03/17/07 |
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Thom Kha(r) Gai, the coconut milk, cilantro, galanga, mushroom and chicken soup, is completely FAB-U-LOUS: balanced spiciness, sweet and savory. Little wonder why this item has been a favorite addiction of mine for years. Did I mention the Fresh Rolls? I'm not a fan of shrimp so they willingly subbed in tofu. Crisp vegetables paired with the fresh basil and a sweet chile dipping sauce (more vinegary than I've had in the past, but, I like vinegar so a total yum regardless) gave me a high for hours. My friend had the phad thai and with myself not a big phad thai fan, I was nicely pleased with the not-too-fish-sauced taste. It looked like a generous amount of chicken and shrimp in the dish as well. The owners are friendly and generous with their appreciation for patrons. Decor is somewhat chic without pretention: black, deep burgundy walls adorned with minimal obligatory Thai cultural paraphernalia. They deliver too. Bummer I live on the other side of town. Lucky for me, I work within a mile of Lahn's. And today sounds like a great day for some yellow curry. Or red curry. Or... What a great way to satiate my appetite for Thai since December when I met my friend Anna at our favorite Thai place in Seattle. The only drawback is most items seemed about a buck or two over-priced. But, I love Thai like an addict loves crack. Located next to Coffee Cats on Abbott, on the curve at about 90th Ave. -  Toots.
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posted 03/12/07
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Lahn's Phad Thai was recommended for:
- Tribe: Anchorage Foodies
