Chicago: Siam Noodle & Rice

Plan B turned out be Siam Noodle & Rice. My friend swears that this is the best Thai restaurant in Chicago. My roommate was a bit skeptical (she's a foodie from LA), but I had every faith in my friend. Or more accurately, I had every faith in my friend's boyfriend, who is Thai. According to my friend, Siam Noodle & Rice is his family's favorite Thai place and they've been going there ever since he was little:

I walked in and immediately knew that the food was going to be amazing:

My philosophy has always been that the best Asian food more often than not comes from the most unpretentious restaurants. No fancy tablecloths and fine china for me, oh no. I like my Asian restaurants unpolished, unrefined, and maybe slightly grungy. (Don't judge!)

We split a Thai iced tea between the three of us:

None of that package bright orange stuff here. There was a bit of a slightly fruity taste that threw me a little off guard, but other than that, it's legit.

We went more than a little crazy on the ordering. I blame my friend. She always wants to order half the menu.

For an appetizer, we got the steamed chive dumplings:



The house chili soy sauce was just amazing. Spicy, but with a tinge of sweetness. I think I drowned my poor dumpling in it.

Since all of us love basil and duck, what could be more appropriate than the basil duck?:

It really was a meal on its own. So flavorful and so much duck!

My friend recommended the nam tok:

Nam tok is essentially sliced boiled beef tossed with red onion, ground rice, mint leaves, ground dried chili, cilantro, and onion. There was a little wedge of steamed cabbage on the side, but I found it a bit tricky to wrap the beef in the tiny slivers of cabbage. Not gonna lie...it was SPICY. At least for me.

My favorite Thai soup is the tom kha kai (hot and sour soup with chicken, lemon grass, lime juice, mushroom, galanga, chili paste, coconut milk, and soy bean oil):

Coconut-y, but refreshingly sour. Unlike in many other Thai places, the chicken was not dry at all.

My friend also recommended the larb:

We were given a choice of meat and we went with the chicken. The ground chicken is prepared with a magical mix of red onion, ground dried chili, mint leaves, ground rice, green onion, and cilantro. My friend says the key to larb is the liver. It's not mentioned on the menu, but the addition of liver adds a bit of a game-y taste that sparks your attention but doesn't overpower the dish.

Every dish that came out was solid, good, authentic Thai food. Even my roommate was super impressed. Our meal was made all the more enjoyable but the most delightful server who joked with us and made us laugh. We all left feeling bloated but oh-so-satisfied.

Needless to say, we didn't get any studying done that night.

Siam Noodle & Rice

4654 N Sheridan Rd

Chicago, IL 60640

(773) 769-6694

http://siamnoodleandrice.com/