-Grubbing in Chicago
Thai Food in the South Loop Via NYC
Chicago's Thai food scene has always been pretty good but it’s not quite on the same level as LA and NYC. It’ll likely never reach the formers level as Los Angeles is home to the world’s largest Thai community outside of Thailand. The city’s ‘Thai Town’ neighborhood is the main point of entry for the more than 100,000 people from Thailand that now call Southern California home and more than half live in or near the neighborhood. In the case of the ladder, the Queens area is home to the country’s second largest Thai enclave. The other factor is quality of ingredients - like produce - available on the coasts compared to here in Chicago where it’s just not as good or in some cases just not available. That said the recent Michigan Ave opening of a well known Thai restaurant from NYC is trending.
Siam Thai Eatery was established in 2022 in Flushing Queens where they first debuted their “home-style Thai dining with traditional flavors infused with fresh ingredients.” They became popular and opened a second location in Staten Island and now a third location in Chicago on Michigan Avenue in the city’s South Loop neighborhood. A note on their Instagram page states they’re also opening locations in Houston and LA. The South Loop outlet opened in March and it’s been crazy busy ever since. Clearly the area, which has become a bit of an extension of the city’s Chinatown neighborhood, needed a good Thai joint. It’s not all that big inside so I would recommend getting reservations if you plan to go during peak eating hours but they're open for both lunch and dinner. It’s byob for now but they have plans to offer a full liquor menu with cocktails and all once they get their booze license.
I’ve visited Siam Thai Eatery twice now and we didn’t hold back with the ordering on either visit. Both visits came on a Monday night and on each time the place was busy with people waiting for tables. It’s a lively restaurant so don’t come here expecting a quiet night. The menu has a collection of Thai classics many of which they put their own little spin on. I was excited to see they have stir fried Morning Glory listed but so I was told they’ve had a tough time procuring water spinach so it hasn’t been available on either visit. My first impression of Siam Thai Eatery’s food was a good one as me and Steve Dolinsky started with a Spicy Pomelo Crab Salad that hit all the high notes of a classic Thai dish - it was sweet, it was spicy, and it had a nice funk to it. Pomelos are a large, round citrus fruit with a yellow/green/pink flesh and lots of spongy pith. They’re less bitter than grapefruit and have a firmer texture and are peeled when put to use in a salad such as this. I've never had this dish elsewhere.
Two visits in it feels like the crab dishes are a strength of this place. When I visited with Steve we ordered the ‘creamy crab curry’ but it never came out in the onslaught of dishes we tried and that was fine as we were both stuffed by the time we realized it never came. I had the same waitress each time and the service was more than fine but they’re new and they’ve been busy from the jump so that's not to come without mistakes being made. I was able to try the crab curry on a recent return visit when me and Erica joined our favorite drinking couple - my wonderful aunt and uncle - for a lovely dinner which included champagne, Chablis and some white burgundy (all from France of course). The crab curry was the first dish to come out and we all enjoyed the creamy house curry mixed with eggs, cream, scallions, celery and lots of luscious lump crab meat. It comes served alongside a small flatbread roti cut into four individual pieces. Our only complaint was it wasn’t served all that hot as it came out lukewarm. Also it would've been nice to get some rice with this dish to soak up the liquid.
We had one other problem with a stir fried clam dish that two people at our table got an alkaline taste from so we sent that back only to have the manager come back and tell us he ate one and they were fine but he was going to remove them from the bill. He didn’t have to act all high and upitty about it but he did the right thing removing them from the bill as those that had the bad ones knew something wasn’t right about them. An order of the chicken satay wasn’t all that great either but I was kind of expecting that to be the case as that's more of a specialist type dish best ate at a spot that specializes in it and sells a ton. I appreciated the use of dark meat but it was overcooked and didn't taste fresh. As far as the apps go we had much better luck with the grilled pork jowl which is a dish I always like to try at Thai restaurants. Fatty but well rendered pieces of pork neck are sliced and served alongside a lip licking Isan style hot sauce. I suggest adding a rice to this one and eating it all together. The Money Bag Dumplings were such a hit on both visits that I’ve added them to my best dumplings in the city list. This Chinese finger food favorite is usually served during Lunar New Year to signify prosperous times head. These delicious morsels of fun are filled with a savory pork mixture and encased in a wonton wrapper before being fried until golden and crispy. These dumplings are different from traditional wontons by the piece of chive carefully wrapped around the end of each dumpling. The ones at Siam Thai Eatery burst with flavor and come served with a sweet plum sauce.
We’ve tried at least one of the Thai noodle dishes on each of my visits and both the pad Thai and the Pad Khe Mao were good. I never get Pad Thai as it’s typically too sweet in the States but I’ve tried versions from places catering to a mostly Thai clientele and they’re always much better. The Pad Thai in Thailand was pretty damn good and the version served at Siam is much closer to that than the typical Americanized style. The chili powder served on the side is super spicy so use it sparingly. The Pad Khe Mao is also a really good rendition of the spicy stir fried flat noodle dish I consider to be somewhat of a comfort food. The use of long hot peppers gave this version a really nice spice profile.
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Getting back to my initial visit with Steve Dolinsky we both enjoyed the duck red curry which comes served with a crispy half duck in a stimulating Thai style red curry mixed with tomatoes, lychee, pineapple, coconut milk and basil. The duck was chopped up like a jerk chicken which I love as it allowed the curry to seep into every nook and cranny of the carcass. Duck curry isn’t a dish I get often but this was one of the best I’ve tried. Speaking of curries both me and Steve have an affinity for Khao Soi which has become one of the signature dishes of Northern Thailand. Khao Soi is a coconut milk-based noodle soup made with wheat-based egg noodles in a coconut milk curry broth and the bowl is topped with crispy deep fried noodles too. It's typically made with chicken but beef is also common. I pretty much always enjoy this dish and the version here was no different but I wouldn’t quite place it among my favorites in town. We got it with chicken so it came with a very traditional chicken leg but I think I prefer my Khao Soi with beef which is a short rib at Siam Thai. I would however add the Pad Kra Pao to my list among the best versions in town. Siam serves a minced pork version which is really well made in terms of texture and taste and it has good spice too thanks to a bunch of chopped up Thai peppers. My only complaint is it doesn’t come with a fried egg nor is there an option to add one.
Khao Soi
Finishing up with my most recent visit with the wife and my aunt and uncle where we finished with the crab fried rice. We all liked this one which came with well fried rice and the crab was nice and fresh too. I liked how they put an omelet on top of the mound of rice and the spicy fish sauce included with the dish took it up a notch. Two visits in and I've liked eight of ten dishes I’ve tried and that’s more than enough to go back and further explore the menu. It’s just one spot but the opening of Siam Thai Eatery could be the beginning of the city’s next step up in terms of the local Thai food scene.
Siam Thai Eatery
1329 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 763-6193
Website
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