{Review} Thai Basil (Richmond Hill location)

Website: http://thaibasil.ca/
Address:  1070 Major Mackenzie Dr. E Unit F103, Richmond Hill ON
When I visited: June 2014, dinner, 8 adults
Rating: $$, 3.5

I was recommended by my Laotian friend to try out Thai Basil as he mentioned the dishes were authentic and that some of the dishes were comparable to what he ate in Thailand. I cannot comment on the authenticity of the dishes but know what I like. To my surprise, although the hostess and servers were Thai, the owners were Chinese.

With their original location in downtown Toronto, we were happy that we were able to try the second location without making the trek downtown. The décor was nice, clean and had a zen-like feel with a waterfall Buddha statue at the front of the restaurant.

We ordered a variety of dishes and drinks to get a feel for their menu during the family celebration and would recommend the following (starting from top left in the picture):

• Pomelo salad-This was the first time I have seen it at a Thai restaurant. It was simple and a great start to the meal.
• Lettuce wrap salad- Great seasoning on the beef.
• Thai BBQ pork
• Thai roasted chicken-It was moist.
• Thai red curry beef- Rich flavours and was perfect with rice.
• Panang curry pork– Generous portions with a thick curry sauce.
• Thai basil chili noodle
• Baked fried rice in young coconut chicken– I loved the presentation!
• Thai basil clams- Amazing dish with the right amount of spice and plump clams. A must!

What I did not enjoy was the pad thai with chicken. It had to be the worst pad Thai I have ever eaten as the noodles were ultra soggy and the sauce tasted like there was too much ketchup. This dish makes Spring Roll’s pad thai shine. My sister and I also complained about our alcoholic drinks as well as it tasted totally virgin and it was overly sweet.

Overall:

The restaurant is worth checking out with starters and curries as the stand out items. Although the pad thai portion was generous, I did not enjoy the texture or the sweet sauce. The restaurant does a great job with presentation and providing attentive service. I’d like to try the downtown location at Bloor and Spadina to see how the 2 restaurants compare. Happy eating!