I never really make reservations while I’m in Banff as I never know where and when I am going to be anywhere. We stumbled into the Clock Tower Mall right on Banff Ave and found this Thai food place called Pad Thai. There were tables inside and outside of the restaurant (all indoors of the clock tower mall) which is kind of dingy, but that’s okay with me!
We were one of the first tables to arrive and we were allowed to sit anywhere. We chose a corner inside and by the window and it was nice! You are still “in” the restaurant and you can watch people go by and other customers! We started our lunch with a plate of their Thai Dumplings which they call “Saw Moing”. It came on a plate with 4 purple flowers. It tasted a lot like some other Vietnamese “snacks” I’ve had as it has minced pork inside and you dip it in a sauce which is kind of a mix of plum sauce and Nước chấm.
In Las Vegas, I fell in love with a dish of curry with BBQ Duck, so to my excitement, they had Red Curry with BBQ Duck and I knew immediately that it was what I wanted, with coconut rice! The portions was quite large for a lunch but it was jammed pack with thinly sliced BBQ duck in this great Thai curry sauce. Over the coconut rice, I was really satisfied.
To top everything off, I ordered one of my favourite fried dishes, which is Pad Sa Hew which has tons of different spelling for. I commonly see it spelled as “Pad Si Ew”, but regardless, it’s the same thing – my favourite thing! Basically it’s fried rice noodles with soy sauce and they make it exceptionally good here. They use nice high heat in a wok – you can taste it (there’s actually a Chinese term to describe this) but it’s one of the reasons why I love this dish from here. Tons of smoke flavour, tons of seasoning flavour, tons of goodness and the noodles weren’t all broken into little pieces.
Thai food has always had a special place in my heart as it’s food I just love as regular daily food. This little place make it quite accessible and it’s delicious! The portions are huge and the price is a tad on the high side but it sure is delicious. This make it totally worth it in my books! I’m sure I will be back sometime soon!
Pad Thai
110 banff av
Banff, AB
(403) 762-4911