Little Bangkok Thai Kitchen: Authentic Thai food in Port Moody
I’ve traveled to Thailand a few times now and I always miss Thai food when I return to Vancouver because there hasn’t been many Vancouver Thai restaurants that have impressed me so far. I am happy to announce that I have found a new hidden gem!
Little Bangkok Thai Kitchen is a small restaurant in Port Moody that seemed to be run by one Thai family. From the outside, it really didn’t look like a restaurant and the inside was quite plain, but it did remind me of little neighbourhood spots in Thailand.
My family came here for my dad’s 60th birthday dinner. My parents had actually also just returned from vacation in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, so it was interesting to see how authentic this place is based on me and my parents’ most recent visit to Thailand.
When we entered (I was also in crutches lol), the restaurant was empty so we received above average service from the one server.
Traditional combo for 4
We ordered the traditional combo for 4 people ($60) and added a fried rice ($12), along with two Thai iced teas ($3 each).
Thai iced tea (red)
I miss Thai iced tea so dearly. When I was in Thailand, I would drink one almost every day (alternating with mango smoothies). The thai iced tea we ordered looked and tasted very similar to the ones we had in Thailand. It may be slightly less sweet.
Tom yum goong with prawn
Tom yum goong is a spicy and sour soup popular in Thai cuisine with mushrooms, lemomgrass, lime leaves and galangal (whatever that is).
Unlike western soups, Asian soups are often “more watery” if I had to put it in simple terms. I’m not the biggest fan of spicy and sour soups, but my parents enjoyed it and said it had enough flavours. We chose mild because I am a pussy for spicy things and Thai spicy is a whole other level sometimes.
Spring rolls
My mom makes spring rolls at home and they are freaking delicious so I am never impressed by spring rolls at restaurants and this one was no exception. Just your average spring roll with shredded vegetables and glass noodles inside, served with sweet chilli sauce. Still yummy.
Kao Pad pineapple
The fried rice came in a big plate and was cooked with pineapple, tomatoes, onion, celery, green onion, and eggs. The portion was generous and the fried rice was cooked very well, again with good flavour even though it looked as if it would be bland. I would’ve given it bonus points if it came in a pineapple bowl (like below).
Stir-fried vegetables
Next came the stir-fried vegetables, which consisted of cauliflower, beans, peppers, mushrooms and other green things cooked in a garlic sauce. This dish was very wholesome and is definitely something that may remind you of our sweet Asian mother if you are no longer living with her.
Green curry with beef
For the combo, you can choose between a red, yellow or green curry. You can also choose your meat between chicken, pork or beef. It comes with a giant bowl of jasmine rice.
The green curry is cooked with green curry paste with eggplants, bell peppers, coconut milk and fresh basil leaves. The coconut milk makes Thai curry taste sweet instead of bolder spices. Again, the texture of Thai curry is thinner, not thick like Indian or Japanese curry.
Pad thai with prawns
This baby is my #1 favourite Thai dish. I have fond memories of eating $2 pad thai in Thailand that was 20x better than $20 pad thai in Vancouver.
The issue that I run into many times when I order pad thai from places in Vancouver is the sauce they use. For some reason, the sauce is very red and more sour, which is really different from all the pad thai I’ve eaten in Thailand that have a more brown colour. I’m not sure if this is something that differs depending on which area of Thailand you are in.
Little Bangkok’s pad thai was brown with the sweet sauce that I remember. It may have been slightly more sweet, but still tasted better and more authentic than multiple Vancouver Thai restaurants I’ve tried.
Deep fried bananas with ice cream
For dessert, the combo comes with deep fried bananas in caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream (+$1). Simple and tasty. The bananas were not soggy from the batter.
Final thoughts
As a picky Thai food lover, I am so happy to have found Little Bangkok Thai Kitchen. The only other good Thai place I’ve found is Maenam in Kitsilano, which is quite far for me and more expensive.
As we were leaving, there was a big rush of takeout orders. I can easily see how this place can be a more favourable take-out spot than a dine-in spot. The food is great but I’m not a big fan of the interior. Online reviews have also informed me that the building is hella cold in the winter. I will be ordering takeout from them in the future and trying out their lunch specials!