Thai Issan

I recently met up with a fellow runner friend for lunch at Thai Issan after we had both placed in a half marathon just a few days earlier. When we made plans weeks ago, we had no idea it would end up feeling like a celebratory post-race lunch — but it turned out to be the perfect way to catch up and enjoy a well-earned meal together.

We decided on Thai Issan at Market City Shopping Center since we were both craving Thai food, and it’s conveniently located near my workplace. Parking around lunchtime at can definitely get busy in the area, but surprisingly, the restaurant itself was pretty quiet when we arrived. Honestly, I didn’t mind at all. It gave us the chance to relax, enjoy a great conversation, and savor our food without feeling rushed.

We shared two dishes: the pad Thai with tofu and the King of Chili with chicken. Both were absolutely delicious. The Pad Thai was cooked perfectly with great texture and a good amount of seasoning — comforting and satisfying. 

The King of Chili packed a ton of flavor! Despite its name, it's not spicy at all so long as you ask for it "mild". 

Thai Issan continues to be one of my favorite Thai spots on the island. Consistently flavorful food, a relaxed atmosphere, and the kind of place that makes you want to come back again and again, whether you're dining in or getting it to-go.

THAI ISSAN

2929 Kapiolani Blvd.

808-735-4152

 

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Thai Village - Mililani

It's been so long that I've had Thai food in Mililani - so long that I didn't even realize Thai Village was in the Town Center of Mililani and Phuket Thai is no longer there. 

I've been to the Waipahu Thai Village location and liked it, so I was looking forward to trying out the Mililani location.

Chicken Fried Rice

Spring Rolls

Fried Chicken

Chicken Panang Curry

Eggplant with Tofu Stir-Fry

Everything was tasty.  I especially enjoyed the Pad Kee Mao.  I love thick noodles!  The Eggplant was tender and delicious as well.  

As I mentioned previously - it's been so long that I've had Thai food, that I forgot to order sticky rice!

Thai Village
Town Center of Mililani
95-1249 Meheula Pkwy APT 151

Mililani, HI 96789

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SingSing - Thai Street Food

Pad Thai Chaiya

SingSing is a restaurant located on Smith Street in Chinatown specializing in modern Thai street food. The menu was a little overwhelming for my group so we asked for suggestions and settled on the Jatujak Baby Potatoes, Beef Dumplings, Paneng of Beef Cheek, Hulu Huli Grilled Chicken, and Pad Thai Chaiya. My favorite was the paneng of beef cheek which was so flavorful, spicy, and tender. I definitely need to return with more people so we can try more of the shared dishes. We ended our meal with the deep fry ice cream which was big enough to share. Great meal and the service was great!

Beef Dumplings

Jatujak Baby Potatoes

Huli Huli Grilled Chicken

Paneng of Beef Cheek

Deep Fry Ice Cream

The restaurant is closed on Mondays and open for lunch daily from 11am to 3pm and reopens for dinner at 5pm. Reservations can be made on their website at singsinghawaii.com.

SingSing
1030 Smith Street

Honolulu, HI

808-785-6463

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Thai Bistro Suksabay in Pearl Kai Shopping Center

Pad Seiew

Thai Bistro Suksabay is located in Pearl Kai and has been around since 2017. It’s our go-to for Thai food in that area. They are a family owned and run business featuring family recipes. The food is consistently good and the service is quick and efficient.

If we have a group of four, our usual order includes the panang curry (curry sauce prepared with coconut milk and green beans), pad thai, tom yum soup, and summer rolls. Since it was only two of us this time, we ordered the panang curry and pad seiew (stir-fried chow-fun, broccoli, and egg with black bean sauce). Each rice, noodle or curry dish comes with your choice of veggie, meat, or seafood.

Chicken Panang Curry with Sticky rice

Service here is quick and efficient. They are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:30am to 9pm.

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Authentic Thai Food at Thai MK Cuisine at Fishcake Hawaii

I love Thai food so I jumped at the opportunity for a media tasting at one of Fishcake Hawaii's newest additions, Thai MK Cuisine. Run by husband and wife team, Mitch and Yuki, Thai MK Cuisine promises to serve its customers authentic Thai taste every first and third Thursday. Go early as it gets busy and you'll catch chef Yuki in action; cooking up each delicious dish with care while Mitch handles customers' orders and putting the finishing touches on dishes before serving.

At the tasting, I tried the homemade Thai tea which was just the perfect sweetness and really refreshing. I also tried the pad thai, tom yum shrimp, and pad see ew. I've had pad thai and tom yum many times before, but Thai MK Cuisine's version was a thousand times better. The flavors are much fuller and richer than what I have previously tried. I'm pretty new to the dish pad see ew - flat fried noodles served with eggs and kale - but I loved it. The chewy texture of the noodles and the special homemade Thai sauce makes it a must-have for me!

Follow them on IG @thaimkcuisine for menu updates and dm them for pre-orders!

Homemade Thai Tea served cold. 

Pad Thai - chicken, crispy pork, or shrimp - fried noodles served with tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, peanuts, chives, mixed with a special homemade thai sauce. Very tasty!

Tom Yum Shrimp - tangy, creamy soup served with shrimp, mushrooms, shallots, lemongrass, dried chili, lime, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, mixed with thai herbs and a side of Jasmine rice. Perfection!

Pad See Ew (chicken, pork, or vegetarian) - flat, fried noodles served with garlic, eggs, kale, mixed with a special homemade thai sauce. Get it before it sells out!

Thank you Yuki and Mitch of Thai MK Cuisine!

Thai MK Cuisine
Fishcake Hawaii
307c Kamani Street
Honolulu, HI 

     

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Visit Hilo: Naung Mai Thai Kitchen

There is an abundance of Thai restaurants in Hilo, and I was eager to try one that I heard good things about - Naung Mai Thai Kitchen.

I ordered some of my usual faves at Thai restaurants:

Panang Chicken Curry

Tofu Basil Eggplant

I loved the tender eggplant and the soft tofu in this dish, both of which soaked up all the flavors and spices. 

Green Papaya Salad

Thai Spring Rolls

The Thai Spring Rolls had no meat in it, just mung bean noodles and veggies - I loved them!  The Spring Rolls were fried golden, and the filling was flavorful.

Pad Kee Mau

I love the large, flat noodles in Pad Kee Mau (aka Drunken Noodles).  I ordered it mild, and it was actually a lot hotter than I expected it to be (and I like spicy!).  It was quite tasty and filling, with chicken and a lot of veggies.

Overall I thought the food was good, and I wouldn't hesitate to order take-out again.

Naung Mai Thai Cuisine
86 Kilauea Avenue
Hilo, Hawaii 96720

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Visit Waimea: Nikki's Thai Food

While at the Kamuela Farmers Market, I picked up some Thai eats at Nikki's Thai Food.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls and Summer Rolls

Chicken Pad Thai

Everything was tasty and reasonably-priced.  The Pad Thai was very flavorful, and so were both the Spring and Summer Rolls.

I loved how easy it was to grab-and-go.

Check them out at the Kamuela Farmers Market if you're craving some Thai food!

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S&S Thai Kitchen

It's been a while since I had Thai food, so we ordered food from S&S Thai Kitchen at Ka Makana Ali`i.

Drunken Noodles

Chicken Panang Curry

Fried Chicken Wings

Pork Spring Rolls

Pineapple Fried Rice

Everything was quite tasty.  I especially loved the Spring Rolls (filled with pork, onion, black fungus, taro, carrot), the Drunken Noodles (I love it more than Pad Thai, probably because of the bigger noodles, and I loved all the mushrooms), and the Chicken Panang Curry had a nice level of spiceniess to it.

The kids loved the Fried Rice!

Order online or via phone for convenience. 

S&S Thai Kitchen

Ka Makana Ali`i
91-5431 Kapolei Pkwy Suite 424

Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 670-2724

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Thai Village - Waipahu

One of my favorite Thai restaurants is Thai Village.

A few months ago I met up with Dara for dinner there. 

Pho

Spring Rolls

I wasn't too hungry, so I just ordered Spring Rolls. The spring rolls never disappoint - they are so tasty (you can order them with pork or veggies).

Dara had a generous bowl of Pho.

The service was great, and Thai Village remains one of my Top 10 Thai restaurants on the island!

Thai Village
94-1040 Waipio Uka St #15
Waipahu, HI 96797
(808) 678-2878

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The Elephant Shack

Thai food is one of my faves, so I was eager to try out The Elephant Shack in Haleiwa.

Chicken Pad Thai

Classic Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Panang Curry

Chicken Spring Roll

I thought the flavors of almost everything we ordered were good.  My faves were the Pad Thai and Spring Rolls.  My kids loved the fried rice, which I actually thought was underseasoned.

Although there is a lot of space in the restaurant, there are very few tables inside.  There are a lot of tables outside, and several benches inside to sit, but I just thought it was strange how the interior was set up.  The doors were also left wide open, so flies were abuzz everywhere.  

Also, everything is served in take-out containers - no plates (not even paper ones), so we had to tear apart the containers to make "plates" for the kids.

The employees were very friendly, and although in general the food was good, the overall concept just didn't quite fit.  I'd be willing to do take-out from The Elephant Shack in the future though!

The Elephant Shack
66-145 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712
(808) 638-1854

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Maile's Thai at Ward

I've been wanting to try Maile's Thai Bistro for a long time, but I hardly ever make it to the Hawaii Kai area.  Thankfully, a Ward Village location opened up recently, and I met a friend there so I could finally try Maile's cooking!

Spring Rolls

Chow Fun Soy Sauce (Pad Siew)

Green Curry (Kaeng Kiew Wan) with Chicken

Everything we ordered was absolutely delish!

We had ordered the popular Thai Scetta (a twist on bruschetta), but they were out of it, so we ordered the Spring Rolls instead.  The Spring Rolls were stuffed with pork, long rice, and veggies, and it was hard to eat just one.

I loved the Pad Siew (I love Chow Fun noodles!), and the Green Curry was creamy and so flavorful!

Although I thought the prices were a tad high for the portions served, I wouldn't hesitate to dine there again - and hopefully I'll get to try the Thai Scetta next time!

Maile's Thai at Ward
1200 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
808-591-2488

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