Best Thai 2015

Best Thai winners of Vancouver Magazine’s 26th Annual Restaurant Awards

• Gold: Maenam
• Silver: Longtail Kitchen
• Bronze: Bob Likes Thai Food
• Honourable Mentions: Thai Cuisine by Montri, Sawasdee Thai

 Chef Angus An once again dominates this category. His Maenam (Gold) has single-handedly elevated diners’ knowledge and appreciation of Thai cuisine, as well as its relationship to wine: “For those weaned on pad Thai bastardized with ketchup, the mouth-popping sensation of bitterly brittle pea eggplants”—his devotion to sourcing ingredients is part of his success—“and the uncompromising heat of green curry halibut, effectively tamed with semi-sweet Alsatian riesling, will be revelatory.” Longtail Kitchen (Silver) is another An masterstroke, making humble Thai street food—chicken wings and satays, fried rice with sausage—deserving of a special commute to the River Market. The two locations of Bob Likes Thai Food (Bronze) offer a more conventionally Western take on Thai standards, but their kitchens show uncommon attention to preparation and presentation, and a few tradition-defying dishes (Thai-style “poutine” with deep-fried taro root, lime leaf, lemongrass, and green-curry sauce) are just crazy enough to work. Honourable Mentions: Thai Cuisine by Montri, Sawasdee Thai