 THON KHAO 427 Amherst St., Nashua 883-1161
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So it’s natural that his measure of excellence from a Thai restaurant is its Pad Thai. I’m happy to report that his take on Thon Khao’s Pad Thai is that it’s very, very good.
We went to Thon Khao, located on Amherst Street in Nashua, just across from Building 19, on a recent night to find it reasonably busy. The restaurant itself is airy and colorful, but low key. The tables and booths are not jammed together, so you can feel a sense of intimacy and the overall ambiance is comfortable. I started with a glass of Thai iced coffee, a strong coffee with a sweet heavy cream, that is divine.
For an appetizer, I ordered the Golden Triangles ($3.95), tofu cut into triangles, fried to a crispy golden brown. They were crunchy outside and a bit watery inside, which is what I generally find when I order them in other Thai restaurants. Dipped in a sweet and sour sauce with chopped peanuts, however, they were quite nice.
My dining companion, who is really the Thai food connoisseur, ordered the Tom Kha Gai ($3.25), a coconut broth-based soup. It was full of large chunks of chicken, tender mushrooms and green onion shoots. He said, and I agree, the broth was delicious – mild coconut milk with hints of lemon. The choice, he said, he would gladly make again.
For my entrée, I ordered a crispy duck in basil ($17.95), from the specials menu. Half a duck was fried crispy and golden, then sliced and served with a variety of vegetables and a wonderful basil sauce. The sauce had the basil flavor, but it didn’t overpower the medley of carrots, summer squash, green beans and other vegetables cooked al dente, nor did it mask the delicate taste of the duck. It was a satisfying choice, but quite a large serving, so I ended up taking it home for my next day’s lunch.
Then there was the Pad Thai. My dining companion also ordered from the specials menu and got the seafood spicy Pad Thai ($14.95), which in addition to the regular Pad Thai ingredients had shrimp, scallops and calamari. He asked the waitress to kick the spice up a notch and it was delivered as requested with just the right degree of heat. The scallops were juicy, the shrimp well cooked and the calamari tender. He said the noodles were cooked correctly and all the flavors blended together in a medley in the way a good Pad Thai should. “Well put together,” was his assessment and he placed it on the upper end of his Pad Thai spectrum, quite a high compliment.
Thon Khao has several desserts available; ice creams including coconut, green tea and ginger, lychees in sauce and other standards. By that point we were quite full, so we ordered a Thai pumpkin custard ($4.95) to take home and enjoy later. It was quite good and different than I expected. While I envisioned a sort of pumpkin flan, what it actually consisted of was slices that were more gelatinous than flan, filled with a light cream that blended together for a delightful flavor. The pumpkin flavor was delicate and the dessert, while sweet, was no overly so. It is very highly recommended.
We were quite happy with our experience at Thon Khao. The prices are well within reason and the food was excellent. Our server was friendly and her service impeccable.
Thon Khao, like Cucina Toscana right next door, is in a strip mall on busy Route 101A and with all the businesses on that road, it is easy to miss. To do so would be a shame. For excellent Thai food, next time you are on 101A, keep an eye out and be sure to stop in. You won’t be disappointed.
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