Amazing Thai – Nanaimo, BC

It’s not often I get to go for Thai food. FH isn’t a fan (although I’m not sure he’s ever actually had Thai food) so I have to rely on friends for a fun ethnic dinner night. When I am home here on Vancouver Island I tend to eat out a lot, so use these times to get in my Thai, sushi, seafood, etc.

I took Mom to Amazing Thai here in Nanaimo a couple of years ago, and because I’m not home too often it has taken us this long to get back there. Tiny little place with a kitschy decor, but as the name suggests “amazing Thai” food. In business now for 8 years, this owner-run restaurant is truly a Nanaimo treasure…often winning the local newspaper’s “Best of…” contests.

We took the go big or go home approach. Far too much food, but all totally necessary! To start we opted to share a large bottle of Singha, Thai beer.

And no Thai meal is complete without an appetizer of Spring Rolls. Crispy, tasty, and veggie filled. The sweet chili dipping sauce is my favorite part!

For our main meal, we ordered a variety of items. For me, Pad Thai is a must. Amazing Thai offers theirs with prawns, and their peanut sauce is very light. The addition of fresh bean sprouts truly makes this dish for me.

Another common option is the Red Thai Curry. Labelled as an 8 out of 10 on the spicy scale we were a little leery, but paired with the steamed Jasmine rice and our other dishes it was the perfect amount of heat. They had two red curry options…we chose the one that included chicken, potatoes, and Thai basil. Deeeeeelish.

To round out the meal we ordered a simple veggie stirfry with oyster sauce (minus the green peppers). I mixed mine alongside my curry and rice for a complete dish.

(Note: my serving above is on a side plate)

Come dessert time I was about ready to pop a button, but when our server (owner) mentioned the homemade coconut ice cream there was no turning it down. Mom and I shared two scoops, and as promised it was the perfect end to our spicy meal.

Two thumbs up! Fun, tasty, cute, AMAZING THAI!