Ban Chok Dee Thai Cuisine-Langley — Restaurant in City of Langley

We came here to celebrate my birthday; a forty five minute drive from Vancouver and the food did not disappoint, but the service did a bit. We arrived 30 minutes before their last call. We ordered an appetizer, a soup, a salad, an entree and a dessert. The appetizer was the Chok Dee Platter which consisted of Spring Rolls, Golden Wontons, Chicken and Pork Satay. The platter best thing was the Pork Satay. The soup was the Tom Yum Goong Soup which is a hot and sour prawn lemongrass soup with mushrooms, tomato, cilantro, galangal, kaffir-lime leaves. We really like the flavour and we could really taste each ingredient individually. We thought the soup was a tad salty. The salad was the Crying Tiger which consisted of BBQ steak, sliced in Thai spicy sauce with a mix of fresh lime juice, tomato, onion, mint, cilantro, cucumber, celery and mixed greens. We were pleasantly surprised that a salad could have so much punch. The steak was really tender and blended very well with the citrusy juice. It reminded me of Beef carpaccio from Guu Garlic. The entree was the Five Spices Fish, which consisted of a Deep fried golden brown seasoned basa fillet, topped with five spices sauce made from bell peppers, garlic, tamarind juice, palm sugar, basil leaves, ginger and chives. At first the we thought the fish looked like fish an chips. We did like the tangy sweet tamarind flavour and combined well with the fish and the steamed rice. For dessert, we had the Khao Neaw Ma-Muang which was Sweet sticky rice in coconut milk served with slices of fresh sweet mango. It was decadent; I love sweet glutinous rice. It combined well with the coconut milk and the mango. Now the service, although we came 30 minutes before their last call and the personnel tried to cater to our needs, the service seemed a bit hurried as they tried to close the shop as soon as possible. Four (4) stars for food and and two (2) for service. For such an award winning restaurant like this one. They should polish the service staff a bit more. The tips that I always leave are based always on service staff performance...

We’ve been eating here for several years now, and for the most part have enjoyed the food, especially considering there are not many Thai restaurants in Langley. This review is specifically in regard to our recent takeout experience. We ordered 7 items (2 appetizers and 5 mains), all of which we had previously ordered before while dining in. The takeout portions appear to be significantly smaller than what is served dining in. I’ve noticed this before when we have ordered takeout, but on this occasion it was so apparent, we won’t be ordering takeout ever again. Particularly bad was the garlic green beans and the spicy calamari. At $17.75, the garlic green beans consisted of just over a cup and half of beans in a small plastic takeout container. This was pretty disappointing for the price. I was actually shocked when I opened the small cardboard takeout container of spicy calamari as there was was the equivalent of just over one cup of calamari. Not worth ordering for $18.75. We also ordered the ginger beef and garlic pepper sauté, and while both are decent while dining in, the small portions that arrived with our takeout order aren’t worth the price. I did call the restaurant to question them about the smaller portions and was told that the green beans and calamari are pre-measured so there shouldn’t be a difference between dining in and takeout. I find this hard to believe based on our previous experience dining in, but regardless…. In my opinion don’t do take out. On a previous order they forgot to include our pad thai even though we had been billed for it and my husband had to return to the restaurant to pick it up, and on another occasion they forgot to include the rice and we let it slide. Feel a little bad complaining about this as they aren’t a chain restaurant and we like to support the local mom and pop shops, but honestly, the take out order last night was so...

The high reviews for this restaurant brought us here for dinner. We asked friends and they highly recommend this place. We went in on Feb. 11, 2023 - a very busy Saturday night and it appears to be very popular with lots of people. Patrons coming in waiting for their tables like us. Food delivery guys coming in and out. Judging by the looks of outgoing diners, they seem to be satisfied. With this, we set our expectations high. We didn’t mind the half-hour wait as we anticipate our turn to dine.

When we got to our table, we got prompt, friendly service. We browse the menu and find lots of interesting stuff. The pricing is quite reasonable. But to be on the safe side, we ordered our favourites - Pad Thai with prawns and red curry with beef.

We didn’t wait long and our food was served quite quickly. The presentation is quite impressive. First, we tried Pad Thai. It came freshly cooked and it is hot which is good. The aroma is good too. First impression, it tastes sweet. I don’t recall this noodle dish being very sweet and it feels like it is lacking some key flavours like the tanginess of tamarind, saltiness of fish sauce and cilantro.

Second, the red curry with beef. Now, this is not what we were expecting. Like the pad Thai, this dish lacks flavour to almost flat tasting or watered down. Worst of all, the beef was tough and flavourless.

Overall, we were very disappointed with what we ordered. We had far better-tasting curry and pad Thai before than this one. Maybe we ordered the wrong dish or maybe it is a one-off thing and somebody in the kitchen is having a bad day or some sort. I am not entirely ruling this place out and we are willing to give it a chance and try the other dishes if we are around...