Maikham Restaurant — Restaurant in Bellingham

I need a new word. 'Authentic' is so overused, especially when it comes to restaurants, that it's lost all meaning. I need a word that means, roughly, "not watered-down and Americanized to the point of utter tastelessness."

I need this new word after having eaten at Maikham Restaurant, in the oh-so-trendy neighborhood of Fairhaven. This is it, folks. I'm done. This right here is what Thai food should be.

The shop is a little small, but I'm starting to associate that with good food in Bellingham. It's like the money is going into the food, rather than to paying exorbitant rental costs. The server who greeted us wasn't just friendly, she was -excited- to share the food with us. That's the kind of reaction you can't get out of people with trust exercises and company wellness bullshit, that reaction only comes from people who are genuinely proud of what they do. She explained the menu, offered a bit of advice, and recommended we try the crab phad thai and any of the curries, specifically recommending the chicken avocado curry and the duck curry. Not being a fan of either avocados or duck, I opted instead for the panang.

The crab phad thai is probably the best phad thai I've had in a very long time. The sauce is so fresh you can taste everything that went into it. The noodles are studded with more fresh vegetables than I think I've ever seen in a phad thai before, and the crab is succulent and has so much flavor I wound up guiltily plucking it out of the dish to enjoy on its own. It did feel that the flavor of the crab got a little lost in the richness of the sauce at times, so maybe I got the best of both worlds.

The panang was rich and creamy with some nice fresh peppers and onions and fluffy rice. I'd heartily recommend agreeing to a side of the spicy sauce and just pouring it right over the top. It's good enough to eat alone over some of the rice, but it really shines alongside the flavors of the panang. Our server was spot-on; Chef Usanee Klimo really is the queen of curry. After tasting the panang, I'm incredibly interested in trying both the recommended duck and avocado curries. If they're anything close to what I've already tasted, they'll easily turn me around on either flavor.

This restaurant, however, is not without its Persian Flaw. In this case, that flaw is the massamun curry, which I ordered on a return visit. I'm particularly fond of massamun curry. I have my own recipe for it and prepare it rather often despite the laundry list of ingredients it requires. Here, the dish is served with a single, whole chicken drumstick cooked in the sauce. I don't think any other dish on the menu is served this way, and it's a good thing too because it completely spoils the dish. The meat is stringy, gamy, and fatty. Eating it off the drumstick is obnoxious, especially when everything's covered in sauce, and the flavor of dark meat just doesn't go with the rest of the flavors. Once I set the drumstick aside, though, I had a very nice vegetarian massamun curry. The sauce is creamy and flavorful, and blends well with the rest of the vegetables and rice. It wasn't a bad enough experience to keep me from going back, but I'd still caution people against choosing this particular dish their first time out so they don't get a bad impression.

It is a bit pricey, totaling out to some of the highest bills we've had in Bellingham so far, but when you're at the top you get to make the rules, and here the queen...

What a great find! This is some very well-done Thai food, kicked up a notch. The artsy, stylish setting, complimented by really terrific service (thanks, Vivian!), led way to beautifully presented dishes bursting with flavor. The veggie spring rolls were craveably crispy while somehow being not greasy AT ALL. An impressive feat. Could have eaten a pile of these crunchy wonders. The Massaman Curry with Chicken was delicious and memorable. Instead of the usual bowl of curry with rice on the side, this came out as a plated dish: a beautifully tender chicken drumstick surrounded by perfectly cooked veggies next to a mound of rice, all sitting atop a puddle of colorful, flavorful curry. There were only two minor flaws with this dish. 1. There shouldn’t have been a bit more sauce, because the sauce was INCREDIBLE. 2. The dish quickly got cold, whereas a bowl of curry would have kept its heat easier. All that being said, I really appreciated the unusual, visually pleasing presentation. The best dish of the night was the Drunken Noodles with Beef. WOW. Silky and soft, with just enough chew, these noodles were definitely the most exquisite thing we had at Maikham. The only minor complaint was that there was hardly any beef in the dish. …So, is this “elevated” Thai food? Not quite. But is it insanely tasty and worth a few extra dollars per dish for some atmosphere and lovely presentation? Absolutely. We’ll be back. Can’t wait to try their Pad Thai and...

Was not happy with my experience here this time (my 2nd time visiting, with the first being over a year prior). I ordered the khao soi and it had so many noodles and barely enough broth. I’ve had this dish in Thailand and it’s more of a soup with noodles rather than more noodles than soup. The full chicken leg was an authentic touch and it was cooked perfectly. Flavor of the curry soup was good and authentic. The vegetables added were meh - could have done with more broth and less added vegetables. Would have preferred shallot instead of red onion as a topping.

Another family member ordered a stir fried flat noodle dish with fried tofu (I think it was pad see ew or pad kee mao). It barely had any vegetables and was underspiced and under sauced. The other family member ordered massaman curry with tofu and it came with the curry already poured over the rice. To me that seemed odd as usually you’d get the bowl of curry to either add the rice to or pour over the rice itself. Seemed like it was a sneaky way to give a smaller portion. The calamari app was good - calamari was tender but the breading was falling off. The green papaya salad was too small really to share as an appetizer. Would rather it be priced a bit higher and get more.

Overall the quantity and quality for the price was underwhelming and I...