ZAAB THAI — Restaurant in Elgin

My wife and I stopped into Zaab Thai today for lunch. This is a cozy little place that just opened up a few weeks ago. The lunchtime rush was on and there were only 1 or 2 tables left.

Right as we walked in there was a table of 5 or 6 Buddhist monks enjoying their lunch. I said to my wife, "Ooh boy, this is gonna be great!" And it certainly was.

The staff is very nice, polite, and downright friendly. Heck, the chef even came out to greet us. What a wonderful smile he has! I've attached his picture. Am I right or am I right?

Their menu has a lot of options and it was really difficult to choose, so we over-ordered, knowing full well that we were bringing some great Thai food home. We ordered crab rangoon and egg rolls as an appetizer, followed up with roast BBQ pork and Basil Duck as our main entrees and a sampling of their homemade ice cream which was in two flavors, durian and coconut.

Everything was perfectly done, fresh and delicious. The flavor of the real crab came through in the Rangoon. The egg rolls were densely packed and crunchy. The roast BBQ pork served over rice had a great flavor and the star of the show, the basil duck blew me away!

Just when I couldn't think of eating another bite, our lovely and sweet server offered us their handmade ice cream. So light and creamy, yet so flavorful, the ice cream was a perfect ending as it cleaned up our pallets beautifully.

I can't wait to get back. Please, get over...

We’ve ordered take out here twice in the past few weeks. I can say flavor wise, this is the best I have had in the area (although the fried rice is definitely lacking), but it can still be much better. Their spice levels are inconsistent. I ordered medium spicy for both my ginger chicken and a noodle dish (separate visit) and the noodle dish was at least twice as spicy. I chose to review because I don’t appreciate things being added to my stir fry that are not listed. I ordered ginger chicken which does not pair well with pineapple but yet there were at least ten pieces of pineapple in my dish. This was not listed in the ingredient list in the menu. On top of that my rice dish came with the smallest container of rice I have ever seen. It holds about 1/2-3/4 cup. I was hoping I found my local thai place, but I will still be traveling 25 mins to Batavia (Tusk) for better and more...

Such incredible food! You would expect quality and flavors like this from a 5 star place in downtown Chicago. Fresh ingredients you can taste, everything made from scratch, every detail well thought out. The fried-ground catfish will live in my dreams. How it's crunchy and juicy and so flavorful is mind-boggling! The basil duck was excellent and on the spicy side, the salted fish and crab fried rice was delicious, the real crab in the crab rangoon was awesome, and the fried taro was the potato replacement you never knew you needed! Grilled calamari tasted deliciously marinated and was cooked to perfection. The thai iced tea was a treat, and so was the ice cream! A very quiet and very clean establishment. Excellent service and a great place to bring the family. Highly recommend and we will absolutely be back...