Rice & Noodle Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens

After seeing all of the amazing reviews for this place, I had to give it a shot and I honestly wonder if anyone in the area has tried authentic Thai food or food that has been cooked outside of this area. The food here is pricey, but the flavor and the taste definitely doesn't match up to what you pay.

I tried the "steam dumplings", which were amazing, rich in flavor, the chicken was juicy and the wrap in which the dumplings were made were pretty tasty, of course paired perfectly with the soy sauce, delicious.

Then came the main entree, which was disappointing, I got the drunken noodles, delicious of course when done right, but when done wrong it can be a mess. The drunken noodles were a little on the dry side, all I could taste was the spice, didn't really taste much as far as flavor or anything past that on the noodles. The chicken was dry and uninspiring and for the price, the portion was kind of lacking as well. I finished the meal wanting more and kind of insulted since the food really didn't taste that good, honestly it felt as if it had no taste at all except for the obvious pepper taste, the "spicy brown sauce" no where really to be seen.

I came back again with a friend to try it out and had the "Yen Tafo" soup and well, it was okay at first, but the broth was just disappointing and the flavor overall was just meh. My friend had the fried rice and the fried rice was good, but it's really hard to screw up fried rice.

Overall, the food here is okay, it's not the spectacle that everyone in the area is claiming it to be, especially if you've tried Thai food outside of the Palm Beach Gardens area. It's pricey for the amount of food you get, but the lunch special makes it bearable.

Would recommend if you want to try something different, would avoid if you have tried Thai food before and are looking for that high that is usually associated with...

There are only a couple truly Thai restaurants left in South Florida. I say this because most Thai restaurants are part of a restaurant association funded by the Thai government. These Thai restaurants are initially started with funding and guidance from the Thai government through this organization. This has been great in fueling the rapid expansion of Thai food in America and throughout the world but it is also responsible for the dumbing down of Thai food across the board. This has not affected the overall quality of the food but it has changed some of the processes and ingredients to appeal to the American palate. Other recipe and cooking process changes that would not be acceptable in Thailand, can be done in the USA because we simply wouldn't have the palette to know the difference but, these changes make things go much more quickly in the kitchen. When you experience traditional Thai food prepared in an authentic way, you get an elevated flavor experience that far exceeds your normal American Thai meal. This is what you will get from Rice & Noodle. If you love Thai food, this restaurant will make you so happy. Everything is better than your average Thai restaurant. They cook like they are cooking for themselves or for the Thai community. Close your eyes and you could be anywhere in Thailand. Be warned, it will make most of the other Thai restaurants seem bland. I'm not going to give reviews on specific dishes because everything is exceptional. Point at something on the menu and it will be delicious. Don't come expecting an overly decorated restaurant interior with great lighting or a traditional Siamese theme, this place is very clean and simple. You're not going to get dressed up to come here. This is about the food. The service is friendly and helpful. They do a monster take-out business so if you eat in-house, you'll see a constant stream of...

I've only visited Rice and Noodle Thai once, but found that overall the food was good and the service acceptable. The prices were a little high, IMHO, given the size of the portions and the overall look and feel of the place. Still, I'd return to try it again.

I ordered one noodle dish, Pork Pad Woon Sen at the recommendation of the server, HD three appetizers just before the end of lunch in the mid-afternoon. The cost was somewhere around thirty dollars.

The Pad Woon Sen was tasty and well presented, but just a little bit too light on the portion given that it was about 13 dollars.

The starters were delicious, as well. The steamed dumplings were a lot like the Chinese classic Shumai, and particularly good. The fried, minced chicken stuffed Wontons were tasty as well, though less complex in flavor.

The real win of the meal were the Curry Puffs. While others I've had in the past were baked in puff pastry, these were served in crispy fried empanada skins filled with minced chicken, potato and vegetables in a classic Southeast Asian curry sauce. They really were quite good and I would like to have ordered more. That's says a lot!

Still, as I've mentioned, the prices were just a little high in my opinion for what I would consider classic street food style dishes.

Would I return? Yes, definitely... Though I'm not...