Ruang Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Plano

Ruang Thai is now tied for first place in my books for best Thai restaurant EVER (along with Thai Nakorn in Alexandria, VA), and of course, it's a mom and pop restaurant tucked away in a strip mall (why are they always the BEST???). The restaurant is nicely decorated, with an eye-catching multi-color light display on the back wall. The tables are a bit crowded, but that just means more tables for all of us! I have eaten here twice now in the two weeks I've been in Plano since discovering this gem and I plan to go back here at least once a week on any return trips to the area.

I first visited Ruang Thai with colleagues on a business trip. They are very near the Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Richardson (1001 W President George Bush Turnpike) and had good reviews online, which is why we went there. We were greeted at the door by a friendly lady (I presume she is the owner) and shown to a table right away. One of my colleagues was intrigued by the fancy cover artwork on the menus and took a picture. She made sure he knew that the artwork varied from cover to cover (so be sure to check out your fellow diners' menus :-). She took and delivered our drink orders promptly. I ordered the Thai Iced Tea and it was delicious (be warned--I ate there at 8 PM and was up wide awake until about 2 AM, and I think it was from the strong caffeine in this tea). For my meal, I ordered Beef Pad See Eew (no hot spices) and it was prepared just right. I had intended on eating just half of it and saving room for dessert, but I just couldn't stop eating it. Regardless, I also ordered their sticky rice and custard for dessert, and WOW, it was perfect, too!

I simply cannot say enough about this place. Honestly, if I ever had to move to this area, I would be eating here all the time. Would I go back? I already have, and you better believe I will continue doing so any time I visit this area!

Oh, hey, one other thing. I went back there solo on Valentine's Day at about 8:30 PM. The place was packed. I got the last free table. In spite of the fact that they were completely full and had to turn away people who didn't want to wait, I still got my meal delivered to my table in a very timely manner. And also, if local lovebirds flocked here for their special meal, that should tell you something about the good food that's...

Best Thai I have had in the Dallas area so far!

I had the Pad Thai with shrimp, and it hit flavor notes that I had just almost forgotten. The citrus, and tamarind blended for a wonderfully bright flavor, balanced by the peanuts, sprouts, scallions, and the sweetness of the carrots. The thing that I appreciated most was the fish sauce. There are lots of places that either go really light on it, or omit it altogether, and that's a dang unauthentic shame. The salty, umami goodness really makes the dish shine. This was my first trip to Ruang Thai, and I ordered my dish at a 4 out of 5 heat level. I was told that I may have gone a bit bold by some locals, but I do like it hot, and I was happy with the spice level...the Aunties (at least that's what my experience with being married into Asian Americans has resulted in me calling most silver years Asian women) laughed as they brought me a box of tissues for the sweat and occasional tear or two.

My wife went with the Pad See Ew with beef, and enjoyed it a lot. The wide noodles were cooked well, not falling apart or clumpy mush. The sweet brown sauce had a note of tamarind as well, which I don't know that I have experienced before, but it certainly worked! The beef was tender, not overcooked, and complimented the dish well.

Our daughter had the Pad Kee Mao with chicken, and man was it good! The slightly sweet flavors were balanced by the bright basil, and just the right amount of wok char to make this insanely good grilled flavor. Seriously my order when next we visit (though I'm prone to pork, or beef, and maybe some shrimps).

Our son had the crispy fried chicken appetizer as his meal with some rice, that chicken was magical, it had a lovely light breading and seemed almost like little chicken flavored clouds in your mouth.

We had Tom Man fish patties with the appetizer, and they were good, great with the sauce. We also had the Thai Duck rolls, which were okay, my wife enjoyed them, I thought they were okay.

Mango and sticky rice dessert with a coconut ice cream to finish, oh and my mandatory...

I used to work here and truth be told I was probably the least qualified person for the job: spilling water on customer, smoking habits, but the employer never insulted me, they will even help me try and quit my smoking habit! My employer: the sweet lady everyone was talking about, is probably the most down to earth person I ever met.

I had worked in 5 restaurants in my life, and by gods, their kitchen (although the customers cannot see it) is SO, SO CLEAN (and probably cleaner than your own kitchen!)! That is HUGE, all the other 4 restaurants I worked at, including a supposedly "5-star" restaurant, is no where near Ruang Thai's standard. If a cockroach falls into a pit of water you were supposed to serve to customers later? Most restaurants' response would be scoop out the cockroach and act like nothing happen. At Ruang Thai, there is no bugs or infestation at all!

The food, simply said: the best food i tasted in Plano. I will leave you now because this is starting to look like it is written by the employers to boost rating... One last note: I worked there over 2-3 years ago, before they relocated to the new place.

Edit: another note: they offer 1- 25 (if i remember correctly) spicy rating. For most Americans that can stand heat, i suggest getting 3 on the spicy chart, 4 at the most, 5 will completely blow your...