Chiangmai Thai Kitchen Tyler — Restaurant in Tyler

Tried out Chiangmai Thai Kitchen - Tyler and let’s just say my taste buds took a quick trip to Thailand and almost didn’t want to come back.

I’m gonna go ahead and get the only negative thing about my experience out of the way. That would be the side of fried rice, if you can even call it that. For starters, it was barely even warm. It had me wondering if they cooked it on a seat warmer. Maybe someone had the temperature of the grill set to hot breath. Either way, I wasn’t a fan. On to more important stuff.

I started with the egg rolls and pot stickers. The egg rolls were amazing. Nice and crispy on the outside and full of fillings and flavor on the inside. They came with sweet and sour sauce as well. Those pot stickers were unreal. I’d fight a small child for the last one. No hesitation. They were easily some of the best I’ve ever had. The dumpling sauce that came with them could probably cure cancer.

For the main event, I went with the Chicken Chow Mein for myself. The stir fried egg noodles mixed with the sauce and broccoli was an instant favorite of mine. My wife ordered the Pad Thai. It was saucy, slightly sweet, with just enough tang to make you consider licking the plate in public. I didn’t, but I thought about it. The crushed peanuts and lime really set it off.

I really look forward to coming back soon and trying everything else on the menu, although I’m afraid that would take years, given the vast amount of choices. Overall the service was great and so was the food. I highly recommend stopping by if you...

Ate at Chaingmai Thai Kitchen. The food was amazing!

I ordered the shrimp spring rolls to start, and they had a nice strong Thai basil in them, which I love. The peanut sauce could have been improved by a hit of Sriracha, but was still good without.

I also got the crispy tilapia. (Sorry, I took a bite before taking a picture!) I ordered it "hot" but I'm used to hot Thai food. This would have been probably hotter than many prefer, but I would consider it a "medium" for me. I used the entire little bowl of hot sauce on one side of the fish, and needed more for the other side.

The waitress was a bit concerned that I (a Caucasian guy) might be freaked out by the whole-fish presentation. But I've had Pattaya fish before at another restaurant in Houston, so the dish came out exactly as I was expecting it to. It was crispy, flavorful and delicious. And, of course, the crispy belly skin was the best part.

I'm only knocking them down a star because they were very busy and I had to sit for quite a while to request my 2nd bowl of hot fish sauce. I ended up eating the other side without it. I don't knock them for being busy, but a quick check on my table between seating customers would have...

Now this is more like it! We were flummoxed: here it was Sunday night, and nothing, not a thing in the house, to eat. Sure, we had some frozens, but there was no way we were going to cook. Looking out the window, the sun was getting low in the sky, and not many places offer Sunday night supper. Chiangmai was nearby, but I had had a wretched meal there, and really didn't want to go back. My stomach finally the better of me, and off we went. The place had easy parking, since the mall was shutting down around them. Inside, aromatic smells surrounded us, and the service was bustling, serving the many customers. Service was prompt, and hot tea was quickly brought to the table in small individual pots. My spouse ordered the Pad Thai, and I got the Swimming Rama with some brown rice. The orders arrived promptly , hot and seasoned to taste. The presentation was lovely, and the flavors bright, matching the fresh crunch of the vegetables of the Rama. My wife's Pad Thai was fresh, with generous portions of white meat chicken. We relaxed, talked, and plan to go back soon. Not sure what went wrong last visit, but this more than made up for it. Five solid...