Ever since I was a child, going out to a Thai restaurant has always been for a special occasion. Thai food usually meant my dad had a good work week and he wanted to spend a little of my parents’ hard-earned money. Although that meant, I had to comb my hair and put on a decent shirt, I looked forward to a meal that included Pad Thai, Tom Yum Soup and a dessert of vanilla ice cream with fried bananas.

Now, I imagine that if most people are going to eat at a Thai restaurant, one of the items on your bill would be Pad Thai. By now, it isn’t a secret dish only known by food critics, it is pretty universally known.  But that is not to say that all Pad Thai dishes are created equally.

Here in Lincoln, we have a well-known and well-received restaurant in the Twelve Bridges Village plaza – Orchid Thai Restaurant. In my household, we normally order two plates of Shrimp Pad Thai in our meal – no one really wants to share too much of it. Their Shrimp Pad Thai has a sweet and salty base with fresh bean sprouts, cabbage, peanuts, tofu and of course, large pieces of shrimp. This style of Pad-Thai is my favorite. There are some versions that often have more of a sour base – nothing wrong with that, but the sweet and salty style is the way to go. The Orchid Thai Pad Thai is a dish worth twirling your noodles around a fork, sticking a generous bite of shrimp on and savoring the flavor. I suggest you try it if you haven’t.

Orchid Thai Restaurant
835 Twelve Bridges Dr Suite 100, Lincoln, CA 95648
(916) 543-9988