Persistence pays off. After some mediocre results in our search for really good, authentic Pad Thai, we may have found our place. The good thing: it’s right down the street from where I work. The bad thing: it’s right down the street from where I work. Temptation will be too great.
The place: Sai Gon in Conway {they also have a location in Little Rock}
The dish: Pad Thai {tofu for me, shrimp for Thom}
The price: $8.95 {mine} $10.95 {Thom’s}
The good:
Served with bean sprouts, napa cabbage, carrots. FRESHEST ingredients I’ve ever had at any restaurant. I’ve never had Pad Thai with cabbage but it was excellent and provided a great crunch in contrast to the spicy noodles. The bean sprouts were extremely fresh.
Tofu. Very flavorful with the spices of the dish. Considering how quickly the dish came out after ordering, this was quite the feat {if you’ve never had tofu-it’s tasteless. It picks up the flavors of the dish it’s cooked with but a lot of times there isn’t enough time for the flavors to be absorbed by the tofu}. This was fried to perfection. Also, there was tons of tofu and there was no additional charge.
Shrimp: Thom was very impressed with the freshness, size, and amount of shrimp in his dish and it was cooked very, very well.
Spiciness. Asked on a rank of 1-10 how spicy I’d like it, I chose 8. I like it hot and this was definitely spicy enough to get my nose running {ewwww…pretty sure the Michelin guys never use this criteria}.
Service was pretty fast but were were there around three in the afternoon {their lunch menu ends at 2:30} and we were the only patrons. The waiter was friendly and polite and seemed genuinely interested in our comfort.
The bad:
It’s actually hard to come up with anything bad. The restaurant was a bit smoky? And, the outside of the restaurant looks bit shady {neglected? boring? abandoned?}.
We’ll definitely be repeat customers. Was it the best? I’m thinking so. The best I’ve had was from Rochester Hills, Michigan and I haven’t had it in 6 or 7 years so I need to give it another shot. This was definitely the best in Arkansas.
Dinner for two, 1 glass of Thai Iced Tea {super good}, plus tip = $28.00
Sai Gon- Authentic Vietnamese, Chinese, & Thai Cuisine
305 E. Oak
Conway AR 72032
I love Thai! We had it tonight in Fayetteville:) My favorite place here – Twin Kitchen!
Just found your blog thru the Arkansas Women's Blogger site! Yay!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thai- especially Pahd Thai. So delicious!
Thanks for the recommendation! I must get to your side of the state asap!
I grew up having Thai every. single. Saturday. My dad taught archery for years as a side gig and it was the only restaurant nearby. I'm SUPER picky. Kim, the restaurateur, would make us special dishes and her son would often come and eat with us. It was heart breaking when she had to close. It was before Thai really took of, even in MA.
I'm glad to find that Conway is getting some good variety! When I lived there it was bad Italian/pizza, fried chicken, or burgers. It's changed SO much!
I've only been there once and had the Pho. It was so good. I'll have to try the Pad Thai next time. Thanks for the recommendation.