• $$ Absolutely Asia [Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Thai] - 864 Main Street - 781-891-1700
• $$ Asian Grill [Japanese, Korean & Thai] - 265 Moody Street - 781-398-1600
  • 2002 01 11 - Review by Eric Salerno

    Excellent Sushi, with Japanese beer available. We enjoy this restaurant when we want Sushi, but don't want to leave Waltham. The prices are reasonable, the service is excellent, the Sushi chefs are very talented, and the restaurant is located right on the corner of Moody and Crescent with full windows that give the place an open feel.

  • 2005 01 02 - Review by LaJan Collins

    My family and myself ate at this restaurant for the first time yesterday after hearing it was an excellent place to eat. We love Asian food, especially sushi. We had never been in an establishment where we were treated so badly! We didn't see eye to eye with our waitress on our food. After that, the service went down hill from there. We were never asked if everything else was ok, if she could bring us more to drink/ eat or anything else. We sat there with our glasses empty while we watched her tend to and serve everyone else around us. She never said another word or waited on us further for the remaining of the meal. Regardless, we still tipped appropriately but mentioned to her how we felt her service was rude and unnecessary. My husband and I go out to eat probably more than any other couple in the area. We will be sure not to spend our money in this establishment again.

• $$ Baan Thai - 659 Main Street - 781-893-7700 fax 893-7701
  • 2002 03 10

    Late in 2001, the long-lived New House Chinese restaurant closed, and Tumrubthai, featuring authentic Thai cuisine and a sushi bar, opened. The decor, based on blue and Chinese red, is deliciously exotic in a serene way. The framed color photos on the walls add interest to the surroundings. Appetizers range from $4.50 for a corn cake to $6.95 for a shrimp tempura. The chicken satay ($5.50) was 4 generous pieces with a surprisingly spicy peanut sauce, and cucumber salad. The Tom Yum soup with shrimp ($3.25) was seasoned with herbs, mushrooms, lemon grass, and daffir lime leaves. I thought this was one the best renditions of this soup available at many of the Waltham restaurants. The Tamarind Fish, one of the house specialties ($13.95), is topped with tamarind juice, yellow beans, shredded ginger, onions, pineapple, and scallions. This was a large, delicious piece of fish, well worth the price. A vegetarian pad thai is $8.50.

  • 2004 06 10 review by Colin C. Ganley

    Baan Thai is the best restaurant in Waltham! From the Fresh Sushi to the Red Curry Charlie knows Thai. Charlie is the proprietor of Baan Thai and his personal touch makes your experience spectacular. I order out mostly because the food is spectacular. The Crispy Pad Thai, Red Curry and Beef Fried Rice are some of my favorites but any order is a sure thing. He used to have a restaurant on Newbury Street where he served an author and lawyer who loved the restaurant so much, he featured it and its owner in one of his books. Charlie showed me that book the last time I was in. For spectacular food- order Baan Thai, to make it better, eat in. Mark this one Green.

• $$ Erawan of Siam - 469 Moody Street - 781-899-3399
  • 2002 02 19 - Review by Allan Telio

    It's difficult not to be impressed with Erawan of Siam as soon you enter. We were greeted by two elegantly dressed waiters, a multi-armed, brightly colored religious statue, and beautiful Thai wood carvings. As the waiter showed us to our table, I thought to myself, "How much money do I have in wallet? Can I afford this place?"

    My worries vanished as soon as I opened the menu. The majority of the entrees are reasonably priced between $10 and $14. Judging on the just the price of the food and the fantastic ambiance, I knew that I found a great date location. Good thing too, because it was Valentines Day. It also seemed that ever other cheap romantic had had the same idea. The place was packed.

    Fortunately, I had reserved special seats located in the middle of the restaurant. These seats are perfect for a quiet intimate meal. Before I entered the area were I would be eating dinner, I was asked to take off my shoes. Luckily, my socks didn't have any holes.

    For appetizers we had, Thai roles, E.T, and Silver soup. The Thai roles ($4.75), are thin crispy spring rolls filled with meat and vegetables. They are fried until golden brown and served with spicy sweet and sour sauce. Our second appetizer, E.T.($4.75), was my favorite. It seemed to be Thai cuisine's answer to the Indian Samosa, except smaller. The dish has seven small triangles, that are stuffed with potato and other assorted vegetables and Thai herbs. It is crispy and lightly delicately spicy. I think that E.T. stands for extra tasty. Finally, we washed down our appetizers with a bowl of silver soup ($2.95), a shrimp broth with snow peas, and glass noodles. The broth was a little bland for my liking by my girlfriend enjoyed it.

    Our main course, however, was far from bland. I had Ginger Chicken ($8.95) with mushrooms, peppers, onions, carrots and scallions. The chicken was tender and spicy and the vegetables were perfectly cooked, crispy but not raw. My girlfriend, started with two dishes, Rama Garden ($8.95) and Shrimp with pineapple. Rama Garden is assorted steam vegetables, with a peanut sauce served on the side. Neither my girlfriend or I liked the Rama Garden. The vegetables had no seasoning, and the peanut sauce tasted like melted peanut butter. Who goes to a restaurant for plain steamed vegetables and peanut butter? Not me. The Shrimp with Pineapple, however, more than made up for the Rama Garden. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the pineapple was sweet and tender.

    As we polished off the last of our generous portions, the bill arrived. I opened it up and smiled because inside was my perfect valentine, an cheap check.

• $$ Green Papaya - 475 Winter Street - 781-487-9988
• $$ Tom Can Cook [Thai & Chinese] - 374 Moody Street - 781-891-6977
• $$ Tree Top Thai Cuisine - 53 Prospect Street - 781-894-3444
  • 2002 01 11 - Review by Eric Salerno

    My fiance' and I have had Tree Top's food twice, once in the restaurant, and more recently, I called in my order from work, and they had it ready (cooked only minutes ago) when I got there.

    While their Shrimp Pad Thai had a few too many sprouts, and only a few shrimp, the noodles and flavor made up for it. We started eating, figuring on left overs, and when all was said and done, the container was empty.

    The Chicken Pineapple says it's made with Curry, but it isn't very strong. Plenty of chicken and veggies in there. Flavor wasn't quite as impressive as the Pad Thai.

    The Mango Curry and Chicken Yellow Curry are both excellent, and I am sure anyone who orders won't be disappointed.

    The atmosphere is cozy, since the restaurant is small, (this is a plus in my book), excellent colors ( I remember a lot of red)- very friendly service as well. Plan on spending approx. $30 for two, if you get an appetizer or two.

• $$ Yasu Restaurant [Sushi & Japanese, Korean, Thai] - 617 Main Street - 781-894-9783 (Formerly at this location: JTK Grille and Sushi Bar)

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