Magnesiumm and I are starting this Foodie Tuesdays thing. We both have this crazy 4 hour break every Tuesdays so we go out to eat for lunch around the UBC area. We went to Maenam back in February because we really wanted to try out Thai food. It was a good choice.

We decided to opt for the set menu. It was $25 per person and we can choose one starter, one salad, one curry, and one stir fry. They were all in good portions and we were very full after the meal.

served with nahm jim sauce

Steamed Mussels with Lemongrass and Thai Basil

• authentic herbs and spices
• came with a nice accompanying chili sauce. Not overly spicy, but great kick to the flavor
• broth was very light and flavorful, not heavy with the herbs at all and soaked the mussel flavor
• something Magnesiumm said and I have to agree: the mussels didn’t seem that fresh and had a weird “sea” aftertaste

longons, fresh herbs on top of tender pork cheeks in light broth

Braised Pork Cheek Salad

• it was a little underwhelming. I really like pork cheek but it didn’t really fit with this dish in my opinion
• it’s a warm salad. More of a personal thing, it was alright
• chili and the lime added good flavor to it, but the pork was very rich and didn’t really add to it well. I thought it would have been better separated
• pork was tender, but not as tender as I would have liked

fresh rice noodles, tamarind, peanuts, tofu, egg, sustainable prawns

Pad Thai (RECOMMENDED)

• this is my favorite pad thai so far in Vancouver, but then again I only tried 2 other places for pad thai… If there’s somewhere better I will update this
• very tangy and sweet, it certainly has a unique flavour profile and really stands out!
• noodles were cooked perfectly
• I do find the sauce just slightly overwhelming; I definitely don’t think I could eat the entire thing on its own. But still very very good nonetheless.

tender pork belly and shoulder, braised lotus roots, peanuts, Burmese style curry

Chiang Mai style heritage pork curry

• very interesting, didn’t seem as rich as other typical curries
• had a good amount of spice
• there were 2 main things that stood out in this dish: the pork belly and the lotus root. Much to my surprise, I liked the lotus root better. It was nice and firm, not mushy at all. Its taste went really well with the curry and a bowl of rice.
• kind of salty

I thought this place was great! Good portions and great choice of ingredients. Would come again for sure.