Restaurant Review: Thai Market in Silver Spring

As if a food post on making ramen/ramyun wasn’t lazy enough, today I’m talking about food that I didn’t have any hand in preparing: I’m doing a restaurant review! If I were to review restaurants that I take my family to on a regular basis, it’d most likely be a chain with high ceilings where kids eat free because parents love it when A) their kids crying isn’t the loudest sound in the restaurant and B) they save money. Oh, and crayons and balloons–anything that will hold their attention for more than 3 minutes thereby pushing back their time till meltdown–are also a big bonus. This isn’t that kind of place. So sorry, but there are no recipes here–though I am planning on doing a post on tom yum soup soon–and if you don’t live in the DMV (DC/MD/VA) you won’t be able to dine here as it’s not a chain. But I hope it encourages to try Thai food!

My wife and I led a missions team to Chiang Rai, Thailand in 2006 and 2007 and we fell in love with the people there, not to mention the food. We visited last summer and we continue to keep in touch with the local ministry and sponsor several kids in the youth development program, but we still miss the people there, not to mention the food. Did I mention the food?

While I love me some Thai food, I really dislike the prices they charge in the DMV. $9 for pad thai?! Did you know bowls of noodles sell for less than a buck in Thailand? Granted, average income is totally different, but when I told our Thai friends how much their compatriots were charging stateside, they nearly had a heart attack.

Enter Thai Market, a tiny hole in the wall at 902 Thayer Ave, just a few blocks from downtown Silver Spring. When we walked in, it smelled like Thailand and they had pictures of the king and queen. The fact they had Milo’s and Oishi green teas in the market, which is attached to the restaurant–endeared the place to us even more. So anywho, onto the pics!

From these humble digs come untold of deliciousness.

Thai Market, Silver Spring, MD

We started with sticky rice and meat on a stick.

Sticky rice and meat on a stick ($1 each)

Seriously. How can you go wrong with meat on a stick?

You can't!

The menu and the prices were so enticing we ended up ordering 3 dishes in addition to the sticky rice and meat on a stick. Drunken noodle:

Yummy!

Beef noodle soup:

Pho-like

And chicken with sweet basil:

Basil is delicious!

Washed down with a $1 Thai Iced Tea:

$1!!!

Sure the iced tea was heavy on the ice, light on the tea. But for $1 when other places charge close to $4?!?! Would you think less of me if I double-fisted Thai iced teas?

Their papaya salad looks great and my wife and I are planning on trying everything on the menu (not on one visit obviously). That was WAY too much food and we definitely had leftovers.

All of that food for a little over $20! You can see why I’m a fan. Top it off with free meters on Saturdays and Sundays in front of the restaurant, the farmer’s market on Ellsworth Drive, and the Silver Plaza fountain kids can play on, and you’ve got a fun, cheap way to spend the day with your family. And like the sign says: cash only!

What are some of your favorite family-friendly restaurants? Or a fun way to spend the day with your family? And does Thai food give you IBS or do basil burps really smell atrocious (mine do!)?