The Purple Pad Thai

Today is extra special, and not just because it is All Soul's Day. This also maks the day when I spawned and started to wreck havoc in humanity in my own little way. Spawns like me are born with a great appetite. To disappoint you, no, it is not brains or unborn children that my hunger yearns for (maybe occasionally); it is just good food.

I have been sharing posts about Purple Pad Thai on my Facebook. Purple Pad Thai's Facebook page is food porn. They post Thai food and delicious desserts that would really make you hungry if you scroll through their albums filled with pictures of Thai cuisine. My curiosity is shared by my friends who read through my posts. Sadly, Purple Pad Thai is located in Angeles City, Pampanga, but for foodies, no location is inaccessible to experience good food.

The menu can be intimidating as half of the entries are Thai dishes. Randy Ramos, manager for Purple Pad Thai, mentioned that they wanted to be as authentic as possible. Most of the Thai ingredients are imported to really give the authentic Thai flavor. Despite staying true to traditional Thai cooking, they made small tweaks to these dishes to make the flavors taste much more closer to home.

It would be silly not to order curry to which Thai food is also known for. Looking at the menu, I see the list of curry as Red, Green, and Panaeng. I am not a fan of spicy dishes. Spicy dishes can burn my lips and my tongue, I would not be able to taste food for days, but I may be exaggerating. Seeing the menu list, I assumed that Green curry would be the mildest of them all; Red would be hot, and the one with the Thai name would cause anyone to breathe fire with each bite. I was so wrong. Panaeng is the mildest curry they have. The waiter told me that it has the sweet taste of peanut butter. Red is regularly spiced, and Green is the pot of burning flames. Being the spice-sissy that I am, I ordered Panaeng Chicken Curry.

Fun Curry Facts: Did you know that drinking water does not help much in removing the spicy taste from your mouth? Take a mouthful of rice instead. The spicy taste adheres to oil in food, and oil resists water. With rice, oil with stick to the rice easily, removing much of the spicy taste from your mouth.

It didn't really took a while for the food to be served. The smell of curry and peanut butter is divine. The presentation is as simple as it gets, but curry does not need fancy introductions. You can find mixed rice included in the menu, but the waiter suggested to take curry with steamed rice. This would better compliment with the rich flavors of curry. Boy, this meal did not fail to disappoint.

Chicken was cut into bite-size pieces and was well-cooked. Yes, you get the sweet taste of peanut butter, bust surprisingly, it was still mildly spicy. The hotness gives the balance in the sweetness that peanut butter flavor gives. You get the spicy taste when you start to chew the chicken pieces, which feels like an explosion of flavor with every bite. It may be hard for anyone to stop themselves from ordering another serving of steamed rice because it is really delicious. I really find it surprising for me to enjoy spicy dishes because, like I said, I am not a fan of spicy dishes. Ordering this dish will never leave you disappointed.

yes, i couldn't resist taking a bite out of it before taking a picture.

I really suggest to go beyond your urge to order a another serving of steamed rice while enjoying your main dish as you really have to make room for dessert. Ordering something sweet is really refreshing to your mouth especially if you ordered a spicy main dish. Me? I ordered frozen Brazo de Manga. I had no choice as the other desserts are out (really shows you how much the people love these desserts). I will be doing a separate post about the dessert because it is going to be a mouthful (figuratively and literally).

The restaurant is spacious and fits about 80 persons. They also cater!

Chef Yel is the genius behind these delicious cuisines. He was featured on my previous entry, Sawasdee, Holiday Inn Clark, as a guest chef for Holiday Inn Clark. The Thai event was such a hit, Holiday Inn invited him recently to, again, manage their kitchen.

For my friends in Manila, plan a road trip, because Purple Pad Thai is really worth it. My regrets during this visit is I didn't order appetizers. I was eyeing on Crunchy Pork Salad. I know the name alone would leave anyone curious. I will make sure to plan another visit as there are other things worth tasting, perhaps the Fish or Shrimp with 5 Sauces. I will also try some of their amazing desserts, like Braso de Durian and the Carrot Cake.

Add them on Facebook though this link here. Directions are also available there.

Happy Birthday to me!