Need help finding a good Thai restaurant near Wheeling?

Hi all! First-time poster, long time lurker. I was wondering if you all could provide some good ideas and suggestions for a Thai restaurant. I live near Palwaukee Airport and would like to plan a small anniversary dinner for my parents, about 15 people max. I would like to avoid any China Buffets... but it has to be Asian food of some sort, so I thought Thai would be a good way to go.

Your input is greatly appreciated!

Kim

I'd like to hear replies, too, because I live near Palwaukee, probably on the other side from you, and there's a lack of Thai places around there.

Though it's not my favorite Thai, Pad Thai at Oakton & Rt. 83 in Des Plaines is pretty good.

2310 S. ELMHURST ROAD
MOUNT PROSPECT, IL 60056
(847) 472-9000
http://www.padthaifood.com

Also, in the opposite direction, there's Green Basil in Vernon Hills. A little nicer than Pad Thai.

701 N. Milwaukee Ave. #284
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
847.918.8858
http://www.greenbasilkitchen.com

When we don't care about distance as much, we go to Ruby of Siam in Skokie (they have locations in Evanston and the Loop, also):

9240 Skokie Blvd.
Skokie IL. 60077
847-675-7008
http://rubyofsiam.com/

I Am Siam
1 Huntington Lane - (between Baldwin Ct & Dundee Rd)
Wheeling, IL 60090
(847) 419-0698

I'm not a huge fan of Thai food. But a friend took me there for lunch earlier this year. I don't recall what we ordered. But I do remember that it was pretty good.

Thanks for the recs! If I cannot find anything in or near Wheeling, maybe someone will suggest places near the Woodfield Mall area as well?

Lexyfur wrote:Thanks for the recs! If I cannot find anything in or near Wheeling, maybe someone will suggest places near the Woodfield Mall area as well?

My favorite in that general area is altThai in downtown Arlington Heights. Another place that's decent is Taste of Thai on Golf Road in Hoffman Estates.

Gumrai Thai is my favorite in the northwest suburbs. Very authentic, friendly service, reasonably nice decor and excellent food. (AltThai is fancier, more Americanized and pricier, and I don't like their curries nearly so well.)

Gumrai Thai
170 N. Arlington Heights Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60004
(847) 590-1000
http://www.gumraithai.com


Appetizer sampler


Seaweed salad


Seafood curry

I'm a big fan of I Am Siam. Just had Sunday dinner there a few weeks ago with my dad, who ordered the Five Star Chicken (and loved it), while I had my favorite, the Ginger Chicken. Their soft spring rolls are equally good.

Now, I'm craving their pad thai--might stop by there after work this afternoon!

nsxtasy wrote: Another place that's decent is Taste of Thai on Golf Road in Hoffman Estates.

I second this. I live right around the corner from Taste of Thai and have tried most of the Thai restaurants in the area -- I keep coming back to this. Delicious, very freshly prepared. It's a small neighborhood place, so pretty casual, though they do have white tablecloths and a fresh flower on every table!

lunanoir wrote:

nsxtasy wrote: Another place that's decent is Taste of Thai on Golf Road in Hoffman Estates.

I second this. I live right around the corner from Taste of Thai and have tried most of the Thai restaurants in the area -- I keep coming back to this. Delicious, very freshly prepared. It's a small neighborhood place, so pretty casual, though they do have white tablecloths and a fresh flower on every table!

Taste of Thai used to be my favorite Thai restaurant, but my last experience (about a year or two ago) was not good. It seemed like the menu changed. Did the owner change?

shorty wrote:Taste of Thai used to be my favorite Thai restaurant, but my last experience (about a year or two ago) was not good. It seemed like the menu changed. Did the owner change?

I don't think so. I've been going there once every several years for almost twenty years, I think. My most recent visit was a year or two ago and the food seemed to be the same as always (which is a good thing).

nsxtasy wrote:

shorty wrote:Taste of Thai used to be my favorite Thai restaurant, but my last experience (about a year or two ago) was not good. It seemed like the menu changed. Did the owner change?

I don't think so. I've been going there once every several years for almost twenty years, I think. My most recent visit was a year or two ago and the food seemed to be the same as always (which is a good thing).

That's strange. I will have to go back and try it again. I started going to the restaurant in the 90's. There was a period of time when I was going there about every other weekend.

Thanks for posting the pics, LAZ! I think we will try Gumrai Thai. It's not too far from our house.

And thanks to all for your suggestions!

Thai Garden
225 W Golf RD
Schaumburg, IL 60195-3605
Tel: 847-519-1770
Fax: 847-519-9814

shorty wrote:

lunanoir wrote:

nsxtasy wrote: Another place that's decent is Taste of Thai on Golf Road in Hoffman Estates.

I second this. I live right around the corner from Taste of Thai and have tried most of the Thai restaurants in the area -- I keep coming back to this. Delicious, very freshly prepared. It's a small neighborhood place, so pretty casual, though they do have white tablecloths and a fresh flower on every table!

Taste of Thai used to be my favorite Thai restaurant, but my last experience (about a year or two ago) was not good. It seemed like the menu changed. Did the owner change?

I had lunch at Taste of Thai again today and I thought everything I had was excellent. The panang was particularly good, one of the best you'll find anywhere.

Sharpie66 wrote:I'm a big fan of I Am Siam. Just had Sunday dinner there a few weeks ago with my dad, who ordered the Five Star Chicken (and loved it), while I had my favorite, the Ginger Chicken. Their soft spring rolls are equally good.

Now, I'm craving their pad thai--might stop by there after work this afternoon!

We tried I Am Siam this week. I'm fighting off a cold, so I had a bowl of Tom Kha- spicier than I was expecting, and they didn't ask how spicy I wanted it before making it that spicy. But it was still very good and definitely cleared my sinuses! I also had Pad See Ew and Mr. Maki had Pad Thai. Both were very good. My only complaint was that it was a little oilier than I'm used to, but the flavor was good and I liked that the Pad See Ew was a little caramelized.

This was the second Pad Thai we've had recently where the prominent flavor was tomato....unexpected, but quite tasty.

ETA: Oh, and huge portions!

This place is pretty good, in Skokie

http://www.tubtimthai.com/

The lunch special at Gumrai is a great deal... good sized portion, comes with soup and appetizer, under $10. Food is tasty as well!

Sharpie66 wrote:I'm a big fan of I Am Siam. Just had Sunday dinner there a few weeks ago with my dad, who ordered the Five Star Chicken (and loved it), while I had my favorite, the Ginger Chicken. Their soft spring rolls are equally good.

Now, I'm craving their pad thai--might stop by there after work this afternoon!

We are big fans of I Am Siam. They don't always understand special requests but have consistently had good food, and we've actually been back in the city to our once-favorite place and found it disappointing compared to our surprising suburban spot. I actually though IAS was IN Wheeling, it must be just over the border to Arlington Heights or Buffalo Grove, but at Dundee and Lexington, it's practically Wheeling.

PS My husband loves their peanut sauce.

About 18 months or so ago, my late wife and I needed to be in Arlington Heights around noon and I asked Ronnie Suburban for a recommendation. He suggested I Am Siam. We arrived just before 2:30 when they stopped lunch service. The staff person was very rude about wanting to serve us. I had to convince them that we were there in time and we were hungry.
I don't recall the food we ordered but neither dish was very good. Perhaps they've improved since mid-2009, but I was very disappointed then and obviously haven't been back.

Grandpa Bob wrote:About 18 months or so ago, my late wife and I needed to be in Arlington Heights around noon and I asked Ronnie Suburban for a recommendation. He suggested I Am Siam. We arrived just before 2:30 when they stopped lunch service. The staff person was very rude about wanting to serve us. I had to convince them that we were there in time and we were hungry.
I don't recall the food we ordered but neither dish was very good. Perhaps they've improved since mid-2009, but I was very disappointed then and obviously haven't been back.

Yeah, as I posted somewhere around here, I also stopped going to I Am Siam about 2 years ago. I never experienced rudeness there -- they were always very kind -- but every time I went there the food got worse. After about 5 visits, I just couldn't bring myself to eat there anymore.

I've yet to find a North-Suburban Thai restaurant that really satisfies me, though Siam's House in Niles is pretty darned good and Ruby of Siam in Skokie has its moments, too.

=R=

Siam's House
7742 North Milwaukee Avenue
Niles, IL 60714-4707
(847) 967-2390

Ruby of Siam
9420 Skokie Boulevard
Skokie, IL 60077-1311
(847) 675-7008