Tom Yum: Shanghai's Best Thai Restaurants

Tom Yum: Shanghai's Best Thai Restaurants
By Susie Gordon , eChinacities.com

Thai food has to be one of the tastiest cuisines in the world. Steaming plates of pad thai, bowls of tom yam soup, dishes of fragrant green curry… mouth-watering stuff. Distinctive flavours – lemongrass, ginger, galangal, coconut – have made Thai food internationally recognisable, and Shanghai has some great restaurants if you’re craving a tasty meal Chiang Mai-style.

The Taikang Lu complex with its quaint, cosy charm, is the perfect location for eating Thai. Three restaurants have their home there, including Alyssa which has outdoor terraces up top and out front where you sip your soup al fresco. Choose from a variety of lunch and dinner sets cooked by eponymous head chef Alyssa Han, including all the Thai classics – pandan chicken, curries, salads, and meat dishes.

Alyssa View In Map
Add: 2F, 29 Nongtianzifang, Lane 248 Taikang Lu, Luwan District, Shanghai
上海卢湾区泰康路248弄田子坊29号2楼(近瑞金二路)
Tel: 021 64730938

A couple of doors down is Tai Thai which also has a roof terrace and a street-side patio. It’s not the cheapest in town, but the atmosphere and quality make it a firm favourite for dates and intimate dinners.

Tai Thai 太泰View In Map
Add: 17-19, Lane 248 Taikang Lu, near Sinan Lu, Luwan District, Shanghai
上海卢湾区泰康路248弄17-19号, 近思南路
Tel: 021 64668331

Right opposite is Ester’s Bear. On first glance, you wouldn’t think that this place contained a Thai restaurant. From outside it looks like a teddy shop with a café added as an afterthought. But scale the narrow stairs to the first floor, and you’ll find a hidden gem. With two cute terraces each holding one table, and a large bar area spanning the lane, Teddy Thai (for want of a better moniker) is a viable alternative to Taikang Lu’s more expensive Thai restaurants. Coloured curries come in large or small (large is a generous tureen-sized portion) and they serve bottled Hoegaarden beer. Add a panoply of teddy graffiti, teddy pictures, and actual teddies, and it’s a fun (if a little random) place to eat.

Ester’s Bear 泰迪之家View In Map
Add: 23, Lane 248 Taikang Lu, Luwan District, Shanghai
上海卢湾区泰康路248弄田子坊23号
Tel: 021 64730645

Further south in the French Concession is Baan Thai – a former villa that is almost painfully pretty with a gently-lapping fountain, lotus-shaped candles, and a dark wood deck. You pay for the pretty though – a meal for two here will set you back a good few hundred.

The expat haven that is Fumin/Julu wouldn’t be complete without a Thai joint. It comes in the form of Coconut Paradise – which is a safe choice for quality on a mid-range budget.

Baan Thai 紫象泰国餐厅&酒吧View In Map
Add: 1479 Fuxing Zhong Lu, near Huaihai Zhonglu, Luwan District, Shanghai
上海卢湾区复兴中路1479号(近淮海中路)
Tel: 021 64336955

Coconut Paradise 椰香天堂泰国料理View In Map
Add: 38 Fumin Lu, Jing’an District, Shanghai
上海静安区富民路38号(近巨鹿路)
Tel: 021 62481998
Hours: Daily 11:00 – 14:00 pm, 17:00 – 23:00

The area of Jing’an around Kangding Lu and Wuding Lu has two good Thai places. Chiang Mai is known for its northern Thai dishes including coconut crab and pork sausages, and shares a terrace with the Yunnanese restaurant next door. Thai House doesn’t look great from the outside (the entrance is next to the bins belonging to La Ke Xi next door) but things get better once you’re inside. The head chef has nearly 20 years experience in cooking northern Thai cuisine, so the food is top quality. A second branch has recently opened in the French Concession, at 518 Jiashan Lu, near Jianguo Lu. 

Chiang Mai 清迈府泰国料理View In Map
Add: 1019 Kangding Lu, near Yangping Lu, Jing’an District, Shanghai
上海静安区康定路1019号(近延平路)
Tel: 021 5228 1588

Thai House 泰国家View In Map
Add 1: 2/F, 12 Lane 657 Wuding Lu, near Xikang Lu, Jing’an District, Shanghai
上海静安区武定路657弄12号205室(近西康路)
Add2: 518 Jiashan Lu, near Jianguo Lu, Xuhui District, Shanghai
上海徐汇区嘉善路518号

Down in Xujiahui there’s Naam Thai, from the same folk who are behind fusion restaurant T8 in Xintiandi. Naam’s décor is modern/minimalist, and food and drink is on the pricey side.

Naam Thai 纳摩View In Map
Add: 1107-1108 Highstreet Loft, 508 Jiashan Lu, near Jianguo Lu, Xuhui District, Shanghai
上海徐汇区嘉善路508号Loft尚街1107-1108室(近建国西路) 
Tel: 021 54656005

The Simply Thai chain has branches in Xintiandi, the French Concession, Hongmei Entertainment Street and Pudong Green Sports and Leisure Center. It’s another safe choice where Thai is concerned. No surprises – just decent, well-priced dishes.

Simply Thai 天泰餐厅
Xintiandi Branch View In Map
Add: 159 Madang Lu, Luwan District, Shanghai
上海卢湾区马当路159号(近太仓路)
Dongping Branch View In Map
Add: 5C Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu, Xuhui Distrct, Shanghai
上海徐汇区东平路5号C座
Hongmei Branch View In Map
Add: 28, Lane 3338, Hongmei Lu, Minhang District, Shanghai
上海 闵行区虹梅路3338弄虹梅休闲街28号
Jinqiao Branch View In Map
Add: A6, Pudong Green Sports and Leisure Center, 600 Lantian Lu, Pudong, Shanghai
上海浦东新区蓝天路600号碧云体育休闲中心A6

Most people have heard of Da Papa Mario, Dagu Lu’s favourite pizza place, but not everyone knows that Papa’s talents stretch to Thai food as well. Papa Thai (376 Dagu Lu, near Shimen Yi Lu) is right next door to the pizzeria, and serves up tasty Siamese classics. The head chef comes from Ubon Ratchathani in north-east Thailand, so authenticity is guaranteed.

Papa Thai 爸爸泰View In Map
Add: 376 Dagu Lu, near Chengdu Beilu, Jing’an District, Shanghai
上海静安区大沽路376号(近成都北路)
Tel: 021 6340 1615

If you’re feeling lazy and want your food delivered, try Thai Food Station. Operating out of Melting Pot on Hengshan Lu, it’s the brainchild of Alyssa Han. You can order online at www.thaifoodstation.com and the delivery fee is ¥15 to downtown locations.

Warning:The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

0 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.