I took a trip out of my comfort zone to Wilkes-Barre to try Thai cuisine at Thai Thai, a restaurant on South Main Street that offers a variety of Thai food at a great price, allowing for a taste experience like no other.

Upon entering, you’re met with friendly staff, as well as a clean, spacious restaurant that’s lightly decorated with well-matched colors, creating a comfortable dining experience. Some modern restaurants have one thing I dislike – a loud, overstimulating environment. Thai Thai is the opposite of that.

As I normally do before I go to a restaurant, I looked over the menu to not only preview what I may eat, but also to check out prices so I knew what I was getting myself into. When you see that you’ll be enjoying an $11 meal, your expectations may be lowered (although this was their lunch price; their dinner prices that include bigger portions are great, as well), but not at Thai Thai.

I did a bit of research on the dishes offered before arriving as I wanted to ensure I would be eating a meal that matches my tastes in order to write a review that wasn’t overshadowed by specific tastes I don’t enjoy.

Here, you’re given a glass of water that’s constantly refilled. I tried Thai iced tea, a simple black tea with spices, topped with sweetened condensed milk. I don’t usually enjoy creamy drinks, but this drink was delicious. It wasn’t just nice to look at, but nice to consume as almost a palette cleanser in between bites of the meal. I would go to Thai Thai again solely for this drink.

On to the main course. I decided to be a little basic and settled for Pad Thai, as I felt it would be a good introduction to Thai food. This dish features stir fried rice noodles with eggs, ground peanuts, bean curd, sweet radish, scallions, bean sprouts and homemade Pad Thai sauce. It also includes a choice of protein, beef, chicken, shrimp, or squid. I went with chicken as it’s usually my preferred protein.

The dish was deliciously unique. I never had savory dishes that featured peanut flavors before and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was certainly different from a taste I was used to, but that’s not a bad thing. I was shocked by the large portion and, after eating a bit, still had over half the meal left. I took the leftovers with me to eat for lunch the next day.

I would recommend Thai Thai for anyone looking to try something different. The prices are affordable and the large portions will allow you to make two meals out of one.