Tonight, I planned to come back to the hotel, have the other half of my Subway sandwich, and crash with a movie. But driving through Smithfield, a restaurant name caught my eye, Tokyo Thai. I haven’t had pad thai since Eugene, so my stomach rumbled. I decided to get to the hotel and look up the restaurant.

The reviews for this Asian fusion restaurant were excellent. They apparently serve some of the best sushi in the area and their Thai offerings are also highly rated. I decided I wasn’t in the mood for sushi (!) and that I would give their pad thai a try.

The restaurant is lovely, with the tables separated from the entrance, making it feel like you’re entering into a cozy cocoon. It has both booths and tables. I gave the menu a cursory glance and there was quite a variety of cuisines. Prices were reasonable so in addition to a chicken pad thai ($9) I added their Thai summer roll ($4), a cool and crispy combination of carrot, cucumber, and shrimp wrapped in sticky rice paper and served with a sweet chili sauce.

The pad thai soothed my itch. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had since I felt that it was missing something, relying too much on heat to give it flavour, but a squirt of lime juice finished the dish beautifully. The texture of the dish was perfect and oh-so-comfort-foody. The chicken in it was lovely. I tend to be nervous about ordering chicken pad thai instead of veggie or tofu because the chicken tends to be slimy and unrecognizable. This pad thai had  mouthfuls of moist and flavourful chicken breast. The portion was really generous; I probably should have had half of both dishes and brought the rest back for lunch tomorrow.

I would definitely recommend Smithfield’s Toyko Thai. If I’m in the area long enough, I will probably go back and try one of their sushi bento lunch specials!