Imm Thai, Berkeley

My sister and I went here last night prior to seeing a show nearby. We were in a hurry so I didn’t take any pics. The place was packed when we got there at 6:00 (although the wait was short), and had a line outside on a cold night for the rest of the time we were there.

Because we were in a hurry, we only ordered two items, pad thai and moo ping. Both were excellent. The egg in particular in the pad thai was delicious, and the dish wasn’t too sweet. The grilled slices of pork were very flavorful, and we loved the vinegary dipping sauce that came with it. They have the spicy four-condiment caddy to bring to your table, upon request.

The servings aren’t overly huge but those two items filled us up. I also had a really good, crisp Sauvignon Blanc with my dinner.

In recent memory, I’m having a hard time remembering better Thai food I’ve had, even though we only tried the two items. Lers Ros is my favorite, in the City, but for me, they excel at slightly different items, not they typical fare. Lers Ros’ pad thai, for instance, is pretty dull. Imm Thai’s was fabulous. The food on everyone’s tables looked amazing. I can’t wait to try their pad see ew, and the duck noodle soup!

Service was friendly. The place is pretty frantic, you can see the kitchen staff going full speed, because they’re so busy. In fact, I kind of can’t imagine them using a delivery service as they’re just too busy. Looking forward to going back.

Anyone else been?

https://www.zomato.com/berkeley-ca/imm-thai-street-food-berkeley/menu

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When I worked around the corner I had the pad-see-ew frequently. Their version of the fish sauce with chilis (i avoid the chilis part) made a great condiment for the pad-see-ew. I like the way they do the eggs to. They are certainly my go to for thai in Berkeley, but now its been at least a year since I’ve been there.

The whole fried fish at Lers Ros (strictly Tenderloin) still haunts my memory. But I would never get the pad Thai there, nor do I ever use that dish as my measuring stick for Thai places. When it’s done well, it can be awesome but I’ve only had good renditions in situ (Bangkok specifically). The Thai repertoire is simply mind-blowing. It’s a shame that pad Thai has become so inextricably tied to Thai cuisine.

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yeah… not being super knowledgeable on all the intricacies of Thai cuisine, and never having been to Thailand, very unfortunately, I do tend to judge a place by it’s pad thai, even though i know i shouldn’t. I know it’s sort of an “invented” dish for them. but i still love it!

I’m going to go by there today and pick up lunch for us - pad see ew and the duck noodle soup. or maybe the duck over rice.

@mariacarmen I didn’t mean for my post to sound so snooty (and it does upon second reading). Not my style nor intention.

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Is their location in Oakland (Yimm) any good? We are thinking of going tonight. And I love Pad Thai. One of my favorite meals in Thailand was getting a giant plate of pad Thai on the street in Chiangmai for $.50. It was amazing and one of the most memorable meals I have ever had. Everything was perfectly balanced and in harmony. The dish has an interesting history if you look it up.

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Oh no, didn’t take it that way at all!

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Didn’t know about it! I just read it’s a little different, and the one in Oakland a little more expensive. But I would definitely check it out, if I was near there.

crappy pics (sorry), but we did get take-out today - Kana Moo Krob - pork belly stir fry with Chinese broccoli and garlic - spicy! pad see ew with pork - with sooooo much wok heyyyyyyy… :smile: - wonderful! fried pork ribs (no pics) - incredibly tender. They were actually breaded a bit, i thought they were fried chicken drumettes at first. delicious. and finally, roast honey duck over rice with spinach. Lovely. definitely had five spice, so my sister didn’t like it, but I did. doctored mine up with some of the caddy condiments and made myself cry. I’d get all of it again. What a great find!

IMM%20Thai%20Honey%20Duck%20over%20rice%20with%20spinach

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We went last night to the Oakland one, Yimm. It was excellent. I will post a review of it. One of the noodle dishes was out of this world.

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Have been to Imm (not Yimm) on University Ave in Berkeley about ten times for lunch. Have only ordered Su Kho Thai (pork noodle soup). Fabulous soup. Noisy place, very crowded but excellent quick service.

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