Thai Express

I had lunch at many different fastfood thai locations but this one is the worst for sure. Had a Pad Thai but it tasted just like nothing. Even the chicke had a strange taste — couldn’t eat it at all.

I love Thai Express it’s a great chain of restaurant! I love the fact that unlike many of its competitors everything is made fresh to serve. Clear windows allows you to see what the chefs are cooking and how they are cooking it.
They have both rice/​noodle dishes and soup noodle dishes which opens up a variety of menu items that you can choose from. You can also choose the amount of spice you’d like in your food as well which is a plus.
I usually always get the General Thai which consists of battered pork, green peppers, red peppers, onions, tomatoes and pineapples (I usually ask without) and get the medium spice as the next level up I find too bolstering for my taste buds.
COME EARLY.
I feel bad for people who have lunch right at 12:00PM because the line up is crazy there. I was there quarter to noon and the line up was already crazy and I was joyfully munching down my food I couldn’t help but feel bad for the people waiting in line.
This place never lets me down and I doubt it will let you down too. Try it out!

In a food category where most vendors pre-​cook their wares and display it in heated bins, I love the idea of Thai Express: being able to order, and have your meal prepared fresh in front of you.
This is not the norm in a food court.
Given the typical lunch hour line-​ups at this location (routinely the longest by far in the area), I’m not the only one appreciating the concept. But despite the onerous-​looking wait times, Thai Express has a pretty slick operation in place to pull everything off.
The cooks manning the stir fry bowls are continuously turning over meals at a rapid pace, while additional prep staff staging fresh ingredients for the meals next up.
As well, a second wait area exists for soups… so those «waiting» are spread out along the counter.
In reality, the volume Thai Express deals with is pretty impressive.
I’ve tried this location a couple of times now, and my take away experience is this:
First up was Pad Thai. I sat down, and my initial impression was it was missing a few things. No peanuts, no hint of lime, or even egg. It was pretty bland.
That was mostly my mistake: as a rookie, I failed to realize that there is a station off to the side that provides (yes) fresh limes, and ground peanuts, as well as hot sauces, etc. that you can add to your meal as desired.
My second visit led to the «General Thai» meal. As the name hints, it was coated chicken and veggies on a bed of rice.
Tasty, but I noticed the rice seemed like it had been «drying out» a little around the edges. Not surprising, as they do have a lot of ingredients «queue up» for the massive lunch rush.
The verdict? Well, I know I’ll be coming back. A lot. Bottom line is there is enough on the menu to keep me interested, and returning repeatedly.
When your choices ARE food fare, Thai Express is definitely one of the better options.
³⁄₃₀

(I’m hoping this is the location in The Core shopping centre!)
Just started going here again in Calgary. I loved Thai Express when I was living in Montréal. Even at lunch, this location is fast, they keep the line moving, and I love all the options. You get TONS of food (I usually eat the chicken/​veggies and can’t even start on the rice) for the price. My favourite is the chicken stirfry with peanut sauce but it’s all good — and you get to pick how spicy it is (beware — they lean on the spicy side… I love spice but I usually get Medium and it’s got plenty of heat).
My only laments are that 1) you don’t get the food in the little cartons like you do in Montréal (it’s normal styrofoam containers here) and 2) they can be a little short with you to try to keep the line moving. It’s a bit of a jolt to newcomers, and they speak so fast that sometimes patrons get confused, but overall I always enjoy my experience with this fast food joint.