Thai Basil- Food Cart

My husband got PadKiMao and it was not spicy at all, but the smoky smell from the food did bring me back to the authentic Thai food back home in Thailand. I got Mango stir fried on rice and it was good. However, it felt as if I was eating Korean or Japanese food due to the smell of sesame seeds in it.
Their Thai bubble tea was good, probably the best I’ve had in Portland so far. I would totally come back here for the Thai tea, but not sure if I’d get the food here again.

This USED to be the best thai food in town. IT’S NOT ANYMORE. I don’t know what happened, but the food has changed. There were no veggies in the veggie pad thai and the sauce was syrupy like it had come pre-​bought out of a bottle. I couldn’t even finish it. Very little tofu, very little best sprouts. Just an amorphous blob of nasty noodles. Just to be sure, this is not Anna’s Thai Basil which, from my understanding, was the original cook for the Thai Basil cart. She now has her own cart right next store. If I had known this before ordering I would have gone there. I’ve read the reviews for her cart and it seems the food is still good even if the service is lacking. I’m going there next time.

I thought I would branch out and try a different thai cart at this pod (I usually go to Sawasdee and in the future I will stick with that). As I was waiting for my food I noticed that the cashier was putting the finishing touches on the food, bare-​handed, without washing her hands after handling money. Fortunately the dish I ordered did not get a garnish or I would have demanded my money back and gone elsewhere. The plastic container my food came in was very cheap and thin and the food was incredibly hot. It burned my hands as I walked and when I got to the park I planned to eat at the container sprung a leak. By the time I finished eating there were cracks all through the bottom of the container, creating a giant hole and a huge mess. Lucky day to have worn a black skirt. The food was too salty, too oily, and completely lacking in complexity of flavor. I will not be back and I’d advise others to avoid it, as well.

Used to be great and especially for price but not anymore. Shrimp Thai was inedible. 3 small shrimp and one baby shrimp instead of the 7 large ones I had 2 weeks ago. And the noodle were stuck together and tasted horrible. All after being up charged .50 cents for using a debit card.
Bye bye Thai Basil– you no good deal or food no more!

There are so many Thai food carts in the city so it’s hard to choose one. This choice didn’t disappoint. I ordered the pineapple fried rice — spicy. She corrected me and told me to get it medium… good thing, it was just the right amount of spice without overpowering the other flavors. Also, I watched her make it fresh — no reheated food here!

This was my first Portland food cart experience and it exceeded my expectations. I ordered pad thai medium spiciness and they started cooking it immediately as they weren’t busy. The girl taking orders chatted with me as it was being prepared. It didn’t take any longer than about 5 minutes. I also tried the fresh spring rolls and peanut sauce she had set out. For $ 9.50 total I got about a pound and a half of piping hot, fresh, delicious pad thai with chicken and 2 fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce. The spring rolls were large and filled with crisp veggies. The peanut sauce was runny and didn’t have too much flavor but all in all I would definitely try it again.

1^st time to getting anything here and there is a long black hair in my lunch! I’m NOT going back!!!

This was terrible. I wanted Thai food and I always go to I Like Thai, the cart right next to this Thai Basil cart. Well, I Like Thai happened to be closed this day so I decided to try the Thai Basil cart. BIG MISTAKE! Oh my this was such a disappointment. I don’t mind waiting for my food to be prepared, provided it tastes good. I ordered the panang curry with chicken. I got a TON of white rice topped with frozen mixed veggies and some chicken with very little curry sauce. It tasted like heated up frozen veggies with a very small amount of some curry flavored water on top of the frozen veggies and white rice. I was very disappointed because I was really in the mood for Thai. Not only did the food tast extremely bland, but I figured since the name of this place had Basil in the name I’d get some fresh basil in my curry… NOPE! Next time I will not make the mistake of going here. If you want amazing Thai food, go to the I Like Thai cart next to this one. Yes, it’s a $ 1 more but it will last 2 to 3 meals and it’s fresh. You’ll get a huge container of fresh made curry spiced to your liking with fresh green beans, fresh basil, fresh carrots and eggplant. Along with your choice of brown or white rice, and getting brown doesn’t cost extra. Don’t waste your $ 5 on this place… it’s better spent at Taco Bell. If you want excellent, fresh Thai and lots of it, then go to I Like Thai.

Stupid me to be fooled by the picture.
I ordered Panang Salmon.
When I got my order, I immediately knew that this is not gonna be good. The sauce really watery… and the worst part was the fish! It stinked!
I took a small bite just to spit it out, and guess where the rest ended up? In the GARBAGE!!!

The best of the Thai food carts in this food cart mecca corner! They were soooo friendly and served up huge portions of the most delicious pad eew broad noodles and pumpkin curry I have ever had. For only $ 5 this is a huge bargain and better than most Thai restaurants. And tastier than the same dishes at their neighboring Thai food stand. Also the bubble tea drinks are made with real fruit and they have a cool real Thai machine that seals them up to go and is fun to watch! Very highly recommended.