Midtown Drunken Noodle Showdown: Topaz vs Pam Real Thai Encore

Date April 14, 2008

When you talk about Midtown Thai, there is no hands down go-to spot. Everyone has their individual favorites because everyone’s definition of great Thai varies. NYC Food Guy has been in the process of paring down the competition by eating one of only two dishes at every place: Pad Thai with Chicken and the Dish of the Day Drunken Noodles (Pad Key Mao) with Pork. This is New York and there’s no better way to determine who’s best than by pitting two places together in a head-to-head fight to the death. In other words, an NYC Food Guy Showdown! There will be a lot more of these, but what better to debut with than a fiery Drunken Noodles battle royale?

ROUND 1: THE PORK

I’ll be honest, my favorite part of Topaz’s Drunken Noodles is the pork, and so before I ever had Pam Real Thai Encore, they were at a disadvantage. What makes Topaz’s pork so good is that it’s sliced pork with sweet skin like you’d find on boneless spare ribs. Delicious. It’s tender, moist, and flavorful in comparison to the dry and bland shredded pork you find in Pam Real Thai’s.

DECISION: TOPAZ

ROUND 2: FLAVOR, NOODLES AND HOT-FACTOR

I’m a man who likes his food hot and his noodles moderately sauced. Why do I include these two in the same category? Because the Noodles carry the sauce and the sauce carries the spice. They go hand in hand.

Topaz

To preface, at Topaz I ask for my Drunken Noodles extra spicy. This results in a dish that comes with chili powder on top of the dish, requiring me to mix it up when it first arrives. I’m not really a fan of this but it’s all part of a balanced dish that really is delicious, so I deal. After the chili powder, the spice is derived from chopped Thai Chiles, sliced green Chile peppers, and big fresh leaves of basil. Topaz’s filler is Thai broccoli, but I like the crunch and flavor, it doesn’t bother me. It all results in lightly sauced noodles that sometimes cake together, but are worth overlooking due to balanced and bearably spicy sauce.

Pam Real Thai Encore

Before we get into quality, let’s talk quantity of spice. At Pam Real Thai Encore You can add “kicks” of spiciness, increasing up to 3 levels (i.e. one kick, two kicks, three kicks). I went with 2 kicks and I was in pain. I can handle spicy, but this was the kind of spicy that had my entire face sweating and my nose running. It was awesome. Regardless, the sauce overall was too garlicky. It became the overpowering flavor. There was a decent amount of basil, but it wasn’t as fresh and flavorful as Topaz’s because it was drowned out by the garlic. Also, instead of sliced chile peppers, there were roughly chopped green and red peppers, filler ingredients I can do without. There also seems to be more of a reliance on sauce than with Topaz’s, probably to add flavor where the bland pork falls short. In the end, overabundance of garlic and sauce falls short in the face of sliced chili peppers and balanced flavor.

DECISION: TOPAZ

ROUND 3: PRICE AND DELIVERY EXPERIENCE

Price is a push because both places provide quality sized portions for $9.95. Pam Real Thai Encore, however, is cash only. (NB Pam Real Thai Encore is closed Monday) Delivery, unfortunately, is another story, especially for Topaz, who when it gets busy at lunchtime, just takes their phone off the hook. Unacceptable. I realize they have a dining room to take care of in addition to pick ups but to just take the phone off the hook is not cool. Dinner time delivery has never been a problem but this lunchtime phenomenon angers me. Pam Real Thai Encore, on the other hand, always seems to be able to get to the phone, albeit sometimes after a dozen rings, but at least we know we’ve got a chance. Keep in mind, Pam Real Thai Encore is closed Monday.

DECISION: PAM REAL THAI ENCORE

***OUR WINNER***

***TOPAZ’S PORK DRUNKEN NOODLES***

For me the pork alone is reason enough to go with Topaz’s, but I know some people don’t eat pork. I feel confident enough with the balanced flavor of Topaz’s Drunken Noodles overall to say that no matter what meat (or tofu) you go with, you’ll be pleased. Pass on Pam Real, go to Topaz for Drunken Noodles.

Topaz

127 West 56th St b/t 6th & 7th Ave
New York, NY10019
(212) 957-8020

Pam Real Thai Encore

402 West 47th St b/t 9th & 10th Ave.
New York, NY 10036
(212) 315-4441
Cash Only
Closed Monday

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