REMOVED: Kanlaya Thai Restaurant

This casual inexpensive restaurant in the Asian Mall divides their menu into "Non-Vegetarian" and "Vegetarian." I explained to the waitress that I have a vegan diet, and as I was about to order the Pad Thai on the "Vegetarian" menu without eggs, she stopped me and explained it contains fish sauce. I'm very disappointed they have a non-vegetarian item on the "Vegetarian" menu, but I'm happy they have a knowledgeable waitress. Now I wonder about the vegetarian-ness of the rest of the "Vegetarian" menu.

I've been to really good Thai restaurants. Compared to the ones in Hawaii where they use fresh ingredients including coconut and pineapple, this place ranks at a 2. For the Middle Atlantic, this place is solidly a 3.

We had salad (fresh looking mixed greens with onions, tomatoes, carrots and raw broccoli) that came with peanut sauce. That was pretty good, although not organic. We also had the Tom Kha Gai soup, which was rather thin and bland until my husband added Thai spices to it. Our main dish was fried tofu in a thin black bean sauce that contained a token amount of vegetables, served with sticky white rice. Unfortunately, brown rice is not an option here. Our food wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. Our whole meal cost $16, which is an amazing price these days.

Note - there was one waitress for the entire restaurant, which seats a lot of people. There were only people occupying 3 tables when we were there, so service was adequate, but with a lunch crowd, one waitress would not be enough.

Excellent selection for both veg and non veg. The place does not look like anyone should eat there nor does the music make you want to stay long but the food is top shelf!