The smoky-sweet comfort noodle — the charred edges are the whole point.
$12
Where it comes from
Pad see ew, 'fried with soy sauce,' is Thailand's branch of a noodle family that runs from Cantonese chow fun to Singapore's char kway teow — planted wherever Chinese wok cooks settled. Wide rice noodles meet dark soy, egg and Chinese broccoli in a screaming wok; the sugars scorch and the noodles blister. That faint, smoky bitterness — the breath of the wok — separates the real thing from a sauté. Ours blisters properly.
Not sure how to judge a plate like this? Read our field guide to the best Thai food in Orange County — five signs of a real Thai kitchen, and what to order once you’re in one.
