Just returned from an excellent meal. We arrived at 7:50 and not another party arrived after us. When we left at 9:10 we were the last people there. A real shame, since not every table was filled (almost, but a couple of open tables) and I wonder if they had more than one turn on many of the tables on a Saturday night. Great meal and four dishes less than $40 with tax. I have never been disappointed. If I lived nearby, I'd be a frequent diner, in and take out.

I just wanted to drop a quick post about a new appetizer special at Aroy: Son In Law Eggs (khai luuk kheuy).

They are (almost) hard boiled eggs, yolks just a bit runny, deep fried and topped with a sweet and spicy tamarind sauce. They have a decent kick and nice bit of crunch that comes from what I believe are fried shallots in the sauce. These little one-bite wonders were a great way to start our meal at Aroy last night. Recommended.

Also, another previously off-menu appetizer special that seems to be regularly available now is Tod Mun, or fried fish cakes. Try these too while you are at it.

Enjoy,
--Rich

Tee is working on some new dishes, including a new khanom jin. This version includes the same thin rice noodles and herbs, and instead of fish, has ground pork with coconut milk, tamarind, and ground peanuts. It's sweet, but not too sweet, a bit spicy, and slightly tangy. It's a winner and I hope it becomes a permanent menu item. It may be available upon request -- can't hurt to ask.

Ronna

REB wrote:Tee is working on some new dishes, including a new khanom jin. This version includes the same thin rice noodles and herbs, and instead of fish, has ground pork with coconut milk, tamarind, and ground peanuts. It's sweet, but not too sweet, a bit spicy, and slightly tangy. It's a winner and I hope it becomes a permanent menu item. It may be available upon request -- can't hurt to ask.

Ronna

That sounds like a great dish. I haven't been to Aroy in a couple of months. I'll have to get there very soon.

REB wrote:Tee is working on some new dishes, including a new khanom jin. This version includes the same thin rice noodles and herbs, and instead of fish, has ground pork with coconut milk, tamarind, and ground peanuts. It's sweet, but not too sweet, a bit spicy, and slightly tangy. It's a winner and I hope it becomes a permanent menu item. It may be available upon request -- can't hurt to ask.

Ronna

"Can't hurt to ask" is an understatement at Aroy. In my experience, it always pays off handsomely to ask Tee for something special there!

REB wrote:Tee is working on some new dishes, including a new khanom jin. This version includes the same thin rice noodles and herbs, and instead of fish, has ground pork with coconut milk, tamarind, and ground peanuts. It's sweet, but not too sweet, a bit spicy, and slightly tangy. It's a winner and I hope it becomes a permanent menu item. It may be available upon request -- can't hurt to ask.

Ronna

Thanks for the tip! We loved this dish (Tee referred to it as khanom jin nam prik)! Great combination of spicy, sweet (palm sugar) and sour (tamarind and lime). The version we tried had shrimp in addition to the ground pork.

thaiobsessed wrote:

REB wrote:Tee is working on some new dishes, including a new khanom jin. This version includes the same thin rice noodles and herbs, and instead of fish, has ground pork with coconut milk, tamarind, and ground peanuts. It's sweet, but not too sweet, a bit spicy, and slightly tangy. It's a winner and I hope it becomes a permanent menu item. It may be available upon request -- can't hurt to ask.

Ronna

Thanks for the tip! We loved this dish (Tee referred to it as khanom jin nam prik)! Great combination of spicy, sweet (palm sugar) and sour (tamarind and lime). The version we tried had shrimp in addition to the ground pork.

That's the same one we had - - I knew I didn't get the ingredients quite right. Glad you enjoyed it!

Ronna

Tod mun pla (fish cakes) now seems to be regularly available at Aroy, and I think they make an outstanding version. Also available the other night was the mussel omelet, a dish I just love. And Aroy did it just right - crisp yet oily exterior (yes, just the way I remember it from Bangkok), slightly eggy interior, and plump, delicious mussels. I've had it with bad mussels, but these were large, perfectly cooked and delicious - highly recommended.

BR wrote:Tod mun pla now seems to be regularly available at Aroy (yes, just the way I remember it from Bangkok)

Thanks. Now I must make a point to get back to Aroy Thai. I've always managed to miss their tod mun, my favorite street food from Bangkok.

Have to say as much as I love this place, the mussels were off the last time I had the omelette. Nasty.

Jazzfood wrote:Have to say as much as I love this place, the mussels were off the last time I had the omelette. Nasty.

Always worried about that because I've experienced that at another local Thai spot. This was the first time I've had them at Aroy and I was very clear with T, wanting to make sure about the quality. And on this visit, they were terrific.

Wow! I cannot believe no one's posted about Aroy in over a year. That's the downside for a place that's so consistent, we kind of run out of things to post about it (and the current, well-deserved infatuation with some newer places). In any case, I had an excellent lunch there earlier this week and the food was as great as ever . . .


Thai-style Wings
These are still my favorite Thai wings in town. I love the ultra-crispy exterior and the moist, flavorful meat. The funkadelic sauce is also outstanding.



Grilled Pork Neck Salad
It's almost impossible for me to hit Aroy without ordering this dish, which is my very favorite there. As you can see, this was a particularly fiery incarnation. I really appreciate the textural variety in the pork neck -- some of it perfectly tender and some of it just chewy enough to allow for maximum flavor extraction during the chew.



Chou Chi Ground Pork
I thought the complexity of the curry was particularly notable relative to previous takes. I've always loved this dish but this time around it was a bit spicier and funkier than I remember, and a bit less sweet, too.



Crab Fried Rice
I'd never had this dish before at Aroy but it was really nice. The slightly-sweet shredded crab meat was foiled nicely by the scallions and herbs. It was a great vehicle for sopping up the sauces on my plate from the other dishes we had.

I'm sorry I missed a new special, Beef Tripe, which I didn't realize was available until I was leaving but I'll be sure to order it next time.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Wow! I cannot believe no one's posted about Aroy in over a year...

The guests I entertained Sunday evening hailed from LA. After a 90 minute drive up from McCormick Place courtesy of the Lakeshore drive eight hour shutdown during the course of which my guests couldn't help but remark on how well this Atlanta boy knows his way around Chicago, I channeled Ronnie Suburban upthread and ordered for the three of us from the Thai Classics Menu:

Issan / Sai Ua sausage combination
Chou Chi Ground Pork
Tom Yam Beef Ball and Tender Soup
grilled pork neck salad
thai fried chicken
bean thread larb
Mango sticky rice

That several of the company didn't like fish limited our choices somewhat, nevertheless-we finished almost 90% of it.

While navigating through Streeterville up to North Ave to Clyborn to Damen I counted up how many times I'd been to Aroy. Six, I think. Starting with an LTH group dinner way back. The slow parts of the drive gave us plenty of time to hash out our business so our focus on the food was nearly pure throughout the meal. My guests were totally blown away. I had told them before we went that this was like East Hollywood Thai, trying to prepare them for something different. Fine they said, we love spicy. But when I ordered, I asked that everything be prepared not spicy, but comme il faut--if it should be spicy, great. If not, not.

Tee (sp?) arrived about the same time as our first course. He checked on us four or five times more despite the fact that as we ate, the room started to overflow with standees waiting for tables and takeout. His attention and care was matchless.

I once heard Jacques Pepin say that 'the best restaurant is one where they know you'. Six visits in four years--Aroy is a restaurant where being an LTH GNR is taken seriously, and thus all of us here are known. A very special place indeed.

It had been a while since my last meal at Aroy. Fresh off the road and back in Chicago, I headed there today for a lunch of some "greatest hits"

Tod Mun (Fish Cake)


Cucumber Salad


These two were served together and started the meal off with a nice, savory note.

Larb Khua (Northern Style Larb)


Aroy's is my favorite version of this dish in town. Lots of bits of good stuff and served Thai spicy as requested. This one brought the heat, but not at the expense of flavor.

Tom Yum Beef Ball and Tender Soup


A supremely satisfying bowl of soup. The weather is starting to warm up, but that won't stop me from ordering this every time I eat at Aroy.

Chou-Chi Ground Pork


Has there ever been a more understatededly (is that a word?) named dish? Ground pork barely begins to describe all the the tastes in this umami bomb. The combination of the intricately spiced pork and the runny yolk of the fried egg over which it is served makes this comfort food of the highest order.

Aroy's bench runs so deep, that these dishes barely scratched the surface of my "greatest hits" list. I wish I had some more ordering power to add a few more plates to the table, but I guess that will have to wait for next time.

Another great meal at Aroy today. The Issan sausages, Tom yam, Chou chi pork, fish curry vermicelli, the pork neck salad . . . Hitting all the high notes. Might be the best meal I've had there yet. I could easily eat there once or twice a week if I lived up there.

We chose Aroy tonight for our daughter's first Thai dinner out restaurant experience. She's 2. While we would not typically order a chicken satay appetizer for ourselves it seemed like a good choice for Audrey's entree. Seems weird to rave about something that is usually so mundane, but wow. Done right. Great seasoning, nice grill char, huge tender and juicy portion served with peanut sauce and truly fresh cucumber salad. She loved it. Her dad wound up eating half despite sharing another appetizer with me.

As the OP of the "Susie's French Fries Make Me Happy" thread I can"t even express how tickled I was when Audrey, unprompted, stated "peanut sauce makes me happy."

Great service, fresh, flavorful food. Such a gem and so glad to have it relatively close to home.

I think we need a thread "things baby LTHers say". And I think Audrey needs to meet Max RAB REB

boudreaulicious wrote:I think we need a thread "things baby LTHers say". And I think Audrey needs to meet Max RAB REB

Max recommends Aroy's chou chi pork and the sticky rice, both easy to eat without utensils and with only four teeth. He's sampled and enjoyed the new jackfruit dish, too, but it was a tad spicy for him.

Tee and Aroy couldn't be any warmer toward Max. Despite having moved from the neighborhood, we've taken him half a dozen times in the last year and have always felt very welcome.

Ronna

I was in town a few weeks ago and like always (after 10+ weeks in SW Michigan) craved spice. Aroy was up in our Thai rotation.

I haven't seen any remark about this yet in this thread, but they have a new menu. The Thai specials are now incorporated into the gen. pop. menu and it seems a step towards broadening the palates of their customer base. The new menu is big, bright, and colorful– glossy complete with thumbnail images for each dish with icons for spice level and popularity ranking. It was a bit startling as a long time customer, but I can appreciate this angle to get people to branch out. At the back of the menu there is even set menu suggestions for "first timers", "Thai taste", and "Special in Chicago" (these descriptors are not verbatim, but you get the gist).

I noticed at least a few new menu items under "Chef's Special" and a dish of jackfruit, ground pork, and crispy pork with red curry and tomatoes, called "Pad Kanoon" caught my eye.



This dish was a stunner. It was pounded to a paste like consistency. In ways it seems related to nam prik, though drier, pleasantly toothsome, and served with rice. It was also absolutely popping with aromatics– lemongrass and serious chile burn. A new contender in the rotation.

Here's a super out of focus shot of the menu to give you an idea of the new format:



There may be some other new gems hiding in there, though I haven't cross referenced with the old Thai menu.

The whole meal was great, though in one instance the ranking system threw us off, with the highest rated som tum– which we assumed would have dried shrimp, though arrived unadorned with garnishes (no peanuts either weirdly). Still an awesome salad, but I had to take a second look at the menu to realize there are three options for som tum: naked as we'd ordered, with dried shrimp, and the pickled crab version our neighbor had which (at least on their plate) was served with what looked like pork cracklins in an unfiltered fish sauce.

Hi. My husband and I checked out Aroy Thai for the first time last night. It was pretty empty when we arrived (close to 8:30). except for a table with a couple regulars.

We ordered the Sai Ua sausage, fried rice with squid and shrimp, Phrik Khing with Catfish (crispy catfish with green beens in a ginger chili paste), and Pad Kanoon (mentioned upthread by Jefe).

My husband and I agreed this was one of the best Thai meals we've eaten. My husband is a fried rice fiend and was blown away by the depth of flavor. I"m guessing they add some sort of shrimp paste to it; it was wonderful. The catfish was very good; on the sweet side but that contrasted nicely with the funkier rice. I was really pleased with the Sai Ua. it had a great kick to it, and the chopped ginger, peanuts, and thai chiles added to it made for a great bite.

I have to say my favorite dish was the Pad Kanoon. I ordered it with hesitation as I was afraid it might be too sweet with the jackfruit. In my mind, I was envisioning something akin to Sticky Rice's mango chicken. It was not at all like that dish. It was much smoother in consistency, not sweet; spicy and complex in flavor. It was accompanied by a handful of pork cracklings which made for a really nice cracker base and provided great a great crunchy contrast. i didn't see the cracklings in Jefe's picture so i'm not sure if it's normally served with it, or we were just lucky last night. Thank goodness i have leftovers for dinner tonight. I'm having some serious cravings right now.

I wasn't aware that the menu with pictures was new until I read Jefe's review. I found the descriptions very helpful. There was an interesting section near the back where they suggested dishes based on your level of experience eating Thai food.

I see why there has been so much praise for this place. I will be back very soon.

We had an excellent dinner at Aroy on Friday night. It had been quite a while since we last ate there, and we won't go so long again. We very much enjoyed the Pad Kanoon: it's a keeper. Loved the spicy, smooth texture contrasted with the crunchy pork cracklings. The new menu with pictures is a bit awkward--it's quite large and held together with loose rings. Also it can be dark in there after sundown, and my middle-aged eyes needed better light to really appreciate the pictures. I thought it was clever to include the categories, especially the unique in Chicago (or whatever it's exact name was). As always, service was warm, friendly, and efficient.

Recipe for the jackfruit dish. NB: unripe ackfruit isn't sweet. It's starchy and a little meat-like, similar to ackee or breadfruit. Seems like a pretty special thing even among our broad Thai offerings in Chicago. Thanks.

http://www.khiewchanta.com/mobile/soups ... .html#more

I ate at Aroy Thai Sunday night and had a mixed experience. The atmosphere was warm and inviting and the service was great. The menu had many interesting dishes, all beautifully photographed.

The boat noodles with pork blood was the only memorable dish. It did have some interesting spices to it and a good combination of flavors and textures. However, it was so sweet, I couldn't finish the broth. Other dishes were sweet, bland, and entirely forgettable. The green curry was watery with really no flavor whatsoever.

There were so many great dishes on the menu and so many great LTH reviews, so I wonder what the secret is. Does one need to ask for it to be made to Thai tastes? The couple next to me appeared afraid of everything on the menu and finally went with Pad Thai. Yelp reviews compliment Pad Thai and Crab Rangoon. Perhaps this is the problem.

I have definitely found that for good Thai restaurants, perhaps more than any other cuisine, it helps to have a dialogue with the server about what I like--it's almost like most every place is forced to be 2 almost entirely different restaurants and they can't help but do a bit of profiling to avoid problems that would inevitably occur. This may seem like a pain but I think it's a small price to pay to get what I want. I also think that lots of places have "A" and "B" teams for the kitchen and that you may have just hit an off night. It happens.

If you decide to try again and I hope you will, I'd suggest ordering some of the dishes that you see written up as special here, and let them know that this is where you saw it--preferably to Tee, the owner who is usually there. For me, that would be the Grilled Pork Neck salad, the Thai Wings, the Fish Cakes, the Northern Larb, the Beef Ball & Tendon Soup and the Bamboo with Pork. There are probably a bunch more but these came to mind immediately. Good luck!

boudreaulicious wrote:For me, that would be the Grilled Pork Neck salad, the Thai Wings, the Fish Cakes, the Northern Larb, the Beef Ball & Tendon Soup and the Bamboo with Pork.

Add Chou-chi ground pork to any Aroy list.

Jed wrote:I ate at Aroy Thai Sunday night and had a mixed experience. The atmosphere was warm and inviting and the service was great. The menu had many interesting dishes, all beautifully photographed.

The boat noodles with pork blood was the only memorable dish. It did have some interesting spices to it and a good combination of flavors and textures. However, it was so sweet, I couldn't finish the broth. Other dishes were sweet, bland, and entirely forgettable. The green curry was watery with really no flavor whatsoever.

There were so many great dishes on the menu and so many great LTH reviews, so I wonder what the secret is. Does one need to ask for it to be made to Thai tastes? The couple next to me appeared afraid of everything on the menu and finally went with Pad Thai. Yelp reviews compliment Pad Thai and Crab Rangoon. Perhaps this is the problem.

Not sure there's any secret -- maybe just an off day . . . I've had them at Aroy but I'm still a big fan. Also, I'm pretty sure they make their own green curry paste and I've had very good green curry dishes there (though my current favorites in town are at In-on Thai and then Andy's).

But perhaps they screwed up the ratio of green curry to coconut to water -- too bad but it happens. The same thing happened to me last week with the green curry at The Elephant Thai on Devon, where most other dishes were quite respectable. So I'd suggest giving it another try -- perhaps scroll through this thread, find some dishes that intrigue you, and if you like spicy, it may not hurt to ask for it "phet phet."

boudreaulicious wrote:helps to have a dialogue with the server

Agree.

I was at Aroy Monday lunch with two younger California cousins who keep kosher at home, but simply refrain from pork, shrimp and catfish out. Tee was incredibly accommodating and the meal blew them away, they kept shaking their heads in wonderment at how different this Thai meal was from any had previous.

If I remember correctly we had.....

Tom Yam Beef Ball and Tender Soup
Chou-Chi Ground Chicken
Thai Wings
Larb chicken with lots of herbs. Tee said he pounds the toasted rice with galangal, a really nice touch
Somtam (papaya salad)
Sticky rice
Prik nam pla

I'm deeply honored to hold the banner quote. Thanks mods!

deesher wrote:Add Chou-chi ground pork to any Aroy list.

G Wiv wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:helps to have a dialogue with the server

Agree.

I was at Aroy Monday lunch with two younger California cousins who keep kosher at home, but simply refrain from pork, shrimp and catfish out. Tee was incredibly accommodating and the meal blew them away, they kept shaking their heads in wonderment at how different this Thai meal was from any had previous.

Kosher bosher tom yom? I'm in.

We went there last night ...overall everything was pretty good with a few notes

Sai-Ua/Sai Krok Esan Combination - Both sausages we fried to death, we can't even tell the differences between the two. They're supposed to be grilled and they confirmed it is fried, we send it back. They were very apologetic though so forgivable

Raw Shrimp Salad - I never had this before, love the flavor. It's not the same as Raw Shrimp dish at ATK or Tak Quick (where the shrimp were laid out with tons of garlic and thai chili), this is more like a "yum" salad

ChooChee Ground Pork - Our favorite dish of the night, nice balance of spices and the egg were fried perfectly

Tom Yum Beef Ball and Tender - overall good, only complaints will be the broth was way too salty, and I love salty food but this is a bit much. Beef was tender and I like how they cut up the beef ball into smaller pcs.

Pork Neck Salad - nice flavor, pork was tender and cooked perfectly and generous portion

That was it since it was just for two of us, would love to order more but we were stuffed at the end with quite a bit to take home.


With an exception of the first dish, we love everything and will def go back again real soon.