Location: 230 E. Ohio St., Chicago, IL 60611
A Quick Word:
Dao Thai is one of the long standing Thai restaurants in downtown Chicago. Near the Mag Mile, this restaurant is a place to go when all other reservations fall through and you don't want to wait. Unfortunately, whenever I ask others what they thought, everyone agreed it was an average Thai restaurant. There are definitely much better places in the city, but everyone agreed for the cost, size, and location, Dao at least gets an average rating. Be careful what you order... nothing is going to be as authentic as you may think and if you don't like raw vegetables stay away from the menu items I show below.
What We Ate:
I wasn't impressed with this appetizer. These fresh rolls were filled with bean sprouts, tofu, cucumber, and scrambled eggs. It was topped with a little drizzle of plum sauce and some thick cut red peppers. The overall flavor was "grassy." Everything was supposedly steamed or cooked prior to make it into the spring roll. Unfortunately, I thought everything was raw and it just wasn't very pleasing to eat. I did finish the appetizer but it probably because I was starving and the entrees were taking way too long to arrive.
This was a much better appetizer. The shu mai, which are shrimp dumplings, came with quite a few of them. They were smaller than I was used to, but they packed a real GARLIC flavor. In my opinion, the shrimp was overpowered by the garlic... but at least they were served warm and with a salty sauce.
I always love getting the soups from Dao. Their shrimp wonton soup is a huge bowl of chicken broth that has the wontons, bean sprouts, and some green onions added to it. It came with probably half a dozen large wontons which were very tender and the bean sprouts were cooked while soaking in the steaming hot broth. Honestly, it is a very simple preparation with not much flavor besides the chicken broth... so add some of the chili sauce to give it a nice kick. This is definitely a dish to share because of the amount of liquid but I always enjoy having it as my meal, especially on a cold winter day.
Ever since going to Thailand for a few weeks, I now look back and judge the "Americanized" version of the Thai classic.. Pad Thai. And, honestly, nothing can compare. The pad thai at dao comes with tofu, egg, thinly sliced carrots, and peanuts in their sweet sauce. It is actually extremely bland unless you add some hot sauce but it is quick and cheap and huge portion. So if you are looking for quantity this is a good entree to order. I think adding chicken as opposed to tofu would help with the flavors.
I actually enjoyed this fried rice. It had huge chunks of beef and a lot of them. It also was cooked with the typical fried rice ingredients... egg, bean sprouts, scallions. It comes out as a huge mound of rice and is much better if you add a little bit of lemon to it. I think its a good entree to share especially if others choose a soup and a meat dish.
The DOs/DON'Ts:
DOs:
- Do come here if your other plans fall through. This restaurant never has a wait so it is one of those staple places to have as a backup.
- Do try and share food here. I think this restaurant is made to share, but everyone tends to order one item and having too much of an OK entree just makes it worse.
DON'Ts:
- Don't order appetizers here. I think they fail at some of the easier dishes and I just wouldn't recommend it.
How far would I walk for this food?
A Quick Word:
Dao Thai is one of the long standing Thai restaurants in downtown Chicago. Near the Mag Mile, this restaurant is a place to go when all other reservations fall through and you don't want to wait. Unfortunately, whenever I ask others what they thought, everyone agreed it was an average Thai restaurant. There are definitely much better places in the city, but everyone agreed for the cost, size, and location, Dao at least gets an average rating. Be careful what you order... nothing is going to be as authentic as you may think and if you don't like raw vegetables stay away from the menu items I show below.
What We Ate:
Spring Rolls
I wasn't impressed with this appetizer. These fresh rolls were filled with bean sprouts, tofu, cucumber, and scrambled eggs. It was topped with a little drizzle of plum sauce and some thick cut red peppers. The overall flavor was "grassy." Everything was supposedly steamed or cooked prior to make it into the spring roll. Unfortunately, I thought everything was raw and it just wasn't very pleasing to eat. I did finish the appetizer but it probably because I was starving and the entrees were taking way too long to arrive.
Shu Mai
This was a much better appetizer. The shu mai, which are shrimp dumplings, came with quite a few of them. They were smaller than I was used to, but they packed a real GARLIC flavor. In my opinion, the shrimp was overpowered by the garlic... but at least they were served warm and with a salty sauce.
Shrimp Wonton Soup
I always love getting the soups from Dao. Their shrimp wonton soup is a huge bowl of chicken broth that has the wontons, bean sprouts, and some green onions added to it. It came with probably half a dozen large wontons which were very tender and the bean sprouts were cooked while soaking in the steaming hot broth. Honestly, it is a very simple preparation with not much flavor besides the chicken broth... so add some of the chili sauce to give it a nice kick. This is definitely a dish to share because of the amount of liquid but I always enjoy having it as my meal, especially on a cold winter day.
Tofu Pad Thai
Ever since going to Thailand for a few weeks, I now look back and judge the "Americanized" version of the Thai classic.. Pad Thai. And, honestly, nothing can compare. The pad thai at dao comes with tofu, egg, thinly sliced carrots, and peanuts in their sweet sauce. It is actually extremely bland unless you add some hot sauce but it is quick and cheap and huge portion. So if you are looking for quantity this is a good entree to order. I think adding chicken as opposed to tofu would help with the flavors.
Beef Fried Rice
I actually enjoyed this fried rice. It had huge chunks of beef and a lot of them. It also was cooked with the typical fried rice ingredients... egg, bean sprouts, scallions. It comes out as a huge mound of rice and is much better if you add a little bit of lemon to it. I think its a good entree to share especially if others choose a soup and a meat dish.
The DOs/DON'Ts:
DOs:
- Do come here if your other plans fall through. This restaurant never has a wait so it is one of those staple places to have as a backup.
- Do try and share food here. I think this restaurant is made to share, but everyone tends to order one item and having too much of an OK entree just makes it worse.
DON'Ts:
- Don't order appetizers here. I think they fail at some of the easier dishes and I just wouldn't recommend it.
How far would I walk for this food?
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