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edmonton boualouang moved

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I've been meaning to post this - boualouang thai restaurant, which happens to be my favorite in the city, moved! I can't imagine why (read: deep sarcasm) since they had 6 tables in the previous resto and the door opened directly into one of them. Anyway, further south on 97th next to Saiwoo is where they are now located. It is big and the decor reminds me a bit of viphalay, and based on my lunch yesterday, the food hasn't changed. The menu is longer with some strange new additions (thai pho?) and prices are basically the same, so the move was a good thing. My lunch yesterday was a seafood tom yum and shared pad thai. All very good. They are still cash only, but I was told that they will have a machine up and running soon for debit and credit.

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  1. Also, I heard that Rose Garden thai on Calgary Trail North across from Toys r Us is closing shop some time in the next few months...

    1. We were driving down 97th street last night on our way to the Saiwoo and noticed that the Boualouang location was dark . We were pleasantly surprised and relieved to see Boualouang reappear right next to our favourite Cantonese restaurant, no longer a hole in the wall.

      The resemblance to Viphalay can probably be explained by the fact that it was the owner of Boualouang who originally encouraged her friend who was known for her cooking to open a restaurant., and Viphalay was born.

      One of the many shortcomings of the old Boualouang location was that they were not permitted to cook stir fry dishes because it did not have the proper ventilation.

      Glad to hear that the quality and prices have not changed.

      6 Replies
      1. re: felix the hound

        I went there recently. Boualong used to be my favourite Thai restaurant in the city, but I am quite ambivalent now. They seem to have the same amount of staff but 3 times the number of tables. Much of the menu was unavailable, including quite a few of the items that hadn't been covered with post-it notes. Their rice portions are notoriously stingy so we tried to order extra, but were denied by our waiter who said rice came with the curry.

        Of course the food we did manage to get after an interminable wait was excellent, so I look forward to someone's report that they have solved their problems with poor service and not having 1/3+ of the items on their menu available.

        1. re: itwillmakeaturd

          I noticed menu changes on my last visit too. To be fair, I think maybe they mistakenly went too big when they moved (in terms of menu) and all of my favorites, which were on the menu in the original location, have not been cut. As an addendum to my original post, some of the prices have gone up. I don't quite understand why coconut rice is so expensive in every thai resto in this city...
          Did they have the visa/interac machine working when you were there? Annoyingly, it was still cash only in July. Just wondering if that has changed.

          1. re: ihatepickyeaters

            I brought cash, so I'm not certain, but I believe they have added credit/debit payments.

            The coconut rice thing borders on a cartel. As long as all Thai restaurants charge a silly amount for it they can all treat it as a cash cow. I never get it - its popularity (as an accompaniment to curries) is a western thing to be sure.

            Notably absent from the menu was Lahp, and they were out of galangal as well. Very amateur to run out of an ingredient that is so essential to the food.

            I really want Boualong to be good because they are the best and most authentic Thai restaurant in Edmonton. I just wish their authenticity didn't extend to service according to a Thai schedule and frequently missing ingredients.

            1. re: itwillmakeaturd


              It's funny you mention this. At a Thai restaurant I dined at earlier in the year, the server seemed almost offended when I didn't order coconut rice with my dish. Telling me Thai's eat it with everything, and I wouldn't be getting the right experience.

              1. re: raidar

                Coconut rice?
                I've been to Thailand several times and i've never-not once, seen it on a menu or had it offered to me.
                It is WAY overpriced-as a lot of Thai food is in Edmonton.

                1. re: bigfred

                  I have pondered the same question since I was introduced to Thai food some years ago, it being expensive in comparison to other geographically close cuisines.
                  It was partially answered by my subsequent attempts to cook Thai food from scratch when I realized the myriad of ingredients, some of them rare in Edmonton, which were required.

                  It does not explain however the price of coconut rice, which I rarely order because I think interferes with the flavours of the main. I feel the same way about fried rice as an accompaniment to "chinese" food. I prefer it standalone, like risotto, except , of course , for osso buco with risotto milanese.