Songkran Thai Kitchen is a cute spot located in the River Oaks area of Houston. Serving traditional Thai food, they are a bit more upscale (and slightly pricier) than your average mom & pop restaurant. With this added price you get a lovely ambiance of unique Thai decor, paintings, and murals, paired with warm, moody lighting and cherry red walls. Of course you also have the prestigious Uptown Park area to walk around. It’s perfect for a date night, but not great for a business lunch.

I ordered the Pad See Ew and was surprised by their take on it. Of course it came with the usual flat noodle stir fry of egg, Chinese broccoli, and other veggies, but what I found unique was the tofu! Not only was the tofu fried, but it was fried quite puffily (not pictured here). In fact, a more accurate description would be “tofu puffs”. There was a significant air pocket between the tofu and tofu skin. Airy, spongey, and chewy all at once, if you can believe it. A frequent fan of tofu in my vegetarian dishes, I hadn’t yet experienced fried tofu in pad see ew and certainly not tofu puffs. Since I’m not the biggest fan of fried food, especially unexpected fried food, I did try one piece, but ultimately peeled off most of the fried tofu skins. It seemed to me to overpower the other flavors of the dish. If you love fried food, you’ll likely love this tofu! If not, beware and consider trying another protein.

The dish also came with a lovely sweet soy sauce with garlic pieces. This elevated the pad see ew to another level! The tang of garlic and the contrast of the sweet sauce painted a beautiful picture.

Overall, the flavor and texture of the dish was fun and vibrant! More contemporary than your average Thai restaurant, it is also nearly double the price. Overall I would go back, though maybe not as often as my local hole-in-the-wall Thai spot.