About the neighborhood and getting to the store
Anna’s Thai Kitchen Restaurant is the newest addition to the Thai food scene in Ravenswood. Anna’s is situated on Montrose steps away from the Montrose Brown Line Stop. If coming by bus, the 78 Montrose line or 50 Damen bus are great options. The menu offers common Thai dishes found in nearly every Thai restaurant, but also features some hard to find Thai dishes that are not as commonly found.
We have dined in and gotten take-out numerous times and have noticed the consistency of high quality fresh ingredients and delicious flavors. Anna Ong, the owner, cooks the dishes herself and will often make a visit to the dining area to introduce herself to the customers. She is exceptionally friendly and the personable interactions make the dining experience memorable. We have found that there will sometimes be a little bit of a wait in getting the food especially as they do process many to-go orders and their dining area can get busy.
the food
Their menu includes the following section: Starters, Grilled Entrees, Dinner Salads, Soups, Noodles, Rice Dishes, Curries, Dessert, and Beverages.
Our favorite starter to order are the Shrimp Blossoms. They are minced shrimp flavored with white pepper, soy sauce, and green onions cooked to perfection sandwiched between two crispy wonton wrappers. They are larger than I was expecting and the juicy soft filling contrasted the crunch of the wrappers. We highly recommend to start with this appetizer.
The pad see ew at Anna’s is beautifully executed. The fresh rice noodles are lightly charred and stir fried in a savory and sweet sauce. Bits of egg and Chinese broccoli are mixed in to the noodle dish with your choice of protein. The flavor hits the spot every time.
More recently, we have discovered the lard nar (also known as Rad Na). Similar to pad see ew, this dish features fresh rice noodles that are pan fried in a wok. The noodles then drowned in a silky light gravy bean sauce before being topped with Chinese broccoli and protein of choice. I ordered it with chicken and the chicken was incredibly tender and dusted with black pepper. The dish was garlicky, had bursts of umami, and was very comforting. This dish inspired us to try and recreate it at home. We planned a trip to Talard Thai Market the following weekend to get the fresh rice noodles and Chinese broccoli. Don’t miss the guide to Talard Thai Market here.
We have also ordered basil chicken stir fried over rice, crab ragoons, and green curry to name a few dishes. We have not encountered a dish we haven’t loved. I’m most excited to try the Thai-style fried mussels next since I’ve never had that dish.
