OC Restaurant Quest: Thai Garden Restaurant in Ferndale
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct 3, 2024)
Ferndale, MI – The quest to try every restaurant in Oakland County continues with a visit to Ferndale with a friend for dinner at Thai Garden Restaurant.
The restaurant works like a carryout place, though there are tables if people want to eat their to go orders there. We had the most amazing meal. We each got our own vegetable dish, and we split a half crispy duck.
I loved the Vegetable Pad Pak, which had hearty bites of fresh veggies including broccoli, carrot, water chestnut, napa, baby corn, celery and peapod, plus I added on tofu. That was all stir fried and served with rice and a brown sauce.
My friend had the Vegetable Curry which had all the same vegetables plus eggplant in a sauce of red curry and coconut milk. Both dishes were impeccably seasoned to our liking and bright with freshness and care.
But the creme de la creme of the meal was the Crispy Duck.
This was perfect to split as it comes in perfect bite-sized slices easy to eat off the bone. The meat was thick and flavorful and the outsides were perfectly crispy and addictingly good.
When I lived nearby, Thai Garden was a regular spot for Pad Thai, but my friend recently stumbled upon it when she and her sweetie were out for a walk and got stopped by the train. They fell in love with the Crispy Duck and she insisted that I try it too. as it’s become one of their favorites. Now it’s one of mine too.
Thai Garden has other traditional Thai choices as well, including a variety of friend rice dishes such as the Kow Pad Pineapple and the Kow Pad Keaw Warn which is made with green curry paste, green pepper, peas and egg. Noodle dishes include the aforementioned Pad Thai, Drunken Noodle, and the Kuay Teaw Hang made with beansprout, green onion and egg stir fried in a lightly seasoned garlic sauce. Entrees can be made with a choice of chicken, pork, tofu, shrimp, squid, scallop, or beef.
There are many choices for entrees, including the Prew Warn which is made sweet and sour style with onions, green onions, pineapple, tomato, green pepper, and cucumber. Thai Garden does not have a website, but several people have posted their menus online.
They’re located at 721 E. Nine Mile Road in Ferndale, at the corner of Nine and Hilton in the plaza next to the railroad tracks.
Oakland County Times is on a QUEST to enjoy every local restaurant in Oakland County. This long-term project is a labor of love, supported by our friends at White Castle. White Castle is a family-owned company that is proud to be one of only 20 large employers to make the Fortune Best Places to work list in 2022. With steam-grilled sliders, crispy golden french fries, fantastic slides like onion chips or fried clams, and the best chocolate shakes, White Castle is a by far our top choice for a fast food meal. Check out their website at www.WhiteCastle.com.
Do you have a suggestion for our OAKLAND COUNTY RESTAURANT QUEST? Join in the conversation on Facebook and leave your recommendations.
For all reviews, listed by city, Click HERE.
