Siam Smiles
“We started with the curry puffs which were very tasty (although a bit mushy) and then each got a noodle dish (pad thai and the siam noodle).”
“We started with the Shrimp spring rolls, amazing and the green sauce was to die for!!! ,and Shimp and scallops dumplings.”
“though the location is non-descript, in a strip mall, the flavorful food and friendly owners make this BYOB our go-to place for dining out.”
Siam Smiles
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Matawan seems to be a sleeper ethnic foodie town since the last few meals here have been impressive and add Siam Smiles to that list.
A cozy little BYOB Thai spot (with a wine store conveniently located next door) that serves up high quality Thai food at affordable prices. Not gonna lie, the JC Thai spots I frequent serve up pretty mediocre food. Chicken tastes beyond frozen, steak stringy, shrimp tasteless, but oh no, not at Siam Smiles.
We started off with large scallop and shrimp dumplings, an unusual combo. These lil' guys were indeed not so small, but were busting with seafood filling – delicious! I went on to a chicken with pineapple, basil, peppers and onion served with brown rice. You request the heat and but of course I requested hot and it was! I however was a bit disappointed that it was on the dry side – meaning it was not saucy and I like sauce. My friend, Nathalie T pointed out – it's probably a bit more authentic not drowning in sauce and I get it. It was still delicious and over bites I kept reiterating how impressed I was that the chicken was nice sized cuts and cooked perfectly. And to be honest, by the end, every bite was perfectly coated.
The guy got the triple delight, chock full of beef, chicken and shrimp and I gotta give it up, it was delicious. The meat was high quality and cooked perfectly, the shrimp was plentiful and all for fair prices ($16.50).
Dessert was fine, nothing mind blowing minus a special shoutout to that deep fried cheesecake (yeeeahhhhh, so uh, that's not on the diet). Service was nice and fun and I gotta say, I left fat and happy.
Definitely a great Thai spot, one I'd revisit again and again!
Good friendly service. The portion sizes are smaller than other Thai places I have been for dinner. The food is good, but portions are a little stingy. Enjoyed the thai curry scallops, the special (salmon), and pad se ew!
Despite it's close location to home, I never had a chance to try Siam Smiles as their lunch hours are a bit weird.
With a big BBQ planned for the upcoming Sunday, me and the sister decided on a lighter dinner and immediately I suggested Siam Smiles.
For the starter we opted for the Summer Spring Roll appetizer which was a really nice way to start a meal. Light and refreshing, this parcel of ingredients (shredded lettuce, carrots, mint, Thai basil, and shrimp) wrapped in a delicate opaque rice skin wrapping was really delicious. The sweet dipping sauce with chopped peanuts was very pleasant.
I ordered the grilled Salmon with Tamarind sauce and it was excellent. First I was quite happy to see a really substantial piece of Salmon. Second it was cooked to a moist and flaky texture; perfect. Thirdly it was a really fresh piece of Salmon, and if you know what unfresh Salmon tastes and smells like then you'd appreciate this!
As an added bonus, the Tamarind sauce was so addicting being sweet with just enough tangy sourness to balance it out.
Sister had the soft shell crab with Basil sauce which was also an enjoyable dish. The three crabs were a decent size, seasoned well, fresh, and fried to a nice crispy texture. However, two of the crabs were nestled in the Basil sauce which kind of softened that crispy texture of the crab underside.
Service was very pleasant and timely as well.
Restaurant was nicely decorated with pretty Thai-themed art ranging from paintings to small sculptures.
A nice solid Thai restaurant and worthy of another visit.
Nice Thai at a fair price.
Mainly a takeout restaurant that serves delicious food in good portions. The spice is well balanced and hits that perfect amount of tasty heat. Vegetables are fresh and the meat is cooked to perfection. The decor could use some work but the food is darn good.
This place is amazing! I can't believe that the best thai in all of Jersey shore is here but it's true. Whatever thai you have been having must bow down to this little stripmall.
Their classic pad thai is delicious off the bat, I love the fact that the waitress (you know who you are) always asks "Thai hot?" Yes, bring it, Thai hot. The pad is amazing, why is this place not packed?
For lunch, I always order the glass noodle salad and tell them to make it hot.If you ask them to make it hot they will the salad is chock full of glass noodles, pork, and scallion on a bed of iceberg. It's delicious. Anything this place packs is great. Just go here. I can't write enough of a good review. I'll just keep ordering.
This is a little mom and pop shop, where I think the family is the staff. If not, I need to know my waiter's secret to his youthful complexion. Anycase, he was very sweet and honest about his suggestion. He even, recommended not to order too much, which I think it was plus, since waiter's usually want us to order more food. However, we still order more……..yeah I know, my stomach is too strong. Before, I write this review, I was with people who can not handle spicy food…….so yeah everything was mild to the point of bland. So, I am writing this review opting the spiciness flavor point. I will probably will come back to try it out for myself.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was decorated with golden colored pieces with the walls colored in dark red and green. With the dim lights, it created an elegant atmosphere. Well tried at least. The services was a little slowed, but that was probably because there was one server. It also didn't help that one of the person behind the cash register was watching a game of League of Legends on his phone with his headphones on.
Let's get down with the food shall we, for starters, we ordered shrimp rolls, chicken satay, and curry puffs with hot green tea and soup. The tea was brewed in a very nice kettle that complimented the atmosphere, but it was $1.50………my fault for not asking if it comes with the meal and it was on the menu, but come on. It was not loose tea leaves, but from the bag you dip for one time and throw out. The shrimp rolls felt they were frozen before being cooked, but the green sauce that compliment the shrimp rolls was very fresh and gave a kick to the rolls. The chicken satay, was very tendered…….so tendered that I felt they put a little too much baking soda, which lost the flavor of the chicken and the "peanut sauce" did not help. As for the curry puffs, I do not know if curry puffs are suppose to be crispy or not, but I found them to be a very soft samosas. The soup, called "Tom Yum Goong," was pleasant and delicious, the sour and spiciness blended very well together with the seafood in the soup.
As for the entrees(all mild), seems like the Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, and Moo Tod Rad Prig all seem to lost there focus without the spiciness. I do not know if this is good or bad, but to have food that is solely relying on spiciness level is very alarming. The desserts were the fried ice cream and the banana rum, which were not worth commenting. I was a little disappointed trying out the food here, but I will most likely come back here to retry the food to see if the food is better, "spicy."
4.5 stars.
I will admit that when I first walked into this restaurant, I was a little skeptical because it was completely empty at dinnertime. Siam Smiles is family owned and seems to employ only family members – my family also owns a restaurant so this fact is endearing to me. However, the downside is that service can sometimes lack when business picks up. For example, we had to wait for our order to be taken last night because the only available employees were assisting with pick-up orders or phone calls. This is just a minor complaint though and definitely something I can relate to with our own restaurant.
There are enough tables to accommodate both cozy dates and large groups, but don't expect anything too ritzy for the decor. It looks like your typical family-owned Asian/takeout restaurant and there's nothing wrong with that, in my opinion.
We ordered the fried tofu appetizer to start; I ordered the Scallop Curry ($17) and my boyfriend got the Pad Kee Mao (stir fried flat noodles, about $9). The appetizer arrived at our table pretty quickly – LOVE the peanut sauce that came with it and the tofu pieces were flash fried to perfection.
My scallop curry was prepared as a green curry loaded with veggies – bamboo shoots, carrots, bell peppers, and eggplant. It also comes with a side of white or brown rice. The portion size is BIG – I counted 6 large, plump scallops that were very juicy and tender. What I really appreciated was that the curry was actually spicy enough for my tastes… every other Thai restaurant I have been to always skimps on the heat. The eggplant was also very tender and I could tell that all the ingredients they used were fresh.
Boyfriend's flat noodles looked really good too – I had a small bite and was surprised to find that the dish was not greasy. Asian restaurants always tend to be heavy-handed with the oil in their cuisine, but not here. His dish was also loaded with veggies, slices of chicken, and shrimp. You can customize how spicy each dish is to be more suited to your tastes.
The owner (and who I assume is the mom in the family) is so sweet and friendly. I loved her enthusiasm while waiting on us and I think she thanked us at least 5 times during our meal… how sweet. This is a gem hidden in an otherwise bland strip mall – definitely worth a stop by! I'm glad I finally know where to go for authentic Thai food.
Great food, great prices and great portions. We got it to go so we can't really speak to eating there, but what we got was outstanding. For an area that is primarily made up of Italian restaurants, the other ethnic spots are pretty much golden. We started with the curry puffs which were very tasty (although a bit mushy) and then each got a noodle dish (pad thai and the siam noodle). As I said, the portion size was great and the pricing was very fair for what you got. The flavor was excellent and not too saucy, as many places often over-do. Having spent some time in Thailand, I can honestly say that this is very authentic in taste and style and makes for a good meal. Definitely worth every penny.