8. Eim Khao Mun Kai
Eim Khao Mun Kai is one of the most well-known Little Thailand spots in Elmhurst, known for its elevated street food-style menu and ambiance. The restaurant, which only has a few tables and some wall seating, resembles a food stall with chickens hanging in the display case and a sign in Thai displaying its name. The interior features dark brick walls and wooden circular tables with metal stools, as well as a small open kitchen.
The menu is by far the shortest of any other spot in Elmhurst with just a handful of chicken preparations. Customers can order their chicken steamed, crispy, or roasted and can get it with chicken thigh, gizzard, and liver. These come with ginger rice, daikon radish, cucumber, and scallion soup. These are served in sets for one, two, or three people and can be accompanied by an egg. The restaurant also sells half and whole chicken, as well as a variety of iced teas.
9. Chao Thai
Chao Thai on Whitney Avenue down the street from Broadway is another classic Thai spot in Elmhurst. The no-frills restaurant is just about six tables with a rather minimal decor of orange and turquoise walls, tables with shells and flowers underneath the covering, and packaged snacks and goods at the front. A whiteboard display the day’s specials written in marker.
Chao Thai’s menu is fairly standard with some stand-out and hard-to-find dishes interspersed. Popular appetizers range from fried fish balls to raw shrimp with a spicy fish sauce to shrimp rolls with plum sauce. Soups include Tom Zabb with pork entrails and Thai herbs, Tom Kha Gai with coconut and mushroom, and pork blood clear soup. Jackfruit salad, yellow noodles with chicken curry, and Northern-style Hang Lea curry are among the restaurant’s specialty dishes. Other standouts include slow-cooked pig leg, deep-fried fish topped with Chu Chee curry, and striped bass with sweet chili sauce.