Is Pai’s pad Thai a suitable cheat meal?
One diner leaves ignorant bliss in the dust to learn calorie count of ‘authentic’ Thailand treat
Chef Nuit Pad Thai, with chicken, dinner size, $15.50 Pai Northern Thai Kitchen, 18 Duncan St. The ask Most days, Daniel Tran scrutinizes what he eats, careful of the calories and components of his meals.
But once a week, the self-described fitness buff grants himself a cheat day, often heading to Pai Northern Thai Kitchen, a busy below-ground restaurant in Toronto’s Theatre District known for its authentic take on Thai street food.
While Tran and his wife have tried nearly every dish on the menu, deeming them all “fantastic,” it’s the Chef Nuit Pad Thai with chicken that gets their complete devotion.
Tran says the stir-fried rice noodles, with housemade tamarind sauce, tofu, egg and bean sprouts plus Thai coriander, lime and roasted peanuts, taste just like the pad Thai the couple enjoyed while travelling in Thailand.
“You get all the flavours — the sourness, the spiciness, the savouryness — but it’s not overbearing. It feels very authentic.”
Even though it’s Tran’s cheat meal, when calories aren’t really supposed to count, he still wants to know nutrition numbers for his favourite pad Thai — at least, he thinks he does.
“One side of me wants to know and the other side doesn’t,” he says.
“If it’s not as bad as I think it is, maybe I’ll have it more than once a week.” The guess “I’m going to say 1,100 calories, based on your other articles,” Tran says.
In 2013, the Dish revealed the chicken pad Thai served at Salad King contained 1,114 calories, while a 2014 column found the chicken pad Thai at Thai Express had 1,030 calories.
Tran laughs when asked whether he eats every last bite of the pad Thai at Pai.
“I do, hence why I consider it a cheat meal. It’s a big portion, but at the same time, it feels very light.” The exclusive results Calories: 1,386 Fat: 50 grams Sodium: 1,741 milligrams Carbohydrates: 179 grams Protein: 54 grams The breakdown
This generous portion of pad Thai tips the scale at 670 grams, about11⁄ 2 pounds. Its1,386 calories is more than double what nutrition professionals say we should aim for in a meal.
The meal’s 179 grams of carbohydrates is about 50 grams more than what Health Canada recommends healthy adults consume in a day. It’s also the same amount of carbohydrates as what’s found in 10 slices of commercial white bread.
Like most restaurant meals, this dish is salty. The 1,741 milligrams — the equivalent of 3⁄ teaspoon of
4 salt — is about 600 milligrams shy of the maximum recommended daily allotment.
How does it compare to Thai-style noodles served at chain restaurants? At Milestones, the Spicy Thai Basil Noodles, made with shrimp, chicken and vegetables, has 1,080 calories. According to a staff member at a Toronto Thai Express, an order of chicken pad Thai has 890 calories. The expert response When it comes to nutrition, the bottom line with this pad Thai — and other pad Thai that the Dish has reviewed — is that it’s just too much food, says registered dietitian Carol Harrison. “It’s two meals in one,” she says. “It has double the calories that you need, double the protein and easily double the sodium.”
Harrison encourages nutrition-conscious diners to split the meal — either with their dining companion or with themselves by saving half for another meal.
That the pad Thai contains 180 grams of carbohydrates — and is primarily made up of rice noodles — means it’s not a balanced meal, she says. A balanced meal is one where your plate is half-filled with vegetables and/or fruits, one-quarter filled with lean protein and the remaining quarter filled with a grain or grain-product.
While not every meal needs to be balanced, Harrison says an easy way to re- coup some nutrition points with this pad Thai is to pair a half — or a third — of the portion with a vegetable-heavy side.
“If you’re thinking you’d like to make this healthier, get half a plate of veggies in there.” The restaurant reaction Nuit Regular, executive chef and co-owner of Pai Northern Thai Kitchen, is a little startled at the calorie count for her famous pad Thai.
“Wow, eating pad Thai growing up . . . I’m surprised by the number.”
Regular, who is credited with revitalizing Toronto’s Thai dining scene, says people love the pad Thai served at Pai because it so closely mirrors the dish they fell in love with while travelling in Thailand. Everything about it is made from scratch, she says, including the tamarind sauce, which gives it its deep and complex taste.
On a busy day, Regular says Pai serves about 1,500 diners, including takeout meals. The restaurant encourages diners to share meals as a way for more people to try different dishes.
Regular says she hears that diners say they will save half of their pad Thai for another meal but don’t always follow through on their plan.
“They say that it tastes so good it’s hard to stop.”
Diners who are drawn to Pai for the authentic Thai taste may not have health front of mind.
But for those who do, Regular says she will consider offering glass noodles or congee noodles in place of the rice noodles as a way to improve the meal’s nutrition. “I’d love to do that for our customers.” She also says her new restaurant, Kiin, located near to Pai, offers more of a finedining experience and lighter meals. The reader reaction “Ooomph,” Tran says on hearing the calorie count. “Wow. That’s definitely a cheat meal or maybe even two cheat meals — lunch and dinner.”
And though he is also shocked by the amount of carbohydrates — “that’s more than I usually eat in a day” — Tran is glad to know exactly how much he does cheat on his cheat day. Though he said his wife disagrees. “She said that reviewing the pad Thai was a bad idea and that sometimes, ignorance is bliss.” The Dish is a weekly series that helps health-conscious diners navigate Toronto’s food scene by revealing the nutrition information of Star readers’ favourite foods. If you are curious about the calories in a meal or treat, email Megan Ogilvie at mogilvie@thestar.ca. Items selected to be featured in the Dish will be sent to an accredited laboratory for nutritional analysis.