Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • June-July 2025 • Circulation 5000

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Nam Siam: Abundant Flavours and Portions

New Vietnamese-Thai fusion restaurant offers a large menu with great value.

Red Curry and Tom Yum soups at Nam Siam. Alan Schietzsch

Nam Siam opened early in the new year, offering Thai food with a Vietnamese influence. The new place is operated by a friendly gentleman coincidentally named Thai, who has plenty of experience with Asian food: he previously ran an Oodle Noodle location.

If you know Chinatown, you might remember Hoa An, a once-popular Vietnamese noodle house under a green awning just south of Lucky 97. It closed late last year, and now a bright red awning has taken its place. Located right off 97th Street, it’s easily accessible by foot or bus, and for those with limited mobility, there’s just one step at the entrance.

Step inside, and you’ll find a spacious dining area freshly painted in crisp white, complemented by warm wood tables. Along with plenty of smaller tables for one or two, there are a few large round tables perfect for families and groups.

Arriving hungry, our group was eager to dive into the extensive, multi-page menu, which was placed on our table just moments after we sat down. It features a wide selection including stir-fries, rice dishes, stir-fried noodles, vermicelli bowls, and an assortment of curries, soups, appetizers, and drinks like pop and iced coffee.

Thai cuisine highlights lightly prepared dishes infused with aromatic ingredients and a touch of spicy heat. Renowned worldwide, it captivates with its distinctive balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavours. While Thai dishes are bold and intensely flavoured, Vietnamese cuisine emphasizes freshness and harmony, featuring abundant herbs and delicate broths.

One of the best-known Thai dishes is Pad Thai, a stir-fried noodle dish made with rice noodles, eggs, tofu or shrimp (sometimes both), and a variety of vegetables like bean sprouts and scallions. It’s typically seasoned with ingredients like tamarind paste, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chili. Pad Thai is usually garnished with crushed peanuts, fresh lime wedges, and sometimes cilantro, making it a flavourful and well-loved dish worldwide.

After appetizers of tapioca dumpling and spring rolls, we couldn’t resist trying Nam Siam’s version of Pad Thai. We were pleasantly surprised by the noodles’ perfect texture. The medium spice level was just right, not too intense, and the dish was served with a generous portion of fresh bean sprouts. The tamarind gave the dish a delightful citrusy sweetness.

The hit of the night was the Drunken Noodles, also known as Pad Kee Mao. Despite the name, it doesn’t contain alcohol. Broad rice noodles are stir-fried with a combination of vegetables - such as spring onions, broccoli, carrots and Thai basil - along with $2 protein options like pork, chicken, beef, or shrimp. The dish is flavoured with soy, fish, and oyster sauces, plenty of garlic, and fresh chili for heat. The Thai basil adds a distinct herbal note.

If you prefer bolder flavours, the Tom Yum soup offers a robust, well-balanced spice with mushrooms and tomatoes, while the Red Curry (with beef) packs red chili-powered fiery heat that’s mellowed by bamboo shoots and sweet bell peppers. It’s best served alongside steamed or coconut rice.

Every dish was consistently good, and prices are very reasonable. The five of us got full for about $20 per person - and that price included not only the two appetizers, but an order of beef skewers for lunch the next day.

Alan Schietzsch lives in McCauley. He is the former Chair of the paper’s Board of Directors.

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