Pad Thai Noodle in Colonie reopened last fall after 18 months in the dark. The menu came back bigger, now extending into sushi, poke bowls and bubble tea alongside the Thai dishes that made the 10-year-old restaurant’s name. The expansion is real, as is the foundation under it.
Significant sacrifice and effort went into the October return after a gas explosion destroyed the building. Sarinya Singthon, who opened the restaurant in 2016, funded the rebuild while working seven days a week at another restaurant. And the family sold their home to cover costs.
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Such passion for the business is evident in its food. Fried pork belly can get lost in its own richness, but this version stays sharp. Listed as moo tod, a single cutlet is dredged and fried into a thick, craggy crust without a trace of oil. Two sauces come on the side: a sweet chile, thicker and more traditional than others locally, and a jeaw made from tamarind, rice powder, lime juice, chiles and fermented fish sauce. The jeaw is where the plate turns, its sour, funky edge cutting against the fat until the richness no longer registers. By the end, we were dragging the last pieces through what remained.
Pad Thai Noodle’s chive dumplings are not a wrapper with filling but a different construction entirely; they’re made from rice flour batter mixed directly with chives, steamed and then fried. Each square is pillowy through the center with a crackled edge packed with herbaceous chive flavor. A dark vinegar sauce on the side added a malty depth, though the dumplings did not need much help…