By Grace Cheung,
Special to The Post

Since it's a pad thai joint, we got the Pad Thai Goong, a pad thai with shrimp. Despite the bland colour, it had huge flavour! I was worried that a "food court" place couldn't have huge wok flavour (鑊氣) but I was so wrong. The noodles weren't drenched in a gooey sweet and sour sauce. The green onions and bean sprouts gave the dish a fresh kick.

The Pad Siew with Pork had rice noodles that were perfectly cooked. Normally, restaurants tend to load up with carbs and skimp on the meats. This was the exact opposite. We both loved the noodles and had leftover pork. However, this dish had the same heat as the pad thai, smoky and fragrant. It was my favourite out of the three carb dishes.

I was surprised by our last carb dish, the Khao Pad. This fried rice was lighter than any I've had before. The sausage is tangy and the hot chewy rice had a strong flavour of fish sauce, strong but not overpowering. Each grain was coated with flavour, light and fluffy.

The fresh Papaya Salad is seemed simplistic compared to the previous dishes.

We were disappointed by the wings. The wings were crispy but the pale colour was indicative of their flavour. However, it did come with a sauce which gave these wings a new life. It could have used more sauce.

It's a bit pricey considering it was a "serve yourself" place, but the food was good, I'd definitely have the Pad Siew and Khao Pad again. Truth be told, if this was a standalone restaurant and the food was plated properly, I'd say it was worth it.

Sen Pad Thai

1666 Johnston St unit 7, Vancouver, BC

Grace Cheung is a leading food blogger on Urban Spoon. Read more of her reviews at www.xmasbb.blogspot.ca.