Pad Thai in Glenelg: what makes a real one

10 July 2026 · 2 min read · Rim Thang Thai, Glenelg

Pad Thai might be the most famous dish in Thailand, and it's also the most butchered. Too many versions outside Thailand come out sweet, gluggy and orange. The real thing is drier, smokier and balanced on a knife's edge between sour, salty and sweet.

Here's what goes into a proper one, and how we make ours at 39 Jetty Rd.

Tamarind, not ketchup

The backbone of Pad Thai sauce is tamarind — a sour, fruity paste that gives the dish its signature tang. Cheap versions substitute ketchup or plain sugar, which is why they taste like dessert. Ours balances tamarind with fish sauce and palm sugar, the way street vendors in Bangkok have made it for generations.

The other non-negotiables: thin rice noodles with some bite left in them, egg folded through the wok, and the fresh crunch on top — bean sprouts, chives, crushed peanuts and a wedge of lemon you squeeze over at the table.

The wok does the work

Great Pad Thai is cooked fast and hot, one serve at a time. That's how the noodles pick up the slightly smoky edge Thai cooks call wok hin — the breath of the wok. It's also why we make every plate to order rather than batch-cooking it: noodles that sit around turn soft and sad.

Choose your protein — vegetables and tofu or chicken from $19.50, seafood with prawns and calamari at $24.50, or the combination at $26.90 — and tell us how spicy you'd like it. Traditional Pad Thai is actually mild; the heat comes from the chilli flakes you add yourself.

Where to try it in Glenelg

We're on Jetty Road in the heart of Glenelg, open for dinner 7 nights from 5PM. Eat it in the room under the lanterns, or grab it as takeaway and walk it down to the beach — Pad Thai travels well.