I think the first better or really good Thai Basil Dish I tried in Metro Phoenix Area was from Lao Thai in Scottsdale Az that has been closed for business for some time now. The sauce was spicy and tasted like basil. I tasted garlic, moist flavor chicken, crunchy vegetables and delicious chestnutty tasting pumpkin. They also offered the fried crispy egg option so you could eat this dish Thai Style like the way Thai people eat this dish.

Pad Gra Pow is a simple dish and translates to meaning stir fried holy basil. I don’t think many restaurants actually use holy basil because it’s next to impossible to find fresh and it is even more fragile than delicate Thai Basil. The taste does differ slightly. Holy Basil is called hot basil because it is peppery tasting and is filled with far more nutrients and that’s why it gets the “holy” and is believed to aid many ailments. Thai basil is considered to be “Sweet Basil” and is has a slight hint of anise taste.

Since Lao Thai Closed I had trouble finding people who make this dish as delicious.

One of the closer Thai Restaurants that gets very high scoring reviews on certain review sites is Siamese Kitchen from Glendale AZ.

Personally this was my least favorite Pad Gra Pow I tried anywhere. It lacked the basil taste and had a strong jalapeño taste instead of a Thai Chili kind of heat. This was also the sweetest Pad Gra Pow I tried anywhere and the chicken was tough too. It was very unbalanced in flavors.  It’s possible I hit them on a off day or I picked the dish they do least well. Don’t know.

I also tried Siam Thai in Glendale AZ.

Seemed basil free. I note I’ve been here twice and the yellow curry I tried from here was much better.

Tried Krachai Thai Kitchen in Phoenix AZ

At Krachi Thai Kitchen in Phoenix AZ I had the Spicy Eggplant but I did try a taste of the Beef Phad Kaprow. I’m glad that it didn’t have a jalapeño taste like some of these dishes do but it lacked a basil taste.

Tried Chanpen Thai in Phoenix AZ

Chanpen’s dish had this sauce that was heads and antlers above the two I tried in Glendale. Chicken was a tad dry but not bad. Pretty darn good. Something about the sauce was balanced in flavors and seemed right. Not the same as Lao Thai but pretty darn good.

Then I tried Cha Da Thai in Scottsdale AZ

At Cha Da Thai I actually had the Spicy Eggplant with Chicken and Basil but I did try my husband’s Beef Kapow Thai Style. (Thai Style means with Crispy soft egg) This was among the best. The meat was hand chopped with more surface space to get more sauce taste and also the sauce was balanced with heat garlic and had basil. I thought that they gave me much more basil in my eggplant than they did with the Beef Kapow.

Tried Thai Plates in Mesa AZ.

This is another Thai Restaurant with a 41/2 average rating on a review site. I tried a taste of my husband’s Pad Gra Pow with beef. The beef was chewy and tasted like it was infused with soy sauce to me. It lacked heat and also lacked basil. I do note the pumpkin curry I had from here was better.

Tried Thai Spices in Mesa AZ Once.

At Thai Spices I ordered the Pumpkin Curry but did try the Basil with Ground Chicken. This was another one of the better Thai Basil Dishes. All very good …just a little short on basil.

Went to the Little Thaiger in Scottsdale AZ

The Little Thaiger does two variations of the basil infused dish. My husband had the Wild Boar Grapao Thai Style with crispy egg and I had the Holy Basil Chicken. Somehow I accidentally got this dish made too hot for me and burnt out my taste buds. It was good but way too much jalapeño heat for me. I know my husband and me asked for the same heat level but the heat on mine got really cranked up to a space I never entered before. I picked the Holy Basil Chicken because I hoped that it was made with Holy Basil. I can tell you I wasn’t able to tell with all the fire from this dish. I wanted to return and try the Grapow and ask if I could get it with Holy Basil but haven’t been back yet.

Recently Sala Thai in Peoria AZ Opened not to far from me.

I tried the Spicy Pumpkin Basil with Chicken. The spice level was perfect for me. The sauce was infused with basil and I tasted garlic and chili instead of jalapeño like I prefer. This was really good…and I liked that they offer pumpkin. My husband had the similar dish with beef instead of chicken and also without the pumpkin.

Those were the Pad Gra Pows or Sweet Basil Dishes I tried in the Metro Phoenix Area.

UPDATE****I just found out that the original Lao Thai has recently reopened in Tempe AZ as Smile Lao Thai (I called them up to find out)……I don’t get out to Tempe often but hope to try them sometime.