Before college, Thai food was a staple part of my week.
Growing up, my family and I went to the same Thai restaurant five minutes from our house almost every Sunday. My dad first went there in 2008, and by the time I was in middle school, it had already turned into a routine. We ordered the same dishes every time without much discussion. Green curry, Tom Kha, Pad Kee Mao, fried rice. The kind of order you could repeat without looking at the menu.
Green curry was always first. Thick, bright and poured over rice until the plate looked like soup. The Tom Kha came out steaming, sharp with lime and coconut milk, the kind of soup that cleared your nose the second it hit the table. Pad Kee Mao followed, glossy and slightly spicy, with wide noodles that never stayed on the plate for long. Even during the pandemic, when everything shut down and takeout felt like the only outing we had, we were among the first customers to go back when they reopened. Picking up those same containers felt like returning to something familiar.
When I got to Baltimore, I did not set out to find Thai spots. It just happened over time.
The first one I tried was Mona’s Super Noodle in Hampden. I went early freshman year with my First-Year Mentor and a few friends from my orientation group. It was one of those early outings where everyone was still getting comfortable with each other. We were still figuring out names, majors and where people were from. Hampden itself felt new to me, full of colorful storefronts and small restaurants that felt different from the dining hall routine.
I ordered drunken noodles, mostly because it felt like a safe choice. They were solid and filling, with enough spice to make them interesting but not overwhelming. Still, the mango sticky rice was the part I remember most. It came out in neat slices, bright yellow mango next to warm coconut rice. Someone suggested we share one order, and we passed the plate around until it was gone. Mona’s ended up being one of the first off-campus restaurants I went to with people I had just met, which made it stick in my memory more than the food itself.
Sophomore year, I found Bodhi Corner, also in Hampden, and that became my regular spot.
Their drunken noodles were the reason I kept going back. The noodles held onto the sauce well, and the flavor felt strong without being too heavy. The portion sizes were generous, the kind where you finish half and already know the rest will be tomorrow’s lunch. I also liked the Pad See Ew, especially when the noodles had a slight char, and the basil fried rice, which smelled like garlic the second you opened the container.
Bodhi became my default order after exams. After sitting through finals or turning in long assignments, it felt like an easy decision. No scrolling through menus, no second guessing. Just reorder the same thing and wait for pickup.
When my family came to visit Baltimore, this was the place I took them. I did not spend much time debating options. Bodhi felt like the safest choice because I had already tested it more than once. We ordered drunken noodles, Pad See Ew and basil fried rice, spreading the containers across the table the way we always did at home. Everyone liked it, which felt like confirmation that I had picked well.
For my birthday, I went to The Dara in Fells Point for lunch.
Fells Point already feels like somewhere you go when you want to make a day out of it. Walking along the harbor before lunch made the afternoon feel intentional, even though the plan itself was simple. The sidewalks were busy, and there was that steady sound of water against the docks that makes the whole area feel relaxed.
Inside, The Dara felt a little more polished than the other places I had been to. The seating felt more spaced out, and the atmosphere was quieter than a typical takeout spot. I ordered drunken noodles again, mostly out of habit at that point, and I also tried the pad Thai. Both were good, but what stood out was how balanced everything tasted. Nothing felt overly greasy or too sweet. It was the kind of meal where you finish feeling full but not weighed down.
Most recently, on Valentine’s Day, I went to Mayuree Thai Tavern.
We ordered a few appetizers to start, planning to share everything. The chicken and shrimp dumplings ended up being my favorite thing on the table. They came out steaming, soft and neatly folded, with a dipping sauce that disappeared quickly. We kept reaching for them until the plate was empty before the rest of the food even arrived.
The chicken satay followed, served on skewers with peanut sauce on the side. It was good, but the dumplings were the thing I kept thinking about afterward. If I went back, that would be the first thing I ordered again without hesitation.
Looking back, these places were never part of a plan. They showed up at different points in the semester without much thought behind them. A dinner with my orientation group early on. Late night orders after exams. A birthday lunch by the harbor. A Valentine’s Day dinner that turned into a long night of sharing appetizers.
At this point, I do not really think of them as just restaurants. They are places I rotate through when I want something filling, reliable and familiar. Each one fits into a different kind of day, whether it is a quick takeout run after class or a meal that feels a little more planned.
And somehow, without trying, Baltimore ended up with its own version of my weekly Thai routine.
