Senyai Thai Kitchen Review – Classic Thai in Shadyside

Classic Thai Dining at Senyai

We visited Senyai Thai Kitchen on a chilly winter Saturday, showing up perhaps naively without a reservation. The dining room was full, so we were offered a spot on the heated and covered patio, which was surprisingly warm for being a patio. Still, we ordered some hot tea to stave off the chill – we opted for the ginger tea, which had a pleasant warming ginger flavor and just the right touch of sweetness.

We perused the menu and had a hard time settling on just a few things – this is a spot that would definitely be better with a larger group to order multiple plates for sharing. The Tom Yum and Tom Kha soups sounded good, and so did many of the appetizers like Thai wings, summer rolls, and the mango salad.

We opted to start with the dumplings, which were steamed Thai-style dumplings with a shrimp and pork filling, served with a ginger-soy sauce for dipping. The fillings were well-seasoned and the wrappers were tender and moist – overall a solid start to the meal.

For entrees, the menu is split up into seafood options like crab fried rice and crispy fried red snapper, stir fries like Prik Pao and Grapow, curries with your choice of protein, and noodles like Pad Thai and Kee Mao. However, the section that most caught our eye was the Chef's Recommendations, with dishes that are not as common in Pittsburgh like Hung Lay (pork belly in a Northern Thai gravy) and Moo Pad Pett (pork shoulder in a spicy and creamy sauce).

We went with a familiar favorite, Pad See Ew, and a new-to-us dish, Ped Krob (a crispy duck dish). The Pad See Ew had wide rice noodles with Chinese broccoli and eggs in a savory-sweet brown sauce. It came with our choice of protein, and we opted for pork.

The flavor of the dish was pretty good, with sauce coating every nook and cranny, and the broccoli was tender-crisp while the meat was velvety and tender. However, the noodles were a little mushy for our tastes and the dish lacked the caramelization from the high-heat wok cooking that is the reason we normally order this dish.

We liked this dish but it was nowhere near as tasty as the Ped Krob.

The Ped Krob stole our hearts – this one started with crispy fried duck pieces, finished in a creamy coconut curry sauce with tons of Thai basil, green beans, and carrots. I can't say we've ever had fried duck, and it was surprisingly delicious. The crispy texture of the fry batter was excellent, and of course the richness of the duck meant the pieces stayed moist and tender.

But the sauce is what really stood out to us – it had the perfect balance of richness, savory umami, sweetness, and spiciness, punctuated by aromatic basil and Makrut lime.

Served with rice for soaking up all the delicious sauce, it really took every ounce of our willpower to not finish this dish. We're regularly disappointed by the balance in Thai sauces and curries in the city (most are either watery or too sweet or lack an aromatic punch), but this one hit all the marks for us.

We look forward to returning to Senyai Thai Kitchen, next time with advance planning to make a reservation, and with a bigger group to sample more of the creative and well-executed plates on the Chef's Recommendations menu.

Senyai Thai Kitchen is located at 5865 Ellsworth Ave in Shadyside.