Gyodong, Daegu Thai restaurant: lemon-squeezed pad thai at Thai Yami

I'm introducing Thai Yami (타이야미), a Gyodong favorite so good that I scraped up even the leftover sauce in the bowl. This place made me realize something: Jjukkum (the blog owner) really, really loves Thai food,, I fell for the mix of tasty dishes and exotic spices and was happy through the whole meal. If you like Thai food, I highly recommend visiting once.

Where is Thai Yami, and what are the hours?

Thai Yami is at 222 Gyeongsanggamyeong-gil, Unit 105, 1F, Dongmun-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30–22:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:30, and closed every Monday.

Thai Yami's menu: are lunch and dinner different?

The lunch and dinner menus are slightly different. If you want draft beer or a highball with your Thai dishes, dinner might be the better time to visit :)

What are the seats and atmosphere like at Thai Yami?

Thai Yami has four 4-person tables and bar seats (dacchi-seok) in front of the open kitchen. Wood-toned interiors and soft lighting make it warm and cozy, and plants placed here and there give it a clean yet sentimental feel.

This is the warm mood by the sunny window. Love it • • 🌿 With such a tidy space, I'd also recommend it for a blind date or a date night.

There are bar seats in front of the open kitchen too. The female owner was incredibly quick, and I was impressed that she cleared each table right as guests left. The place is so well kept that the meal felt even nicer.

Bar seats come with an open-kitchen show

We sat at the bar seats, and there was a mirror in front, so I took a quick shot -

Because Thai Yami has an open kitchen, sitting at the bar lets you watch the cooking right in front of you. Seeing the ingredients prepped and the dishes come together is a real highlight. Also, the male staff member is handsome, congratulations.

The side dish was pickled cabbage ~ it was sour, so I didn't eat much of it.

Ordering for two at Thai Yami: what we ate and the prices

• Kai phrai (fried chicken with basil) ₩21,000
• Pad thai ₩13,000
• Fresh-squeezed orange juice ₩5,000

We ordered kai phrai, pad thai and orange juice. Two of us, two mains and one drink. The portions were generous and the plating was pretty, so I was happy even before eating. (The pad thai looks poked around because I was hungry!)

Fresh-squeezed orange juice

Thai Yami's orange juice is fresh-squeezed, so there's no artificial sweetness, just the bright, sweet taste of the oranges themselves. It also went well with the food.

Squeeze lemon over the pad thai and toss

I recommend squeezing the lemon all over Thai Yami's pad thai and mixing it in. The lemon's freshness makes the whole dish cleaner and brings out even more savory depth. It was salty and richly savory, and the whole time I kept thinking, 'Mixing rice into this sauce would be amazing'.. The seasoning was just right and the flavor deep, so I think it would pair well with a beer too.

Cheese-heaped kai phrai, plenty even for two

Thai Yami's kai phrai is topped with heaps of grated cheese, and it made my mouth water just looking at it. The crispy fried chicken and the nutty cheese went together well, and above all the portion was generous enough for two to share.

Every time I picked up a piece I thought 'there's still more?!' and I loved it !! The regular kai phrai is ₩21,000, and they also sell a mini for ₩9,000. The regular is quite large, so next time I'd order one rice noodle soup, one pad thai and one mini kai phrai. But the kai phrai is really good, so I recommend it.

It was so good that I ended up eating more than my boyfriend. That's how delicious it was, and it's a dish I'd definitely order again next visit.