Gold Winner Cha Baa Thai Restaurant, downtown
Silver Winner Talay Thai, Halifax
Bronze Winner Thai Ivory, Bedford
“Most people, when they eat it they feel comfortable.” Wen Dao is explaining Thai’s appeal. “If the food makes them comfortable, they come back. That’s how the customer feels about Thai food. Dao would know: He and his wife Kim opened Cha Ba Thai Restaurant in 2007, and over the years they’ve built an empire, with a north end Halifax location recently joining the chain aslongside Dartmouth, Bedford and the flagship on Queen Street. “Sales keep going higher, so we’ve got to keep opening more,” Dao says, with an eye to the world beyond the city. It would take “maybe 12 stores to cover the Maritimes. It will take time, but we will get there.”
