4112 North Peoria Road

Springfield, IL

  (217) 525-2230

A Thai restaurant with flavor! Who’d a thunk?

After my last encounter with a Thai restaurant, which was terrible, I was so relieved to have a simple Thai meal packed full of flavors.

Magic Kitchen is a hole in the wall with cramped seating. And while I seriously dislike the greasy spoon feeling I get while eating there I am in love with the food.

T and I both got egg rolls for an appetizer. These egg rolls weren’t like the ones you’d get from a Chinese place- they were thinner, lighter- the spring wrap was crisp and flaky filled with cabbage and married marvelously with the peanut sauce we were given to dip them in. The peanut sauce had just enough eat that it spiced the back of my throat but didn’t overwhelm the other flavors present in the dish. I gobbled my appetizer up!

Taby ordered the Beef Pad Thai while I ordered the Garlic Pepper Pork (of course mild). T indulged happily in her dish, pleased that the heat of the dish didn’t overwhelm the myriad of flavors encompassing the beef and noodles and was thrilled that the peanut sauce didn’t taste like peanut butter, add red pepper flakes.

I was having fun with my dish- drinking, of all things, a can of coke with my meal. And when I say coke, I don’t mean the generic word for soda, I seriously mean a COKE. And here is why I was amused: The fresh garlic, white pepper and various other spices in my dish enhanced the flavor of ginger in my Coke. It was like a carnival of flavor dancing on my taste buds. It was amazing!

If you get a chance, try Magic Kitchen. While not much can be said for the atmosphere, plenty of wonderful things can be said about the food.

P.S. This establishment is BYOB.