After discovering I was forever banned from the ‘gluten life,’ I quickly learned rice was my new best friend. A secret favorite of mine is the well-known pad Thai dish. Contrary to popular belief, pad Thai is made with rice noodles, thus worthy of membership to my exclusive clique.
My friend invited me and a few other girls to dinner at “a cute Thai place downtown” months ago, and I immediately fell in love. Galanga, the baby version of Cozy Thai (located on S. Allen St.), is now my Chipotle equivalent for Thai food cravings.
Photo by Nitsa Skenderis
Around 7 pm on a predictably busy Wednesday, I approached the familiarly warm Galanga sign hovering over the artistically lit bistro to meet Allie for a celebratory ‘you got the job!’ dinner.
Photo by Nitsa Skenderis
Welcomed by the inviting spotlights, modern tables and a view of our fabulous reflections in the scattered mirrors, Allie and I eagerly gave the friendly cashier our identical orders. We grabbed a table for two and became immersed in our conversation.
Photo by Nitsa Skenderis
Four short minutes later, my lucky number was called to claim my prize. Already drooling, I wisped my tray away from the counter and darted back to my table. Instead of torturing Allie, I patiently waited for her number to be called before devouring my tastefully saucy and mouth-watering Chicken Pad Thai.
Photo by Nitsa Skenderis
Feeling spontaneous, I marched back to the oversized menu above the cash register to scan the featured beverages. I’m not a huge tea junky, but I decided to try the Thai iced tea. The ombré drink I was served was perfectly chilled, mildly sweet and topped with fluffy whipped cream.
Scraping the pieces of noodles left in my bowl, I realized closing time had approached, forcing us to leave the serene ambiance. Blushing, we cleared our table and scurried toward the door as the staff hollered, “Have a great night!” to which we replied, “See ya soon!”
Location: 454 E College Ave, State College, PA 16801
Hours of Operation: Mon-Fri: 11am-3pm, 5pm-9pm, Sat: 12pm-10pm, Sun: closed
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