As a self-proclaimed curry aficionado, I felt it was my duty to crawl the city of Oxford, MS searching for the best Thai curry that money can buy. I measured the three separate curries on a scale of 1 to 5 evaluating flavor (1 being poor and 5 being exceptional) and spice (1 being no heat and 5 being intense).

Rice and Spice: Panang Curry w/ Chicken

 

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Photo by Jordan Lott

This was my first stop on my quest for curry, and I was not disappointed. For someone who frequents the Rice and Spice, they never falter in the quality of their curry. It was absolutely delicious, and if my stomach would let me, I would have finished the whole thing.

Flavor was on point with a slow, steady burn of the curry spice (they offer heat on a scale of 1 to 5 and I got a 4). The chicken was pretty darn tender, too. All around just a great curry. A+, Rice and Spice. 

Flavor: 5

Spice: 4

Price: $8.95

Pick Thai: Red Curry w/ Chicken

 

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Photo courtesy of Jordan Lott

This place has been hyped to me repeatedly, so I was super pumped to try their curry. There was a ton of food in my order, and I got it delivered to my dorm. I had enough curry to feed two people, easily, making the price even more unbelievable.

My only complaints are that they put so many bamboo shoots in the curry that you miss some chicken. Some of the pieces weren’t very tender, and the flavor was masked by the amount of heat that was in the curry. I ordered a 4 out of 5 like I did at Rice and Spice, but the heat in this curry didn’t complement the subtleties that you want to find in curry.

Overall, the price to food ratio is probably worth it as long as you get a lower spice level. Also, take-out and studying FTW.

Flavor: 3.5

Spice: 5+

Price: $7.40

Aloha Thai-Hawaiian: Panang Curry w/ Chicken

 

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Photo by Jordan Lott

This place is brand new and very good. The curry was delicious, and it has broccoli, red bell peppers, and English peas in the sauce. This dish was a pretty close contender to Rice and Spice’s curry, but the spice wasn’t as intense as I hoped.

They do their spice level from 1 to 10, and I got a 6. It wasn’t as spicy as the others, but the flavors were so good I didn’t mind one bit. It was a very impressive curry for a brand new restaurant. I will definitely be going back and feasting on the Hawaiian side of the menu.

Flavor: 5

Spice: 3.5

Price: $8.95

Conclusion

Surprisingly, good Thai curry isn’t hard to find in Oxford, Ms.

If you’re looking for more delicate flavors and a more controllable spice, I would go with either Rice and Spice or Aloha. But, if you love spice and cheaper prices, Pick Thai is the one for you. All of them were good in their own right.

I urge curry lovers looking for good curry in Oxford and people wanting to take their tastebuds where they’ve never been to branch out and try any one of these amazing, eclectic restaurants. Curry on.