Cheap and Delicious Thai

We are in the middle of August which means matsuris and beach time. If you want to go swimming, the town with the most famous beach is Oarai. Oarai has a lot going on. There are seafood restaurants, oyster bars, an anime called Girls Panzer is famous there, amazing milkshakes (check my post on the older Ibaraki Eats blog https://regaladom24.wixsite.com/website/post/delicious-milkshakes-at-the-station), and more. I am more of an Ajigaura Beach guy but I recently went to Oarai with Mrs. Ibaraki Eats to try surfing and we both loved it. After our surfing adventure, it was lunchtime and we weren't sure where to go. That's when my wife remembered that Oarai had a famous Thai place. That's when we decided to head to Bansen Restaurant.

Bansen Restaurant

Even though I kept writing about Oarai in the first paragraph of my post, Bansen Restuarant is technically located in the Hiratocho area of Mito. So yes, it is in Mito, but it is so close to the border of the Hinuma River, which separates Mito and Oarai, that most Ibarakians consider this restaurant to be in Oarai.
My wife and I drove to this place after our surfing adventure and looked for the parking area. Bansen does have parking, but it is on a busy street and the parking is limited. I think you should be careful when parking in their parking lot. Many cars drive by without slowing down so please be aware of that.
After we found our parking space, we headed inside.

Inside

Bansen is both a restaurant and a grocery store. The Thai grocery store area is right by the entrance and has a lot of different Thai noodles, sauces, and vegetables for sale.
The restaurant part is to the left of the entrance. There is quite a lot of seating so you can bring a big group of friends or family. My wife and I went a little after the lunch rush so the restaurant was mainly empty, and dark. I have no idea why the restaurant was so dark but it was. 85% of the lights were off.
We could also tell that this restaurant has been around for a while. I believe it is a family run business and has been around for more than 8 years. Probably longer.
When we sat down, my wife yelled "sumimasen" and no one came. I yelled the same thing and no one came. After the third "sumimasen" we were given water and a menu to look over.

The Menu

Bansen's menu is huge so I can't go into every detail of it. I will tell you two things about it.
One, the menu is in Japanese and English.
Two, whatever Thai food you know about, there is a high probability Bansen has it on the menu. Pad Thai? Check. Green Curry? They have it. Gapao Rice? On the menu. Spicy Coconut Curry Soup? It's on there.
My wife and I decided on an appetizer and two main dishes.

Fried Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce

This was an amazing appetizer. The fried chicken was perfectly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Dipping it into the sweet and sour sauce was extremely satisfying. The sauce went very well with the fried chicken, but then again, sweet and sour sauce does go well with a lot of different food.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo loved our appetizer but we would kind of end up regretting our order. Not for any bad reason, but because our main dishes were huge and we almost didn't finish our appetizer.

Green Curry

This was Mrs. Ibaraki Eats' order. The green curry came with a plate of white rice. My wife got a spoonful of rice and dipped it into the green curry. She happily said "oishi" and gave the green curry the thumbs up. She then let me have a spoonful of rice and green curry. After the first bite, I was very impressed. It was so flavorful and full of different spices that I wanted more. As far as the spiciness level went, the green curry was not mild but it was not incredibly spicy either. I did cough a few times when I got a bit of pepper stuck in my throat but otherwise, it was a perfect level of spiciness. This green curry was delicious and I can't wait to try the other curries Bansen has on their menu.

Pad Thai

I love Pad Thai. It is an amazing noodle dish full of seafood, vegetables, and Thai rice noodles. The noodles are so good and they soak in all the spice and flavor that the Pad Thai has to offer.
Bansen's Pad Thai was exceptional. I know from the picture the Pad Thai looks small, but it was anything but small. It was a huge mountain filled with delicious treats. The vegetables in the Pad Thai were fresh and delicious. They were full of lemon and spicy chili peppers. My Pad Thai was a bit spicier than the green curry. I loved slurping up the rice noodles that felt a little bit chewy when I was biting into them. The shrimp was a nice tasty addition to the Pad Thai and so were the fried eggs. It is a heavenly Thai dish. My only negative comment is the moyashi (bean sprouts). I like moyashi, but I don't like when there is a mountain of it covering everything that is in the dish. Otherwise, this was a great Pad Thai that I would love to have again. My wife also got to try the Pad Thai and she gave it the thumbs up.

After we finished our meal, we were beyond full. It was a miracle we were able to finish everything. I wasn't sure we would be able to eat all of our fried chicken. Nevertheless, we did it and it was time for the check. After yelling "sumimasen" three times, the staff came with our bill. We were shocked when we looked at our bill. All that food and I think it was maybe around 2,500 yen. This was definitely one of the cheapest meals we have had in a while and well worth it. We went to the grocery store section and paid our bill and went on our way.

Bansen Restaurant, you were a great Thai food experience and I hope we can come by again the next time we are in Oarai. Yes, your parking lot is a bit of a death trap and you guys only come after three sumimasens, but the food was delicious and the price is amazing. Until next time Bansen.

So if you have just finished having a nice beach day at Oarai and are feeling like having some Thai food, why not give Bansen Restaurant a chance? Who knows, you might see us there, my wife trying another curry while I slurp those heavenly rice noodles from Bansen's delicious Pad Thai.
Enjoy!

For more information on Bansen Restaurant, check out their...umm...google reviews? They don't have a website or anything so check out their google reviews.
https://g.co/kgs/PNtcQp9