Like Starbucks and fro-yo shops, Thai restaurants seem to be popping up on every corner, yet somehow, the quest for amazing, authentic Thai food is not as easy as driving down the street – those without a Thai-food-savvy GPS need guidance. As usual, however, we did the hard work for you, scarfing down warm peanut curry with beef in Scottsdale, spicy papaya salad in Phoenix, and even coconut pineapple rice at an eatery in Glendale just to bring you a list of ten local Thai favorites for both the newbie and the experienced to love. Check out our choices after the jump.

1. Soi 4 Bangkok Eatery: From Thai pineapple fried rice with prawns and cashew nuts (kao pad sapparot) to stir-fried eggplant with basil and scallions in red curry and black bean sauce (pad makeur), we think this trendy Scottsdale joint speaks for itself.

2. The Wild Thaiger, Phoenix: A colorful Thai eatery in the heart of Downtown with house specialty drinks, unique martinis and a global wine menu.

3. The Siamese Cat in Tempe: a traditional, simple and fool-proof Thai menu.

4. 5R Cha Thaiin Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa: Delectable enough to have three locations, including a spot in Tempe for to-gos only, this well-known family of restaurants is quickly becoming a Valley tradition.

Pete's Thai Cuisine

5. Pete’s Thai Cuisine, Phoenix: Owner and “funny man” Pete Pholtosa formerly owned Siam in Glendale and is the mastermind behind Thai E-San in Central Phoenix, which is also delicious enough to make our list. Don’t worry – there is enough leg room between the two restaurants to serve bothsides of the city.

6. Thai E-San, Central Phoenix: With a knowledgeable staff and dishes like fresh lemongrass soup and mussel salad with lime and herbs, we just couldn’t leave this out, even with sister restaurant Pete’s Thai Cuisine at the No. 5 spot.

7. La’s Thai Cuisine, Scottsdale: A smashingly authentic southern-Scottsdale must-stop.

8. Bangkok Thai Bar-B-Q in Glendale: A hole-in-the-wall Westside Thai hotspot with favorites like seafood curry, sweet crispy noodles and of course, coconut pineapple rice.

9. Malee’s Thai Bistro in Scottsdale: an Old-Town Scottsdale haunt complete with Thai cooking classes, catering and specialty cocktails like Electric Green Tea.

10. Swaddee Thai Cuisine, Scottsdale: Not only does one of our favorite Thai restaurants have locations both in Chandler and Flagstaff, but their Chandler location stays open till 1 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night with live Karaoke.

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