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| - I grew up in Pittsburgh, work in Manhattan now, and travel internationally. I am right now visiting family back home and we decided to eat out the night after Thanksgiving. Hoping to avoid Black Friday madness, I thought we'd head a different direction away from the malls and the masses of shoppers. I remembered that Facebook friends had been raving about a Thai place in Bellevue. Well, this is it and man oh man, it is good. Not "good Thai for Pittsburgh" kind of good, but truly "good Thai for anywhere" kind of good.
Where to begin? There were 10 of us in the party so I got to try lots of things. I had Panang Curry at a 5 of 5 level and it was spicy but not challengingly so. Next time I will ask the chef to make it Thai spicy but this time I was clearly able to taste how wonderfully balanced and rich it was, wow! My mother had the stir fried ginger and onion, and it was such a pure meal -- she loved it and she is not an adventurous eater. A wonderful recipe that comes from the chef's mother, we were told. Several people had drunken noodles. Ok, let's talk about drunken noodles. You've probably had them in the past as a irresistible dish of gloppy, starchy, wonderful noodles with Thai spices. They are different here -- still super delicious but the vegetables are fresh, still crispy. Two people at the table ate this and I could not stop picking at their plates. If you like drunken noodles, you will LOVE these. This dish told me how wonderful the place is -- so fresh and so perfect, not the starchy indulgence we eat in other Thai places -- not the kind that feel like a lead weight in your stomach. These drunken noodles bring all the credibility this place needs to be truly considered an authentic Thai place. Wow, if you don't order them just make sure someone else does or order them as an appetizer to share (then fight over). My sons shared Pad Thai -- a classic wonderfully done here. My brother was eating Thai for the first time and he ate a plate of the pineapple fried rice in short order. It looked wonderful, and would be another appetizer option for a table to share. My sister-in-law had the Yellow Curry (a mild house special) and her 3-year old was feasting off her plate.
Apps: We had larb pork -- amazing. Also we had dumplings, which were incredible with a perfect presentation on small Chinese-style spoons. I ate the tofu triangles as well, which were perfectly done. See if you can get your kids hooked on these.
For dessert I had coconut ice cream with fried banana. I will order that every time I go from now on.
What a wonderful place. We'll go back. If you love Thai, go! If you never had it (like too many of the people at our table), go -- this is the place to try it. Oh, someone else wrote about the portion sizes. I think they are perfect, to be honest. They are slightly smaller than what you would get in a Chinese restaurant, but they are tons of food. You can eat it all and not feel gross at the end of the meal. If you are not ordering appetizers and you order just an entree, and if it looks small (I don't think it will to you) just order a second side of rice.
Decor, service, all great. I write few reviews but this one I had to write as I was so impressed. Try it, all.
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