Thaiku in Seattle

[lemony]

had dinner at thaiku last night and am still perplexed this morning about how busy this place is. ambience is fine, i guess - a bit on the disneyland side of things but it's ok. i've been to private events in that sexy room downstairs, which is quite nice.

the food was some of the most uninspired thai food i've had in ages. our table had a wide variety of choices and all were bland. service was terrible.

i just don't get it. the place is always packed. am i missing something? is there a secret menu i don't know about?

lemony

[kiliki]

I doubt there is a secret menu-I think it appeals to a certain clientel (maybe the ones who are also packing Matador, a couple doors up). I've had a number of fair meals there (a girlfriend of mine used to drag me there), not bad enough to really disparage the place but not good enough to want to return. Maybe because there are not many thai places in Ballard, it is in an area that attracts a lot of people (for movies, clubs, shopping), and the ambiance is nicer than your average thai place?

Edited October 5, 2004 by kiliki (log)

[halland]

... Maybe because there are not many thai places in Ballard, it is in an area that attracts a lot of people (for movies, clubs, shopping), and the ambiance is nicer than your average thai place?

Thai Cafe, just a few blocks away is very good, and has the nicest people working there. No yohimbe-monkey musk martinis though, just Singha.

Hal

[tighe]

the food was some of the most uninspired thai food i've had in ages.  our table had a wide variety of choices and all were bland.  service was terrible. 

i just don't get it.  the place is always packed.  am i missing something?  is there a secret menu i don't know about?

←

Probably for the same reason that Wild Ginger continues to be a darling of the Seattle diningin scene, not that I understand what the reason is, mind you....

[crouching tyler]

We only go to Thaiku for one dish - Kao Soy. And while we are there, we get the Mieng Kahm.

If I knew somewhere else in Seattle to get Kao Soy, then we wouldn't have to go to ballard everytime we had a craving.

[elswinger]

I haven't been to Thaiku but I must defend Matador. Everytime I've been there the food was great and the service quick and friendly.

[ScorchedPalate]

I must defend Matador.  Everytime I've been there the food was great and the service quick and friendly.

←

We've only been there once, but the food was beyond mediocre and the service was snotty. (We're not as gorgeous as the rest of the people we saw there, so I am sure we deserved it )

[bbqer]

I haven't been to Thaiku but I must defend Matador.  Everytime I've been there the food was great and the service quick and friendly.

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I too must defend Matador. The one time we stopped in for lunch, both the food and service were great. And I particularly enjoyed my pulled pork BBQ sandwich (as you might infer from my nom de Gullet).

[kiliki]

I feel the same about Matador as I do Thaiku. It's not awful, and I wouldn't discourage people from going there. I just think they are both unremarkable, especially given the kind of crowds they draw. And would it kill Matador to have a non smoking section?

[bbqer]

I feel the same about Matador as I do Thaiku. It's not awful, and I wouldn't discourage people from going there. I just think they are both unremarkable, especially given the kind of crowds they draw. And would it kill Matador to have a non smoking section?

←

Frankly, I wish there would be a law banning smoking in all restaurants. I keep badgering the owner of at least one restaurant we frequent for even maintaining a small smoking section. He says he'd like to go totally non-smoking but doesn't want to lose his smoking trade. I keep saying he wouldn't lose them and the whole restaurant would smell much more appetizing.

[mamster]

First of all, turn this into a smoking discussion thread at your peril.

I like Thaiku, but I also usually get the kao soi. Last time it wasn't that great. Oh, there's a thing with stir-fried ground chicken and an overcooked egg, and if you ignore the overcooked egg that's a good dish, too.

They have kao soi at Noodle Studio on Broadway, and Jeem Asian Restaurant in Redmond. Not sure where else. I think Thaiku's is the best of the three when they're doing it right.

[lala]

Can someone please educate me as to what kao soi is?

[crouching tyler]

Can someone please educate me as to what kao soi is?

←

Kao Soi is a regional dish, from northern Thailand. There is a coconut milk-laden, curry-flavored broth that provides the soup for fresh egg noodles, with some smaller fried noodles on top. I think it usually comes with meat (chicken, in my experience). The really tasty components are the lime, the shallots and some sort of pickled vegetable. The pickled vegetable is the part that you get possesive over when sharing this dish.

a lengthy and laudatory description is here.

the last paragraph provides the real details.

edited for clarity

Edited October 6, 2004 by crouching tyler (log)

[lala]

Ok, that is the dish that I go to Thaiku for, I just didn't know the name off the top of my head, and wondered if I was missing something! I agree with others, that while that dish is good, most of the other dishes I've tried there aren't very good. And sometimes the place just has a funky smell.

You're right about the pickled vegetable!

[DrinkBoy]

Frankly, the reason I go to Thaiku is for their bar the "Fu Kun Wu", run by Perryn Wright... He's doing some absolutely wonderful things with the cocktails they serve there. Unfortunately they don't do full meal service in the bar, just appetizers (which means I've never actually at a meal at Thaiku :-).