Keo's Thai Cuisine

Back in the late 70s, Thai food was probably unknown to many people here in Hawaii.  One of the people that contibuted towards Thai cuisine's growing popularity in the state is Keo Sananikone.  He could also be considered one of Hawaii's first "celebrity" chefs.  Keo first started with Mekong in the late 70s, then came the first Keo's restaurant a few years after that.  Several years ago, Keo's moved to its current location.

I've been eating at Keo's restaurants since the late 80s, but I had never been to his flagship restaurant since it moved to this corner of Kuhio Avenue.   

When I arrived, I saw how huge the restaurant was and found out that it was packed.  It was 8:00 pm and without a reservation, I was told that it would be a 30-45 minute wait to be seated! The restaurant was dimly lit and there were lots floral arrangements and a few ornamental Thai statues around.

Here's another shot of the interior...

Since I was dining with a couple of friends, we decided to start with some appetizers. First, was the beef sa-teh (US$7.95).

Four sticks of beef sa-teh arrived covered in peanut sauce and topped with chopped cilantro (Chinese parsley).  For nearly US$2.00 a stick, we decided that there wasn't enough meat there, though what was there, was actually quite nice.  The peanut sauce was not as good though.  I could probably make better peanut sauce at home.  The cucumbers that were served with the sa-teh, were refreshing.

Next came the combination appetizer platter (appetizer combination A) with mee krob (vegetarian crispy noodles) and poh piah (spring rolls) (US$8.95).

Unlike the mee krob that I had previously eaten at Mekong I, this one had a bit too much dressing on it.  By the time we had eaten to the bottom, the crispy noodles were a bit soggy.  The dressing on this dish was also a lot sweeter than I was used to.  I was a bit disappointed. 

The poh piah on the other hand were nice, crunchy and flavorful.  Served with some lettuce and fresh mint for wrapping, and a slightly sweet dipping sauce, the poh piah were just a bit too small to do any thing better than tempt my tastebuds.  I wish I could have been served a few more of these.

We followed that with the Evil Jungle Prince.  It is prepared with seafood (US$14.95), with shrimp (US$13.95), with chicken (US$12.95) or with vegetables and tofu (US$10.95).  We chose to order this dish with vegetables and tofu.

According to the menu, this is "Keo's most famous dish combining fresh basil, coconut milk and red chili".  Ordered a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10, the spicing was just about right.  We probably could have ordered this a bit spicier.  There was a nice balance of flavor to this dish, with neither ingredient over powering the other.  I can see why this is Keo's most famous dish.

To finish out the meal, we ordered the gaeng keo wan gai (green curry with chicken, US$12.95).  This dish was also ordered spicy (a 7 out of 10).

The curry itself was quite mild, but had a wonderful aroma.  There was a bit too much coconut milk in this for my taste and not enough heat.  The fresh-cut red chillies, while adding a bit more spice to this dish, were not hot enough to make too much of a difference.  The chicken was tender and there was a lot of eggplant in this dish.  But I often wonder why I can never find Thai eggplants or makheau phuang in the green curries that I eat here in Hawaii.

While this was an enjoyable meal, it was a bit pricy considering the portion size.  While I throughly enjoyed both the Evil Jungle Prince and the poh piah, the rest of the dishes that I sampled were a bit average.  This is still one of the only restaurants where I can get decent mee krob, and I'll still come here and eat every now and then, but there are many other Thai restaurants that serve food of the same quality for a much more reasonable price.

Keo's Thai Cuisine
2028 Kuhio Avenue
Telephone:  808.951.9355

Comments

[fish fish]

Welcome back Reid, with a nice review. Geee... the beef sateh reminds me a lot of Kajang. It was the place where I hv stayed during my undergraduate time. The famous place for Sate in Malaysia. I can't eat meat, but I love~ the peanut sauce. One of the best, spread on the bread. Kekeke...

I like the look of the Evil Jungel Prince. What kind of taste is it actually?

[chika]

Hi Reid,

Glad to know that you are better now. I got a nasty cold too, but other than that life is quite as normal (which means I am overloaded with work, heck).

I have been to Keo's only once and it was, well, for breakfast in which I had a plate of "Hawaiian" breakfast of a couple of pancakes and eggs, etc. Wondered how their Thai dishes would taste like... look fine, but maybe a bit pricy for sure.

Be all better before hitting Japan next month!

[MrsT]

Glad to see that you are well again.. :)
Miss satay alot too.. :(
When my spouse was in Asia .. visiting me.. he only liked satay and chicken rice.. hehe!! But i don't like bad satay ..i really love the authentic ones.. :) The other food looks really interesting though.. :)

[Jonny Angel]

That satay sauce looked way too heavy for me, which is sort of how I remember Keo's.

Once again, I am pleased to see you commenting on the negatives just as much as the positives. It's just as interesting and lends some oomph to your reviews!

Reid, be sure to stop in to my favorite sushi bar in the whole wide world: "Ran Sushi" in Waikiki. I love their sushi and I love being able to look out onto the beach from their bar. It's so small and homey. Never tried their other food, though.

[santos]

hi reid

the first time i ever tried thai food was either at mekong II or the kapahulu keo's. i honestly don't remember any of the food, but i could probably give you a fairly detailed description about the interior--wasn't keo an architect or something? it was the first time i ever saw anything you would call modern asian, and it still has a fair influence on my taste today.

[RON]

I'm glad to see that the bronze statues standing guard outside of Keo's restaurant are still there and people haven't lifted them for soveniers, as happened a few years back, and I believe twice at that, much to the credits that every picture tells a story. Although Keo's got some free publicity from the theft of their culinary mascots through local media coverage, those life size figurines, in comparison to sans salt and pepper shakers and flatware and table cloths, are probably expensive and takes a few dinner tabs to recoup financially. Incidentally, it's very akamai of you to accompany your restaurant reviews with photographs of the eatery's exterior and interior. Also, the second Keo's has its own story which residents of Honolulu are already well aware of. The name of the second Keo's (also located on Kuhio Ave. in Waikiki) is of course Keoni's, a play on the Hawaiian name "Keoni" and the word "ni" used as a suffix which represents the number "2" in the Japanese language and in combination designates the other Thai resaurant as "Keo No. 2."

[Viv]

Excellent post Reid! After watching 50 First Dates this morning and reading your blog with such amazing photos, I wished I was in Hawaii right now. :-)

[babe_kl]

Hi Reid,
I hope you've gotten better.

Hmm since when sateh got into a thai menu?? :p hahaha... ok let see if i'm going to kajang for some satay this weekend. will take some pics.

[Julia]

Hi Reid, glad to know that you've recovered and got your appetite back. :) The Evil Jungle Prince looks interesting (catchy-sounding too). Never seen it before on other Thai menus. But I thought the sate (or "satay" as it's known in S'pore) is more of an Indonesian/Malaysian culinary invention.

[Reid]

Hi fish fish,

Thank you. =)

The peanut sauce on the sa-teh sticks wasn't that good. I've made better at home. The flavor of the evil jungle prince is hard to describe. There is a lot of coconut milk in it as well as red chillies, kaffir lime leaves and basil. It's actually quite nice.

Hi Chika,

So sorry to hear that you're not feeling well either. Apparently not a lot of us are. There are quite a few people at the office that are getting over colds at the moment.

I've never had breakfast at Keo's because if I were in Waikiki, I'd probably go to Eggs 'N Things. =)

The Thai food here is OK. If you do drop by Keo's sometime, you definitely should try the Evil Jungle Prince which is a Keo's original.

Yes...and I better be well by the time I get to Japan! =)

Hi MrsT,

I didn't really care too much for the sa-teh here. I can't wait to try the Malay satays when I get to Singapore. YIPPEE! It's only a month away!

And yes, I'm glad I'm better too...now I can eat and eat and eat! =)

Hi Jonny,

The satay leaves much to be desired. I actually should not have ordered it, but one of my guests wanted to try it. BTW...where is this Ran Sushi? Never heard of it.

Hi Santos,

My first memories of Thai food are from Mekong I on South Beretania. I've been to Mekong II a number of times and have only been to the Keo's on Kapahulu twice before it closed. I used to frequent Keo's when it was at the Ward Centre. It was actually my favorite location.

Your memory is quite good. Keo was an architect and most of his restaurant interiors are quite interesting.

Hi RON,

Thanks for visiting my blog!

I never knew, or suspected that about Keoni's. Now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense. I never knew about the statues getting ripped off either, but then again, I don't know too much about the goings on in Waikiki. Thanks for the compliments about the blog. I normally try to show the interior/exterior of the restaurant so that people can get a feel for the place.

Hope to hear from you again!

Hi Viv,

Long time no hear!

Did you know that 50 First Dates was filmed here? In fact, the main studio lot is near Diamond Head, about 2-3 miles away from this Keo's restaurant. I must say that the view of the Islands presented in the movie would make me want to come here too, especially if I was somewhere that had nasty winters. Keep warm and thanks for the compliment! =)

Hi babe_kl,

I am much better. Thank you for asking! =)

Couldn't tell you when sa-teh made it onto a Thai menu, but I'll know not to order it again! I'm curious to see what that Kajang satay looks like. I'll wait for the pictures! =)

Hi Julia,

I'm glad I recovered too. I was hungry! =)

The Evil Jungle Prince is actually a Keo's Original. He created the dish because he wanted to serve something different in his restaurant. If you do find it at another Thai restaurant, it is an imitation of this particular dish.

I also thought satay was Malay, but it was curious to see it on the menu here...and I wish that I had not ordered it.

BTW...For those of you who didn't know, Keo is actually Laotian, not Thai. =)

[FatMan Seoul]

Hi Reid, yeah satay features more prominently in Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia cuisine than it is in Thailand. But seeing that the southern border provinces of Thailand neighbours Malaysia, and are predominantly Muslims, it's no surprise that satay crosses over into Thai cuisine.

We need to make a food trip to Thailand one of these days. Cheers.

[Reid]

Hi FatMan,

I was kind of thinking the same thing too as I've never seen satay on any Thai menu before. I'll be in Singapore in about 3 weeks and was thinking of going to Thailand for a couple of days. A friend of mine suggested that I not go just yet because of the after effects of the tsunami. I may just go to KL or Kuching for a couple of days...

[jennifer]

i miss keo's probably more than all the restaurants on oahu. i lived in waikiki, north shore, pearl city aiea,for 6 years. i have all of his cookbooks, and was a chef for 22yrs. i am writing from the library where i currently live, on bainbridge island WA.i will be cooking the evil jungle prince chix tonight. can't wait! even if is not accompanied by a beautiful HI. sunset. talk you ? soon. bye for now