Krung Thai Restaurant

Lately, I've been buying lunch more frequently than my "once a week" guideline that I set for myself about 6 months ago.  This is because I've been taking a lot more work home to finish and with my not wanting to deal with having to pack lunch daily.  Oh well, so much for saving money and eating healthier.

A friend who was also working on Martin Luther King Day, happened to call and ask what I was doing for lunch.  When I said nothing, he asked if I wanted to join him for lunch.  When I agreed, he said to meet him at Krung Thai.

Krung Thai is located close enough to the office so that I can walk there in about 5 minutes.  Inside Krung Thai, there are about 8 tables, a few of which are occupied when I arrive.

If the weather is nice, and you feel like eating outside, Krung Thai is one of the only downtown restaurants that I know of that offers outdoor dining.  It's quiet and peaceful, but since it's hot and humid today, I decided on eating inside.

Taking a look a the menu, I find that the prices are based upon the number of dishes chosen.  The food is pre-cooked and is sitting in warmers at the counter, kind of like a cafeteria.  The advantage to this is that you can see what you're getting, making a choice easier.  The disadvantage?  You don't know how long the food has been sitting in those warmers.

Since I wasn't too hungry, I opted for the one choice plate.  My choice was the chicken eggplant curry with white rice (US$4.71).

This was a green curry with lots of eggplant and chicken thigh pieces.  The curry was quite spicy, which was nice, but the eggplant was a bit "mushy" and way too soft.  I guess this had been sitting a while.  And although the flavor of the curry was nice, I couldn't taste all the flavors that I normally associate with a good green curry.  This was probably due to the lack of gravy that accompanied my serving of curry.  Next time, I'd ask for the curry to be served separately in a bowl rather than on the rice.

My friend on the other hand, was very hungry.  He had the two choice plate with the beef kapaw and pork longbean (US$5.72).  He had a combination of white rice and noodles at no extra charge.

The pork longbean actually looked quite good, while I wasn't so impressed with how the beef kapaw looked.  According to my friend, the pork longbean is one of the more popular dishes at Krung Thai.  He seemed to enjoy his lunch quite a bit.

If you're looking for "home-style" Thai food, then Krung Thai may just be for you.  Although the food is a little better than average, I have reservations about recommending this place.  The main reason for this, is that in my case, the food may have been sitting for too long in the warmers prior to being served.  I would prefer waiting while the food is being prepared, rather than having the food sit out for an indefinite amount of time prior to serving.  Since I visited on a holiday, this may have made a difference.  If I do come back at a later time, this post will be updated.

Krung Thai Restaurant
1028 Nuuanu Avenue
Telephone:  808.599.4803

Comments

[MrsT]

Hey..Reid.. :)
In singapore.. we have quite a few of this kinda eatery.. but mostly located in food court..and in HDB area.. where we lived. Although i like the variety.. like you .. i wonder how long it had been sitting on the warmer.. but the prices always seems right.. and if you get a good chef.. you pretty much get good food for reasonable prices. In Canada here.. we have Manchu wok.. and it's almost the same like wat we have in singapore.. just that the food don't taste anywhere near authentic chinese food.

[fish fish]

The out door seats look lovely~ Mmm.... fish fish miss long bean so much. Can't find long bean at all in Japan. They dun even know got long bean. :( I'm goin to eat long bean like crazy when back to Kch then. Kekeke... Did u know long bean cooked in curry very very nice? Yum~ Yum~

[obachan]

I really want to try the pork longbean! Looking so nice and healthy.

[Reid]

Hi MrsT,

I normally don't like to eat at these types of restaurants because I like my food freshly cooked. I guess the owners of this restaurant do this for convenience and because they don't have any additional staff. I suppose that's the trade off.

Hi fish fish,

I love longbeans and eat them quite often. My favorite way to eat them is to cook them with eggs. I've never tried longbeans with curry. Sounds interesting though. It's a shame that you can't get them in Japan. You'll have to eat lots of them when you go back to Kuching! =)

Hi obachan,

The pork with longbeans did look really good. I should have tried them instead of the curry, but I do really like Thai green curry and this one was hard to resist. Next time I'll have the pork longbean.

[Mike]

Hmm.. interesting review. I eat at Krung Thai quite often and I think that if you did so, you would realise how requently that those trays of food are replenished. Go on a regular workday that isn't a holiday, and you will see the staff running back and forth replacing empty food trays with fresh ones. I'd suggest that you try their Chicken Panang. If you can't handle the service at Krung Thai for 5 bucks, maybe go eat lunch for $25 at Palomino's etc.

[Graham]

I live in Scotland, and once upon a time lived in Honolulu. Krung Thai was and still is my favourite restaurant!

The spicy chilli chicken is too die for! mixed with their noodles and rice, it is one of the best meals you can buy for less than $5.

Having lived their for the best part of 19 months, and eating their at least twice a week, it will be one of the first places I eat at when I return to Oahu!

Arrive before 12pm to make sure you get what you want, as the line is usually out the door.

There is also a lovely friendly cat outside in the garden!!!

[Reid]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to my blog. Apparently you didn't read the review in it's entirety, otherwise you would have caught the fact that I said that my visit on a holiday could have impacted the quality of the food.

Hi Graham,

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I haven't yet had the opportunity to stop by Krung Thai again, but if I do, I'll take your suggestion and drop by before noon.

Thanks again!

[Chris]

Hey reid,

Been eating at this place since early 90s, always get the chicken panang, and on tuesdays, there's the fried mahi, which is very delicious. I think you need to eat there during regular business hours, not on a holiday, to give them a real review, as I thought you just scraped the surface of this gem.

[Reid]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for stopping by.

Many people that I know really enjoy this place. I haven't been back here yet, but I most definitely will visit again soon.

Thanks for the recommendations on what to order. Once I re-visit, this review will be updated!

Thanks again!

[Kirk]

Reid - I've been checking out your older posts - and found this! Oh, man - Krung Thai! During my last two years in the Islands our offices moved to Harbor Court - so we used to hit Krung Thai often, man so inexpensive and good! We also used to go to Ray's (?) - for Prime Rib take-out! They had a sign in the door - When the Doors Open We Open, When the Doors Closed, we're Closed....

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

Can you believe that I still haven't made it back to Krung Thai yet? I think I'm going to have to go there again soon.

Ray's Cafe is no longer on Smith Street. They moved about 3 years ago and are now in Kalihi where Naka's Okazuya used to be. The prime rib was awesome. A one inch thick cut...man it really couldn't be beat. I'm planning a visit to Ray's soon, just haven't had the time yet. I'm really craving the lobster omelette. *sigh*

[Sam]

Unfortunately, they closed down recently. I'm extremely bummed since it was my "Go-To" place for Thai food. I've tried similar Thai places in Chicago and Seattle and they don't even come close to this place...not even a little. This really frickin sucks that they are gone!

[Chris]

Recently I walked around downtown and lo and behold, the owners of Krung Thai opened up WONG MART and they serve some of the thai food they used to sell at Krung Thai! All their drinks are back to! I went the other day and got a plate of their awesome Bamboo Curry and Ice Coffee with Milk. Go and check it out, they are actually sort of near Krung Thai, between Nuuanu Ave. and Smith St. I believe the address is 2525 North King St. I'll definitely go back again and hopefully Chicken Panang will be there!

[ck]

I think you mean 25 N. King St. They are right next to the McClain Auction corner. Looks like the owners are making a comeback !!

[Kris]

I was ecstatic to find out that the owners of Krung Thai had reopened. Unfortunately business was not as well in the new location and they will be closing their doors again on 8/29/07. :(