Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

Ban Thai ~ White Bear Lake, MN

Cuisine: Thai
Restaurant Features: Bar (Beer & Wine)
Location: White Bear lake, MN
Address: 2186 3rd Street, Suite 111  White Bear Lake, MN 55110 (651) 407-8424
Hours: M-Th 11:30a-9p      Fri 11:30-9:30         Sat 12p-9:30p      Sun 4-8pm
Links: Ban Thai Website   Google Map

Atmosphere: Located in the heart of Downtown White Bear lake, Ban Thai restaurant is just across the street from Washington Square.  The dining area of Ban Thai is one big open space, with several simple square tables placed throughout.  The lighting was dim, with lamps softly glowing here and there around the room. 

Menu: Appetizers at Ban Thai include Fried Wontons, Sri Racha Shrimp in a Blanket, Phuket Fishcakes, Chicken Wings, Chicken or Pork Satay, Thai Fried Tofu, Vegetarian Eggrolls, Rayong's Famous Eggrolls, Veggie Springrolls, and Fresh Bangkok Springrolls.

Soups and Salads include Thai Style Salad, Spicy Squid Salad, Tom Kha Gai, Tom Yum Goon, Tom Yum Gai, Gang Poh Tak, Chiang Rai Tofu Soup, and Thai Chicken Rice Soup.

Rice & Noodle Dishes include Thai Jasmine Rice,  Thai Sticky Rice, Mee Siam, Thai Curry Noodle, Seafood Noodle Soup, Pad See Ew, Sen Yai Lard Na, Pad Woon Sen, Pad Thai, Thai Curry Fried Rice, Thai Fried Rice, and Thai Pineapple Rice.

Ban Thai Entrees include Yellow Curry, Gang Masman Curry, Green Curry, Red Curry, Gang Panang,  Laab Khai, Laab Moo, Som Tom (papaya salad), Nua Pad Prik, Tod Kratiam Prik, Pad Med, Pad Khing, Pad Bai Horapa, Pad Kow Pode, Pad Prio Wan, Pad Pak, Pad Prik Khing, Pad Asparagus, Pad Broccoli, and Pra Ram Rong Song.

Specialty menu items include Pla Tord, Pla Tord Rad Prik, Khai Leaw Moo Sab, Ban Thai Khai Yad Sai, Pad Ped Pla, and Pad Ped Talay.

Price guide: Appetizers $4-7   Soups/Salad $4-14      Noodles/Entrees $11-14
What We ordered:  My companions and I started with the chicken satay appetizer, which turned out to be a disappointment.  The chicken was seasoned with curry and then grilled.  I thought the chicken tasted alright but it was slightly dry because the size of each of the four skewered pieces was quite small- together they would not have added up to a full chicken breast.  The peanut sauce that was served on the side was different than any peanut sauce my companions and I had tried before, this was curry-based.  It had a thin consistency and there was a strong flavor (maybe vinegar?) that overpowered any hint of sweetness from the peanut and coconut. I liked the cucumber salad enough but I wouldn't order this again.

 

We also shared the Fresh Spring Rolls, which came in four pieces.  The rice paper wraps were filled with thin noodles, fresh lettuce, carrots, beansprouts, mint, and shrimp.  Standard spring rolls but they were really good and came with a side of peanut sauce for dipping.

 

My companions and I each ordered something different so that we could share our dishes.  We had the Gang Khiao Wan which is the Green Curry.  There were sweet peas, potatoes, zucchini, bamboo shoots, sweet basil, and the meat we chose for this dish was chicken. All of these ingredients were simmered in a sweet delicious broth of coconut milk, green curry and red pepper flakes to make it spicy.  I really liked the flavor of the curry broth, but I think I prefer a different combination of vegetables and it could have been a bit spicier for my taste, we ordered a 2-3 on a scale of 1 to 5.

 

We also had the Pad Thai with Shrimp, which was very good.  The skinny rice noodles were stir-fried to a golden brown with homemade Pad Thai sauce, bamboo shoots, onions, egg and approx. six shrimp.  It was topped with green onions and peanuts.  I thought this dish was very good and had a lot of flavor but the portion was smaller than I expected for $14.

 

One of my companions ordered the Pra Ram Rong Song which is the usual favorite at Thai restaurants, but the version served at Ban Thai was not a big hit.  The presentation of this dish was very nice, with the curry peanut chicken sitting atop a bed of baby spinach.  However, the curry peanut sauce was the same used with the satay; it was almost too runny and not very sweet.  This was unanimously the least favorite of the three entrees.

Service: Our service was very good, but then again it was late on a Tuesday evening and we were just about the only guests eating that late.  Our server was the owner of the restaurant and she was very nice and answered questions we had about the menu.
Overall Impression: Most of the Thai food at Ban Thai was good, but not nearly as good and more expensive than as the other Thai restaurant in the area, Wild Ginger (which I LOVE!).   I had been wanting to try Ban Thai since they opened but now that I have tried it, it may be a long time before I visit again.

King & I Thai- Minneapolis, MN

Cuisine: Thai
Restaurant Features: Bar, Valet Parking

Location: Downtown Minneapolis
Address: 1346 LaSalle Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55403 (612)332-6928  Fax: (612)338-4293
Hours dining Room: Mon-Thur 4:30pm-10pm,  Fri-Sat 4:30pm-11pm
Lounge: Mon - Sat 4:30 - 2am
Links: King & I Thai Website  Google Map

Atmosphere: The restaurant was nice, but not as glamorous as I was expecting (not sure why I was expecting more?). King & I Thai is located in the lower level of a multi-level building, and has a Garden-Level entrance on the left side in the front of the building.  The inside of the restaurant was divided into a couple of main spaces, the Restaurant and the Lounge (which has a separate entrance).  We sat in the dining room, where there were wooden tables and a few large u-shaped booths. The restaurant was not overly decorated, but there were several statues of the Theravada Buddha, the symbol of Thailand's predominant religion.

Although I did not sit in the Lounge area, I did sneak a peak on my way to the Restrooms.

Menu: Appetizers include Egg Rolls, Chicken Satay, Chicken or Mock Duck Curry Puffs, Cream Cheese Rolls, Steamed Mussels, Fried Calamari, Grilled Shrimp, and Fried Tofu.

Salads include Shrimp and Lemon grass, Spicy Steak, Laab, and Silver Thread Noodles.  Soups include Tom Kha, Tom Yum, Sriracha and Rice Noodle Soup.

Rice and Noodle Dishes offered: House Pad Thai, Bangkok Pad Thai, Pad Seyu, King & I Fried Rice, Pineapple Fried Rice, Sriracha Fried Rice, Indian Curry Fried Rice, Spicy Holy Basil Fried Rice, and Pattaya Fried Rice.

Hot and Spicy dishes served with your choice of chicken, beef or shrimp include: Holy Basil Sauce, Roasted Hot Pepper Sauce, Red Curry, Palatial Coconut Cream Sauce, Garlic and Thai Chili Sauce, and Gaeng Puk with chicken.

Savory and Mild Dishes include Egg Blanket Wrap, Beef with Fresh Ginger, Rich Peanut Sauce with spinach, Thai-Style Sweet and Sour, and Black Pepper Pork.

The Specialty Dishes at King & I are: Chef’s Special Curry (changes daily), Walleye Filet (Thai Chili and Coconut Cream), and Jumbo Prawns.

Price guide: Appetizers $5-10  Soups and Salads $8-15  Rice and Noodles $11-19  Hot & Spicy $16-25  Mild & Savory $17-23  Specialties $20-25
What we ordered: **Please note that the portions at King & I Thai are quite large and are meant to be served "Family-Style".

To start with we tried the Cream Cheese Rolls.  A nice change from the standard wonton shape, these rolls were filled with a mild-garlic flavored cream cheese and were nice and crispy.  I love the Thai spicy sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Steamed Mussels.  These were really good but SPICY hot.  I enjoyed the spice but my companions thought it was almost too hot to eat.  The mussels were cooked perfectly.

Pad Thai with vegetables.  I thought the noodles were very flavorful and not at all sticky.  There was a  ton of broccoli and pea pods mixed in.  Huge portion!

Chef's Special Curry:  Sweet Green Curry with potatoes, carrots, pea pods, onions and chicken.  This was delicious!

Lemon-grass Salad: FRESH really good cold shrimp, cabbage, red onions and tomatoes and a light lemon dressing.

Pattaya Fried Rice with shrimp, scallops, pineapple and cashews.

Service: Reservations were easy to come by in advance. My party and I purposely visited on the night of the Dining Out for Life charity event.  The restaurant was not busy for our 7:30 reservation time, but the restaurant was packed by 9pm.  The service was decent, but because it was so busy, food and drinks took a longer time than expected.  In fact, we had ordered mussels and they forgot to bring them to us until we reminded them, and then the mussels showed up at the same time as the rest of the dinner (about 45 minutes after we initially ordered).  The server was nice and helpful with ordering, but was definitely trying to up-sell us on everything and was somewhat pushy about ordering drinks and desserts.  We were not in a hurry, but it took our server a good 20 minutes to come back to our table to collect our $ and CC after she left us the bill.

Also, there is not a parking lot for King & I Thai, but they do offer Valet Parking for $5.  Other option is on-street parking.

Overall Impression:  I thought the food was very good, but expensive ( dishes are meant to be served family-style).  Nice atmosphere, a good place for sharing a delicious Thai meal with friends.

Bambu Asian Cuisine- Maplewood, MN

Cuisine: Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese
Restaurant Features: Bar, Happy Hour, On-Site Parking

Location: Maplewood
Address: 1715-A Beam Avenue  Maplewood, MN 55109   651-747-1000  ***Located at the end of a large strip mall (next to Marshall's)
Links: Bambu Website   Google Map

Atmosphere: Very romantic with dim lighting, candles atop white table-cloths, and richly colored walls.  There are both circular and square tables, which can easily be combined for larger parties.

Bambu also has a lovely bar area and boasts wonderful drink specials.

Menu: Appetizers include Chicken Wings, Egg Rolls, Pot Stickers, Fried Tofu, Calamari, Spring Rolls, Wontons, Shrimp, Fresh Mussels, and Pan-Seared Scallops.  Salad/soups include Bambu Asian Salad, Thai pineapple Chicken Salad, Spicy Thai Beef Salad, Vietnamese Noodle Salad, Egg Drop Soup, Hot & Sour Soup, Wonton Soup, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle. 

Chinese Entrees include General Tso's Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Beef or Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken, Orange Chicken, Mandarin Chicken, Lemon Chicken, Cashew Chicken.  The following entrees can be served with either chicken, pork, tofu, mock duck, beef, shrimp or scallops: Broccoli Stir-Fry, Hunan Chicken, Sizzling Duck, Tiger Pork, Sizling Black Bean Sauce, Coconut Curry, Ginger or Oyster Stir-fry, Garlic Baby Bok Choy, Egg Fu Young, Chinese Chow Mein, Vietnamese Chow Mein, Singapore Noodles, Pineapple Stir fry, Hong Kong Wontons, Lomein, Fried Rice, Mu Shu Wrap and Chicken Almond Ding.

Thai Entrees include Thai Hot Curry Fried Rice, Pineapple Fried Rice, Yellow Chicken Curry, Pad Thai, Penang Red, Thair Stir-Fried Rice Noodles, Red Salmon Pineapple Curry, Green Mahi-Mahi Curry, Spicy & Sweet Blast Curry, Massaman Chicken Stir-Fry, Spicy Chicken, Basil Stir-Fry and Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice.

Vietnamese Entrees include Salted Shrimp, Fried Rice, Garlic Catfish, Vietnamese Rice Platter, Fried Potato with Beef, Lemon Frog legs, Tamarind Shrimp, Grilled Beef and Shrimp & Beef.

Bambu also serves a large variety of Pho, an authentic Vietnamese beef broth served over rice noodles and Asian vegetables.

Seafood Entrees include Waleye, Seafood in Black Bean Sauce, Sea Bass, Triple Delight, Thai Seafood Linguine Curry.

Price guide: Appetizers $4.50-8  Salads/soups $3-11  Seafood $12-17  Chinese Entrees $9-13  Thai Entrees $9-17  Vietnamese Entrees $ 8-17  Pho $7-9
What we ordered: To start, we tried the calamari.  It was lightly breaded and served with stir-fried green and white onions.  I had never had calamari prepared this way, but I really enjoyed the blend of flavors.  I thought the serving was quite generous.

We ordered the Masaman Chicken Stir-Fry, a sweet green curry with chicken, onions, avocado and cashews.  I have never had a curry like this before, but I loved the flavor and texture of the dish.  This was also a very large portion of food.

We also ordered the Fried Potatoes with Beef.  The potatoes were crispy and the beef was tender and plentiful.

Fried Rice.  I cannot remember which fried rice we ordered, but it was pretty good.

My companion also ordered  lemonade and it was not only homemade, but hand-squeezed to order; both sugary and tart at the same time!

Service: Our service was exceptional! The server was very friendly and offered several suggestions from the menu.  Food was prepared in a timely manner and after compliments to the chef, the chef came out to talk with us.  By chance the owner was visiting the restaurant and also stopped to talk with me and my companion.  Everyone was really nice and talkative.
Overall Impression: Bambu is the total package and is my new favorite restaurant in the Northeast suburbs! The food, atmosphere and service were all superior.  A must-try!

Wild Ginger ~ White Bear Lake, MN

Cuisine: Thai, Chinese, Asian Variety,
Restaurant Features:Lunch Buffet, On-Site Parking

Location: White Bear Lake, MN
Address: 4440 Highway 61 North  White Bear Lake, MN 55110  651-653-9781

Lunch Buffet M-F 11-2pm  Take out  Mon-Sat 11am-8pm

Links: Google Map
Atmosphere: Located within a strip mall, Wild Ginger has just 10-12 tables available in the dining room (seats 24).  It is decorated with a variety of Thai art and sculptures.

Menu: Thai appetizers include  Beef Jerky, Chicken wings, cream cheese wonton, dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls, chicken satay.  Thai salads include Laab, Som Tum, Yum Nua, and Yum Woon Sen.  Thai curries are Gang Dang (red),  Gang Keow Wan (sweet green), Gang Pah (country curry),and Panang.  Thai noodles offered are Pad Thai, Rad Na, and Pad See Yew.  Thai entrees include Rama Long Srong, Pad Him Ma Pam, Pad Hoo Raa Pha, Pad Khing, Pad Priew Wan, Pad Prig, Pla Rad Prig.

Chinese dishes include fried rice, chow mein, egg fo young, lomein, chop suey.  Entrees include (chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp)  Sweet & sour, Almond ding, Cashew, Lemon grass, Broccoli, Kung pao, Szechuan, Mongolian

Price guide: Lunch Buffet $7.50  Thai entrees $8-10
What we ordered:

Chicken satay I especially loved the peanut sauce and the cucumber garnish that came with the satay.

Thai Beef Jerky

Green Curry (Gang Keow Wan ) A combination of coconut milk, Thai green curry paste, herbs, bamboo shoots, vegetables, and chicken.  This is one of my favorite  Thai dishes! It has a ton of kick and the vegetables soak up the flavor of the coconut milk just perfectly. 

Rama Long Srong- Mixed of gold peanut curry sauce with coconut milk on the bed of steamed young spinach. I love the sweetness of this dish, the peanut sauce is wonderful. 

Chicken Panang-  Chicken in a zesty blend of herbs, kaffir lime leave and coconut milk.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Thai style)- Mix of pineapple, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, scallions and onions stir fried in Thai sweet and sour sauce.

Service: The owner of Wild Ginger, Sam, is a very nice man and provides 100% of the service at Wild Ginger.  Refills are do-it-yourself.
Overall Impression: Awesome Thai cuisine, decent Chinese. Excellent lunch buffet with a variety of both Thai and Chinese dishes, at a very reasonable price. The small space of the restaurant often is completely filled during lunch buffet hours (11-2pm).

Big Bowl Fresh Chinese & Thai ~ Roseville, Edina, & Wayzata, MN

Cuisine: Chinese and Thai

Restaurant Features: Bar

Locations: Roseville (site of this review), Edina, Wayzata

Addresses:

Roseville (Rosedale Center)  1705 Highway 36 West  Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 636-7173

Edina  3669 Galleria Edina, MN 55435 (952) 928-7888

Minnetonka (Ridgedale Center)  12649 Wayzata Blvd Minnetonka, MN 55305 (952) 797-9888

Links: Big Bowl Website  Google Map

Atmosphere: Located inside Rosedale Mall, Big Bowl is a large restaurant with a trendy Asian flair.  There are several booths around the edges of the dining area and in the bar area, with many smaller tables within the middle.  At the back of the restaurant near the kitchen is an area for make-your-own stir-fry.

Menu: Appetizers include steamed Chinese dumplings, veggie or chicken pot stickers, hot buns filled with pork, chicken satay, egg rolls, Thai-beef lettuce wraps, shrimp summer roll, teriyaki spare ribs, calamari, and a few soups and salads.  Thai curry dishes include yellow curry with chicken or veggies, panang curry chicken, scallop and shrimp citrus curry, thai green vegetable curry.  Chicken dishes include kung pao, orange peel, lemon chicken, chicken with vegetables, and Thai hot pepper chicken.  Beef dishes include Mongolian, Kung pao, and beef with broccoli.  Seafood dishes include crunchy sichuan cashew shrimp, Thai hot pepper shrimp with basil and peanuts,  crunchy sichuan scallops, sweet ginger sea scallops and shrimp, and teriyaki glazed fresh salmon.  Pad Thai is Big Bowl's signature dish, try it with vegetables/tofu, chicken, shrimp or salmon.  Big Bowl also has a make-it-yourself stirfry bar option.  You choose your vegetables, meat, sauce, and noodles and they will cook it for you.

Price guide: Appetizers $6-9  Entrees $8-15

What I ordered: My companion and I started with an order of the veggie pot stickers (Classic pan fried northern Chinese dumplings stuffed with cilantro, green onions, crushed peanuts)  It was also served with three dipping sauces, sweet and sour, plum and sesame mustard.  Excellent choice! These pot stickers had a ton of flavor and excellent texture.

I wanted to try a curry dish and decided to go with the Panang Curry Chicken
(chicken, light peanut-coconut curry, peas, snow peas served over jasmine rice).  This dish was packed with flavor! The sauce was indeed "light" if they mean "thin".  It was delicious, but I think would prefer it with a little more peanut flavor and if it were a tad bit thicker.  The vegetables were very good, but the texture of the chicken was kind of slimy.  I enjoyed the first ten bites or so and then got kind of bored with it.

My companion ordered pad Thai with vegetables.  This seemed to be a hit! I tried a little bit of it and thought the noodles had good flavor.  As you can see, there were a lot of veggies in the dish.

Service: The host staff was very friendly, as was our server.  I think the server may have been new though, as he was not as knowledgeable about the menu as he could've been.

Overall Impression: Great ambiance and decent food.

Chiang Mai Thai ~ Minneapolis, MN

Cuisine: Thai

Restaurant Features: Bar, Happy Hour

Location: Minneapolis (Uptown)

Address: Calhoun Square 3001 Hennepin Ave S Mpls, MN 55408 612-827-1606

Links: Chiang Mai Thai Website Google Map

Atmosphere: A mixture of trendy and Asian decor.  Your choice of either wooden tables or decorative booths, both of which are situated under an Asian-style wooden canopy that runs along the walls of the main dining room.  There are also two bars at Chiang Mai Thai, one in its own enclosed room, perfect for private parties. 

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Menu: Chicken Satay, fresh or fried spring rolls, fried cashews, sweet dried beef, fiery wings, fried wontons, shrimp, fried tofu, fried scallops and a spicy pork dip.  Stir-fry dishes include Thai Basil, Garlic Pepper, Cashew, Pad Prig King ( fried ginger curry), Pad Sri Racha(Chili sauce) and sweet and sour. Stir-fry dishes are made from your choice of veggies/tofu, chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, squid or scallops.  Rice and Noodle selections include Thai fried rice, curry fried rice, pineapple fried rice, Pad Thai noodles, Pad See Yew noodles, Fire noodles with Thai Basil, and Khao Cadeukadeek (beef or chicken on tomato fried rice).  Curry dishes include Penang Curry , Sweet Green Curry , Massaman Curry , and Yellow Curry.  Other specialties at Chiang Mai Thai are the Grilled chicken (Chiang Mai Thai style), Seafood Stir Fry with Egg , Grilled Fish in Fresh Garlic Sauce , Fried Fish with Fresh Ginger , Fiery Seafood , and the Pirate' s Treasure . 

Price guide: Appetizers $4-9   Stir Fry $11-15  Rice & noodles $9-15 Curry $11-15  Specialty Dishes $12-18

What we ordered: My companions and I decided that we would order all of our dishes to share.  To start with, we ordered the cream cheese with jalapeno wontons.  These were excellent! There was a ton of cream cheese/jalapeno mixture and the wonton wrap was fried nice and crispy.  I had never had cream cheese wontons with jalapenos before, but I loved the added spiciness.

We tried the Pad Thai with shrimp...it was one of the best I have ever had! The noodles seemed to have been pan fried first and had enough sauce that they didn't stick together or seemed dried out at all (big plus!) and were loaded with flavor (slightly sweet, slightly spicy).  I was impressed with the amount of shrimp served with the dish, as there were several hidden within the noodles.

We also tried the Pad Prig King/Fried Ginger Curry Stir Fry with chicken(Crisp green beans, bell peppers, carrot, peapods and zucchini stir fried with ginger curry paste and coconut milk.)  This was soooooo good!  The sauce that the chicken and veggies were cooked in/mixed with was slightly spicy but had so much flavor!

Service:  Our service was excellent!  Our server spent quite some time explaining dishes from the menu and making recommendations.  I was able to make reservations a few days ahead of time, host on the phone was very pleasant and accommodating.  My only complaint is that they do not have their own parking lot and do not offer parking validation.  Parking at the Calhoun Square ramp can get pretty costly. 

Overall Impression:  Fun atmosphere and location, excellent food and decent prices.