Cedar Park & Leander - Community Impact Newspaper

Courtesy Mark Röethke
Neighborhood Dining | Thai Bowl Cedar Park
The tofu pad thai lunch special, right, and the Massaman curry lunch special, left, are $6.95 at Thai Bowl and include an egg roll
and choice of soups of the day, with options for vegetarian diners.
By Kelsey Wilkinson
Thai Bowl was not what I expected. It
was better. The quaint Thai restaurant,
which opened in 2009, is located in a strip
center on Walton Way, and though it is
not an upscale dining establishment, it
had a great atmosphere to go along with
the customer service.
Even upon entering, I expected counter
service and was surprised when my guests
and I were immediately greeted and
seated by the owner, Suwit Kaedsomya.
Some faint background music made for
a tranquil ambience. However, we came to
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learn that the beauty of Thai Bowl was in
the food.
The menu wasn’t expansive, but it was
more than sufficient for a lunch crowd and
included all of the signature dishes one
would hope to find at a Thai eatery.
Much like chips and salsa can be
indicators of the food quality at Mexican
restaurants, I have heard that pad thai, a
traditional dish of stir-fried rice noodles,
is an indicator of what’s to come with
Thai establishments. If true, then Thai
Bowl ranks high. The pad thai lunch
special ($6.95) comes with the soup of the
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day, an egg roll and a giant serving of the
dish, with a choice of meat or tofu. The
dish was plentiful and fairly priced.
The stir-fried rice noodles and ground
peanuts were infused with an exotic and
savory blend of spices. The texture was
sublime and not chewy or overcooked.
The table came equipped with four
foreign (to me) sauces and spices, which
when added to the pad thai, made for a
dish that seemed customized to taste, but
didn’t lose its Thai authenticity.
Authenticity is a big player at Thai
Bowl. Kaedsomya grew up in Thailand
and said he tries to keep the recipes in
line with traditional Thai cuisines, rather
than making them more Americanized.
“A lot of people don’t know Thai food,
but they try it here and they like it,”
Kaedsomya said. “They say it’s more tasty
than spicy.”
Extra spice can be added for customers
who prefer a kick to their meal.
Also good to try is the curry of the day
($6.95). Every day the restaurant offers
two curries to choose from and, like the
pad thai, they are available as part of the
lunch special. The Massaman curry is
definitely worth a taste. The Southernstyle
curry is served with steamed white
rice and combines coconut milk, potatoes,
onions, carrots, peanuts and a choice of
meat or tofu. The coconut milk brings
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Community Impact Newspaper • impactnews.com May 2010 | 11
a sweet taste to the spicy dish. Though
made of seemingly contrasting ingredients,
when blended together, they create a
savory meal that bursts of flavor.
For the novice Thai restaurateur, I recommend
the sesame chicken bowl ($4.95).
The Americanized Chinese dish consists of
fried chicken covered in a sweet red glaze
and topped with sesame seeds. The batter
was a terrific consistency that wasn’t overly
chewy or crunchy, and the glaze tasted a
bit sweeter and more flavorful than what I
am accustomed to. The portion was generous,
and it was served with a bowl of moist
fried rice mixed with egg.
For Cedar Park residents, and those a
little farther out, Thai Bowl is an excellent
choice for lunch or dinner. It wins not
only for its good prices and large quantities,
but also the quality of the food itself.
Walton Way
1431
183
Thai Bowl
202 Walton Way, Ste. 152
260-5333 • www.thaibowltx.com
1906 S Bagdad Rd in Leander
www.leandertkd.com (512) 259-0609
(Next to the Great Wall Restaurant)