Serving Up a New Special

After opening its first location in Waipio three and a half years ago, Thai Village has been wowing customers with its rich, flavorful dishes made with fresh, quality ingredients. The restaurant’s cuisine was such a hit that co-owners, husband and wife team Bo and Mang Sisounthone, decided to spread their good eats to other parts of the island. They soon added a location in Kunia, and most recently, a place in Kalihi. The new location is the perfect place to stop for a restful lunch break or to enjoy an intimate dinner. The restaurant has an inviting atmosphere and a casual elegance, and Thai Village’s friendly staff will make customers feel right at home.

Thai Village offers an impressive array of traditional Thai dishes, including appetizers, salads, soups, entrees, curries, fried noodle and fried rice dishes.

Customers can start off their meal with a tasty appetizer of Spring Rolls ($6.95) or Larb (with tofu for $8.95 or with pork, beef or chicken for $9.95), which features a generous pile of meat and lettuce seasoned with various spices and herbs. From there, diners can move on to main dishes such as Cashew Nut Chicken ($9.95) or Lobster Curry ($18.95).

“The Lookfun Pad Thai at this location is really popular,” Mang says. “It is our No. 1 seller … Panang Curry is also very good, and it’s very popular,” Mang says. “I love it, it’s my favorite.” For both of these dishes, customers can choose among chicken, pork or beef ($9.95), tofu or vegetarian ($8.95), or shrimp, calamari, scallop or mixed seafood ($11.95).

Thai Village also offers a number of specials, including Udon Special ($13.95) and Pho Special ($13.95), which features either the udon or pho with three spring rolls or two summer rolls and a drink. The restaurant also offers various family specials, including Special for Two ($42.95), which features two house salads, four spring rolls, two servings of Toyum or Ginger Soup, Garlic Curry Chicken and Basil Beef.

“These are served family-style, so customers can try out different dishes,” Mang says, adding that the restaurant also offers Special for Three ($66.95) and Special for Four ($82.95). “It’s a good mixture of dishes. When you order family-style, you get a variety of different foods to try.”

This week, Thai Village is adding a new special to the list: Pad Kla Pao Pork Special ($9.95). The dish presents Pad Kla Pao with pork, which includes stir-fried long beans, bamboo shoots, bell peppers, basil, kiffer leaves, a house sauce and pad kla pao leaves. And just for the new special, the dish is served with rice and an egg on top.

“I think a lot of people will like it,” Mang says.

Pad Kla Pao Pork Special is not on the menu, but it will be served at all three Thai Village locations from today until next Sunday.

On the Side

Although Thai Village’s Kalihi location is relatively new, the restaurant brings the long-time know-how of a seasoned chef.

Co-owners Bo and Mang Sisounthone explain that they attribute most of their recipes to Auntie Somboun, who owned a restaurant on the Mainland for 20 years before coming to the Islands several years ago. She’s now the head chef at Thai Village’s Waipio location.

“Auntie Somboun is the one who taught us how to cook everything,” Bo says.

Another thing that makes Thai Village’s food so tasty is the high quality ingredients. Bo and Mang always provide customers with fresh — and often local — ingredients. Mang explains that they use vegetables from local farms and select the best parts of chicken, pork and beef.

“All the vegetables that we cook over here, I pick it up in Chinatown and from the farm,” Bo says. “So everything is fresh. I look for the highest-grade products that I can find. We want that high level of quality because we want our customers to have the best.” “Everything is freshly made from scratch,” Mang says.

And if there is any testament to just how good the food is, it’s one of Mang’s observations: “I’ve noticed that our waitresses like our food, too, because even on their days off they still come in and eat.”

Thai Village