Our family loves Thai food, but most Thai places have not given much thought to their youngest customers. We went to one Thai restaurant in Boise where the owners actually suggested customers go to a nearby McDonalds and bring food in for the kids while the adults ate their Thai dishes. That is so not-us.
So our usual approach to Thai food is to order family style. We encourage our vegetarian daughter to pick one entrée, so she has something she'll enjoy, and we make sure my son has sticky rice, which is something he really loves. From there, we encourage the kids to taste and explore new foods at will.
We love Sa-Wad-Dee because their menu is so extensive. I really enjoy soups made with coconut milk. My husband enjoys curry. My mom enjoys the rice noodles.
Of special note, it's worth going to Sa-Wad-Dee just for the plating. The beautiful dishes are a delight and a family-style meal will give you lots of dishes to admire. I enjoy the added sensory element and my kids really adore the detail.
But the nicest thing they did for my kids was the way they presented the white rice. They put it in a mold and brought each of my kids rice in the shape of a teddy bear. My kids were delighted and the Sa-Wad-Dee staff seemed genuinely thrilled that my kids were so happy. When my son asked for his very small amount of remaining rice to be boxed, our server whisked it away to the kitchen and, upon returning home, we found that she'd given him a whole new rice teddy bear.
Ahh, the way to this mother's heart is through her kids.
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