King and I Thai Cuisine

Date: 3/19/10

Address: 10509 Main St, Bellevue, WA 98004

Occasion: Lunch with The Seester

The Seester’s on Spring Break this week so I thought we could catch up and hang out for lunch today.  I’ve had a mad hankering for Thai food lately so we went to this oldie but goodie to feed my current obsession.  Plus, the sunshine called for some Thai iced tea. Ohhhh, yeah!

Atmosphere: Casual.  The nice thing about the King and I is that it’s casual and cozy without being sloppy.  You can come here with your friends in jeans and a t-shirt (well, I don’t wear t-shirts but you get my drift) but a business lunch would be not out of place here either.  The service is fast, friendly and therefore fantastic.  We arrived around 1pm, after the Bellevue lunch rush, so we were seated very promptly, given our menus and glasses of water immediately, and our order was taken promptly, too. Throughout our meal, they also came by quite frequently to check on our water levels and to check if everything was alright. A+ there!

Don’t judge a book by its cover!  This place is more spacious than it looks from the outside, although parking can be a pain at peak hours.  There’s parking in front and in the back of the building, as well as 2 tandem spots on the side.  You’ll see what I mean when you go.  Inside, there are tables and booths alike, and everything’s spaced out just right so you don’t feel like you’re drooling breathing on your neighbor’s food.  The interior design is a little kitschy, as most Thai restaurants can be, but it’s not horrendous and certainly not bad enough to dampen the appetite.  Tasteful kitsch, if I dare say it (and obviously I dare). 

Food: The Seester and I both ordered Chicken Phad Thai with no stars, and I also ordered a Thai iced tea.  I’d debated over Phad Thai or Yellow Curry but I’m extremely sensitive to spicy food and I know their curry sauce is pre-made to 1 or 2 stars and I was in no mood to sweat it out today.  The Phad Thai isn’t ketchup-y (a tragic downfall of Chantanee, another local Thai restaurant and a review for another day) and the chicken was properly tender.  The meat to noodle ratio was just right.  The dish also offered a decent amount of bean sprouts, a non-overpowering sprinkle of minced peanuts, as well as a slice of lime.  The Seester squeezed lime juice all over hers, gleefully I might add, while I ignored my slice.  Let us not forget about why we love King and I…the portions!  One plate of Phad Thai is enough for two meals, even for a Fat Kid.

Price: Very decent, even if I didn’t have a Passport Unlimited card (Prime Card for all you Microsofties out there).  How can you go wrong with $10 for essentially two portions of non-ketchup-y Chicken Phad Thai?  Their entrées range around $10 - $17, depending on what kind of protein you get and whether or not it’s a Chef’s special.  The portions are all around the same size so even if you get the most expensive dish (Lamb Panang, $17), it’s still a good deal.  I didn’t get any dessert – I normally don’t for lunch – but I might have to next time because the Fried Banana with Coconut Ice Cream is calling my name.

Overall Recommendation: I’d definitely come back again and again, and not only because I get a discount.  (I almost never pay full price for anything anyway, so that’s a moot point.)  The portions are great, the food’s yummy and the FFF (Fast, friendly and fantastic, remember?) service appeases my strict customer service standards