Samsara Southeast Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Blair Township

Wednesday, November 15, 2017, meal at 6:00 p.m.

My wife and I just ate here, and we were pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the food. We started with a couple of appetizers. The "fresh rolls" were made on the spot. They were delicious and were accompanied by a nice dipping sauce. Then we shared a large bowl of the Th-Om Kha soup with shrimp. It was phenomenal, and it was served in a hot pot (order a large bowl and take the leftovers home). For the main course, my wife got the Kwah Pak with chicken. She felt that there could have been a bit more chicken, but she was pleased that there was no spiciness to it, just as she had ordered. I had the the Ghang Phet with shrimp. It was very good. I ordered medium spice and it seemed mild to me, but the server had given us a serving dish with extra spices on it. That was a nice touch. I was able to bring the heat up to where I wanted it. We wanted to order dessert, but at present they have no dessert selections. The service was pleasant, and our waitress was knowledgeable of the food she was serving. She was able to answer all of our inquiries about the ingredients. Samsara's prices are low for Traverse City. It's in Chum's Corners, so that probably helps with the price point. The restaurant is in a strip mall behind a Dollar General, so we're talking a strictly utilitarian atmosphere with a few southeast Asian decorations. However, considering the quality of the food, I expect the young family that runs the restaurant will be very successful. We'll be going to...

The food is amazing, the prices are extremely reasonable, the service is friendly and welcoming as can be. From our first visit, when my 15 yo ICA student & I accidentally discovered this place, we knew it was going to be our new favorite restaurant. Even though it’s a small out of the way place in a strip mall across from an auto parts store it still has atmosphere. The pillows on the benches, the small displays of southeast Asian art & homemade origami, the cloth, single use hand towels in the bathroom, but mostly the staff who just want to share a taste of their culture with you. We really felt at home at SamSara. The biggest reason it’s our new favorite restaurant is the food! They serve the best southeast Asian food I’ve ever had! These dishes are home cookin from their Mom’s and Grandma’s. Sam & Sara are from Laos and many of the dishes are “things we ate at home.” The rest come from Kevin’s Cambodian heritage. They are all delicious, and can be made to taste. My wife & Kids & I all like ours “Cambodian hot” which is insanely hot. Sam warned us against it but we persisted, and it was without a doubt the hottest thing I’ve ever eaten. They also make it Laotian 🥵 hot, American 😅 hot, or not hot 🙂 and Cambodian hot 🥵 🔥🥵🔥 is not for the inexperienced. Even when it’s super hot it still has huge flavor. My wife is addicted to the spicy 🌶 🥜 peanut curry noodles. I’ve been eating my way around the menu. You can’t go wrong whatever you get. We love SamSara. It’s the only restaurant we ever...

My friends have been trying to get me to try Samsara for a long time now, and they were right, I regret not trying it sooner. The dining room is small and intimate. You can eat here alone, or in a small group (space permitting). We dined as a table of seven, with four enthusiastic teenagers (I’m an educator), and my friend called ahead when planning the outing with students, just because we wanted to make sure it was ok to have such a big table. We were treated like we were dining in a friend’s home. Our waitress guided us through the menu options, and the kids had lots of questions about different dishes and spice levels. I can’t handle spice and am a complete wuss. She got a read on everyone’s spice tolerance, and prepared their meals accordingly, bringing out extra sauce for if the kids wanted to push themselves further. There were a lot of red faces and we drank several pitchers of water, but no one left unhappy. This is some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life. The dishes are created with such careful attention to detail, and the combination of flavors is mesmerizing. I wish I were a food critic so I had the words to describe how wonderful it was. Most importantly, Samsara radiates kindness. Every customer who walked through the door seemed to notice and...