Bangkok 54 — Restaurant in Durham

I love spicy food. And when it comes to spicy food, Thai is usually the way to go. Some restaurants (understandably) dial back the heat quite a bit, even when ordering it very hot. And I get it, they don't want customers to be unhappy. This was my first visit here, going for lunch. The staff was very friendly and understanding at our paced out meal (we were meeting with a friend and wanted to catch up).

We had their fresh rolls and fried pot stickers, both were excellent. The pot stickers were surprisingly large, easily two bites each (compared to most other places where they are barely a bite).

The fresh rolls were just as good, the shrimp tasted fresh and the other fillings were crispy-fresh. The peanut sauce that came with them was excellent.

I had the tom yum soup with shrimp, it was very good. Great balance of flavors. I would love to see that in a bigger portion option (as a meal).

I ordered the basil sauce dish with beef, and asked them for level 5 heat (Their hottest). The waitress cautioned me that it was very hot, and they recommend only a 3 and will gladly bring out the spice dish if I wanted it hotter. I let her know I grow Carolina Reaper peppers, and I promised not to send it back. She nodded and confirmed my selection.

The food came out and it was excellent! Amazing flavors in everyone's dish (no one else tried mine, they aren't into spicy food like I am). The heat in mine was perfect. By the time I finished it all, I had a very light perspiration on the back of my neck and it cleared my sinuses. That's my standard for "hot enough" at a restaurant, and they nailed it.

I'll definitely be going...

My boyfriend and I went to their new location in Chapel Hill on August 31, 2024. This place was recommended to me by a co worker.

Our server, Vera, was very knowledgeable and pleasant.

For our appetizer, we split the Crisy Frief Tofu. with sauce. The appetizer was very delicious and came out piping hot. The presentation was great too. I was actually able to use the chopsticks with the appetizer and some with my entree!! 😊

I ordered the Massaman Curry with Fried Tofu in a coconut milk (cream sauce ?) which included potatoes, onions, cashews and other spices. I told our server I don’t eat as spicy, so she recommended to order the dish as it comes (mild).

She was right on point. I brought a little home for my mom since she likes Massaman curry, but she found it a little sweet because it was ordered as mild which was perfect for me. My mom still liked it. The dish comes with white rice.

My boyfriend got the tofu pad Thai which normally comes with fish sauce and eggs. If you are vegan or vegetarian, they can leave out the eggs and/or fish sauce.

We also got a dish for my boyfriend’s roommate. He wanted the Chicken Red Curry. I told Vera that he wanted spicy, but not too spicy. She recommended the spice level of 1.5. My boyfriend said his roommate really enjoyed the meal.

We will definitely be back! Nice, but casual place for a date night. The owner’s name is Jay ( not sure if I spelled that right). The decor on the walls...

This is a cute little family friendly neighborhood eatery. I went in for their lunch specials. Their lunch specials are popular and the restaurant was quite busy at lunch time (I went in around 12.30 pm) with only a couple tables available. The ambience is really nice. Nothing over the top, but really calming and relaxing. The menu has a range of traditional thai street food and entre options. The food was very good. I tried the lunch special masaman curry and thai red curry. The lunch specials come with a choice of soup or salad. I chose the chicken clear soup which was really light and refreshing for a hot summer afternoon and really teased my appetite for the main course. I loved the thin glass noodles in the soup. The curries were great too. Just the right amount for one person for a lunch portion for me. The curries were pretty flavorful. Next time I will ask them if they can make mine a little less sweet so that I can taste the spices a little more. This is just my personal palate preference. The one thing that I would recommend though is that the chicken could be a little more succulent. In both curries the chicken felt a little rubbery. But this is a very tiny thing. I greatly enjoyed the food and will keep returning. There is ample parking available in the adjoining huge parking lot. There is also a gotriangle bus stop served by route 800 right next to...