Kinnaree Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Joplin

I have only been to Kinnaree Thai once. I heard it was pretty good. It was 7 pm and I ordered takeout. 1 Chicken satay, 1 Pad Thai, and 1 Thai fried rice. First, the owner argued with me about ordering *3 spice. I finally convinced him I was "worthy" of ordering at 🌶️🌶️🌶️ because I have been to Thailand. A big order was placed in a big box. A guy came in to pick up the box, but the owner was too busy explaining the menu in detail to a table to let him pay. Now my food is brought out as well. We are both waiting as our food sits. 5 min later I am able to pay and leave. $43.00!! That seemed too high + a tip. At home, my husband and I tried the satay first. Inedible. The marinade and peanut sauce were good but the chicken was so overdone and DRY we couldn't even bite through some of it. It was like leather, no exaggerating. I can't believe they served it. If we had been eating in the dining room, we would have refused to pay for it. The Pad Thai was okay but nothing special. It was prepared 🌶️🌶️ spice but was not spicy at all and entirely bland. Thai fried rice was SO hot at 🌶️🌶️🌶️ it had to be a mistake - pushing inedible. (Maybe he was making a point. ?) Given the scrutiny while ordering, I expected fairly authentic Thai food. Instead of cooking with short grain or Jasmine rice and Thai peppers (small red Birdseye), they used some tiny dried red (shaker) pepper. The rice was med grain, not long or short grain. Nope. Not the same at all Obviously, they put too much spice in the rice. Nothing for 🌶️🌶️ but almost inedible for 🌶️🌶️🌶️. I called to double check the receipt. I couldn't believe this was $45+ Evidently the horrible satay which we had to throw away was $10. Pad Thai $16 Thai fried rice $14. Really - ? Extremely overpriced. First and last time. 🙄 Save your time and go to Thai Time instead. Inconvenient set up but they have better Pad Thai and delicious...

Cut to the chase: nothing less than phenomenal.

Understand this is a family owned restaurant in a strip mall, so if you want corporate imagery or subdued ambiance this isn't your place. But if you want good authentic Thai food, Kinnaree can bring the heat.

We converged on Kinnaree after Googling, "best dinner in Joplin." Kinnaree was at the tail end of the top 10 recommendations. My son prefers Thai food; I like spicy.

We're eventually a table of 5. A round of drinks (with an additional iced thai tea) and two appetizers (the variety plate and chicken satay) and five entrees the bill came to $120.

Everybody at the table was pleased with their order and the taste of the food. As was I.

Service was impeccable.

My love for spicy-hot goes back almost 30 years to my first Thai restaurant in Seattle where a buddy broke out in a sweat on his scalp while eating his dinner. Since then I've been like a Don Quixote in search of a paralleled experience.

My family rolls their eyes when I ask for the spiciest item on the menu, but they don't appreciate the challenge.

Three bites in I realized that I was in for a rollercoaster ride. I've ordered from menus that offered a heat index from 1 - 10, but their 10 didn't phase me. Kinnaree offers a heat index from 1 - 3 with the 3 being the equivalent of "dialing it up to 11." It felt like my ears had been sucked into a vacuum, my pallet was being excoriated, and by the end of the meal I was weeping into my napkin. But THIS is what I WANTED! As I finished the last morsels I realized that after pushing through the heat that there was a delectable flavor in the dish beyond the pepper & chili. Oh yeah! The heavens had parted. The following day as I sipped my plain, black coffee it tasted artificially sweet. Last night's dinner was a mind...

Be sure to try this lovely little Thai place not far from I-44. Woke up with a strong craving for Thai and came to Kinnaree for the first time (and not the last). The restaurant was completely empty and I was worried I had walked in during the very common service break you often have to contend with Asian quisine but out from the kitchen walked the waiter (owner?) who seated me as soon as I walked in. I ordered a Thai coffee, unsweetened iced tea, yellow curry with chicken, and a side of pad Thai. My waiter inquired as to spice level and recommended a 1 as I had never been there before reassuring me if it wasnt spicy enough they would increase it until it was perfect for me. He returned with my drinks and a lovely little bowl of what I think was cabbage and rice soup. The Thai coffee was perfectly sweet and robust. Before I could finish my soup the food was at my table piping hot and fantastically fragrant. The curry was a little thinner than I am used to closer to a soup consistancy. A sweet, salty, spicy bowl of delicious, well rounded and balanced flavors. I don't eat a lot of spicy food while I travel and it was a little more mild than I was expecting but I could still feel a little burn on my chapped lips. The portion was MORE than fair (I have lunch packed for work tonight and possibly tomorrow. The side of pad Thai was perfect not dry nor overly sauced. I would have liked a little spice to it but the flavor was perfection for me. After gobbling the pad thai I found myself too full for much else and my waiter took my plates to pack them to go for me. Overall: Service:...