Rising Sons (State Street) — Restaurant in Madison

We were seated outside after asking to sit there, and it was a really nice area. It is private and has a really nice vibe. My friend and I ordered the chicken and vegetable dumplings as an appetizer. It took about 10-15 minutes for us to get the appetizers. We ordered Thai iced teas but that did not come out until 10 minutes after getting the appetizer. The dumplings were not great, it had a really thick dough that was hard to bite through and the filling did not have much flavor. Originally, we ordered vegetable dumplings and did not realize it was chicken AND vegetable dumplings, not chicken OR vegetable dumplings. I am vegetarian, so I was startled when I ate a bite and it tasted meaty. I asked the waitress if there was meat in it and she insisted that there was no meat in the dumplings. I ate one more bite and knew there was meat in it that time. I ask her to ask the cook if there was meat in it, and she came back and said oh there is some chicken in it. Turns out it is a chicken AND vegetable dumpling. It is surprising that the waitress does not know there is chicken in the dumpling. So if you have an allergy or dietary restriction, I would steer clear of this place. The teas were absolutely delicious though. After 20-25 more minutes, my dish comes out which was a tofu Pad Phet Basil which is like a stir fry with baby corn, thai basil, and mushroom. It was just alright, the portions were small and the flavor was slightly lacking. My friends meal came out 10 minutes after mine. She ordered Duck Noodle soup and she said the meat was good but the broth needed a touch more flavor. We then ordered the sesame balls and mango rice for desert but they were out of sesame balls. The mango rice was fantastic.

Overall, the food was just alright. The lack of concern to know what is in the food was quite concerning. I asked for a replacement appetizer and they said no. Pretty unbelievable after saying the dumplings did not have meat in it when it is a chicken and vegetable dumpling! Will not come back here for...

The only PRO is the papaya salad. (It's only good item on the menu.) However, it seems too expensive for the small portion. (It's $10, but only enough for one person. Other restaurants are either cheaper or same priced, but it's a shareable portion for two to three people.)

I've went twice now with friends and here are the CONS: I went at noon the second time and the waitress told me that the chef doesn't cook papaya salad this early (why is it on the menu then if I can't order it) Papaya plate platter (with fried chicken) the portion was too small and it was expensive ($17)... the fried chicken was freshly cooked, but I could tell that it was old/out-of-date (the chicken had a weird taste) Garlic Pork Dish (pictured below) was extremely dry and had a stench (the pork wasn't cleaned properly) Keng Kari (curry with beef) was extremely salty Pho and Pho Nam Tok were way too sweet When it was time to pay, the waitress clicked on the 15% for me. (The customer should be able to choose what...

The owner is the person who really likes to cook and really kind to people. He is the only one who cooks and prepares most of the food so please be kind and understanding :) If you loves Thai and Laos food, I could guarantee this is the best place in Madison, especially the papaya salad set with sticky rice and fried chicken. Pho is also really popular and I have heard from most people that they guaranteed it's the best! Drunken noodles and curry rice are also good! I couldn't say enough that everything here is so good I would love to explore new dishes every...