La Kang Thai French Cuisine — Restaurant in Palmer Township

Update 20230402. The spring rolls, crab cakes and chicken sate were good. But the main courses came out plated in cold dishes and the plates brought to us were ice cold. Asked for plates to be warmed the waitress took them back and 5 mins later no plates. We said that now the food was cold and still no plates to eat off of. The Manager sent a message out with the waitress that they could remake the meals. Out in 15 mins. Food was great, tasty and appropriately spiced. Warm plates

Unfortunately the manager never came out to address the situation. Even though food is good service is not what we could recommend and now will probably never go back. But for the sake of a little humility from the manager this restaurant has lost us as customers.

Wonderful time at dinner. From the Maitre'de seating us at a very nice table to the service by the very friendly staff working together. The octopus appetizer was very nice. The sampler had great choices and a good salad. We ordered an extra appetizer of the triple mushroom spring rolls. The presentation and taste were great. Moving on to the main course which we ordered mildly spicy. The Pad Thai was different than some I have had elsewhere but we loved it. Tasty and just the right heat for me. The Drunken noodles were a wonderful mixture and the sauce just right. The Green Curry had good flavor and a lot of curry sauce. It tasted great but here there was an issue. In general most Thai restaurants we have eaten at give a choice of protein with no extra charge. This restaurant charges $4 for each protein addition to a dish. We did that with the Drunken noodles and Green Curry. However for our party or four they only gave us a small (good for two portions) bowl of white rice. The rice was light and fluffy. Just not enough for four people and a wonderful bowl of curry. We asked for another bowl of rice and the waitress said it would be $4. We refused. She came back a few minutes later apologizing that she should have said $3. Either way we felt it was audacious and not customer friendly to ask for the appropriate amount of rice for four guests and be told we would need to pay. At $1 they were still making money but at $3 outrageous. It is a shame that the staff did not recognize our complaint as a worthy one. This restaurant has wonderful staff and great food. Definitely would go back but hopefully management will recognize the value of customer requests at appropriate amount of rice to enjoy a really good curry. We ended up taking the curry home and we made our own rice to finish the curry...

Saw this place on an Instagram reel from a local foodie and decided to give it a shot. We made reservations as recommended, but arrived before the dinner rush. The restaurant was pretty empty when we got there, which gave off a surprisingly stale vibe. The decor was nice, but it didn’t really give off a clear Thai or French feel as expected.

The most off-putting part was the musty smell when we walked in — hard to describe, but it reminded me of being under a bridge. There weren’t any aromas from the kitchen, which was concerning for a restaurant.

Service started off well — we were seated promptly, offered water, and given menus right away. They placed a small table lamp on our table, which could have helped with ambiance, but none of the lamps at any table were working. We overheard another table ask about it, and the waitress mentioned they were old and needed to be charged. We didn’t bother asking ourselves — we were there for the food, not mood lighting.

Appetizers:

Tuna Tarta – 3/5 The tuna itself was fine, but the wonton chips were soft and not crispy, which threw off the texture. Not bad, but I’ve had better.

Spare Ribs – 3.5/5 Tender and decent overall, but they were lacking in bold flavor. A bit more spice or seasoning would have helped.

Entrées:

Lobster Fried Rice – 4.5/5 Definitely the highlight at first — rich flavor, great texture, and generous lobster. Would order again.

Duck – 5/5 Absolutely excellent. Perfectly cooked, crispy skin, flavorful, and beautifully presented. This dish alone made the visit worthwhile.

Chilean Sea Bass – 5/5 Cooked to perfection — tender and flaky. The coconut cream sauce was rich and paired perfectly with the fish.

Drunken Noodles – 5/5 Best I’ve ever had. Bold, balanced flavor with the right amount of heat and perfectly cooked noodles.

Overall: While the atmosphere left a bit to be desired (musty smell, broken lamps, and a confused sense of decor), the food more than made up for it — especially the entrées. The duck, sea bass, and drunken noodles were all exceptional. Would definitely return for the food. Just hope the ambiance eventually matches the quality of...

Although I live close by I've never visited this restaurant until last night when we went to celebrate some good news. The food was fantastic!

The inside is very quaint. I enjoyed the aesthetic which is, I assume, a French country style with a rich, dark green paint on the walls offset by white furniture and trim. They do have some cute outside seating but it was humid last night so we stayed inside. The restaurant was very clean. We were seated right away and a server came and gave us two glasses of water and took our order within 5 minutes.

We had the Skirt Steak, the La Kang sampler, and a Tom Yum soup. The skirt steak was tender and delicious with a mild but tangy tamarind sauce. The papaya salad that comes with the sampler was so unexpected, fresh, and tasty! Although I did not have the soup I was assured that it was excellent. We finished this off by sharing the Thai Basque Burnt Cheesecake. That cheesecake... it was one of the most amazing desserts I'd ever eaten in my life. The cheesecake itself was rich and had just the perfect amount of sweetness. You take a spoonful of that and dip it into the berry compote and it's heavenly. It also comes with a small scoop of coconut ice cream that was obviously made fresh because it tasted and smelled like somebody just cracked open the coconut.

Our server was charming and very attentive. We had a wonderful experience there and will definitely be...