Flavor Thai & Lao Bowl — Restaurant in Renton

Update: Have eaten there a couple times now. Service is nice and efficient as always. Unfortunately the food can be inconsistent. Particularly the Kiao Pak Sen and the spice levels for the other dishes like the Larb. Kiao Pak Sen was perfect the first time we went but the last couple times was super salty. ☹️ Spice levels for the other dishes are also not comparable as you would rate 1-5 in a Thai restaurant. So a 3 would be much spicier. Just double check with them before giving your spice level.

Order:

Kiao Pak Sen - comforting soup, like a chicken noodle soup version Lao style. They make their long noodles IN House and if you have kids, this is the perfect thing to order that they will love. Chicken is soft and tender and 2 people can even share if you want to also try another dish. Some people might think it’s bland but it’s because you have to build it up to your own liking using the sauce, garnishes and lime on the side that comes with it. (Tip: add some chili oil and more of that fried garlic)

Kao Pon- also good noodle soup with a chicken and pork meat combo, but it is spicy. They cannot edit the spice level to make it less spicy.

Larb Gai- chicken with sticky rice also on the Spicier side but I believe you can edit the spice. Sticky rice was a little harder so they just need to get better at that part.

Lots of parking at the front parking lot and lots of tables inside we did not have to wait. Saw a lot of To go orders that came through during our lunch.

Mary delivered amazing hospitality and took the time to tell us about the menu and what her favorite items were. We would def go back just based on how well she took care of us.

P.S. Family owned and I believe their other family owns the high rated Blazing Bowl Lao restaurant...

The naem khao was PERFECT! I'm a bit too lazy to make this dish at home, so it was a treat to have it finally :) It was super duper! They provided plenty of lettuce and also extra cilantro & mint. I was a bit surprised that the staff never came around to fill our waters or check on us after bringing the food, but it was fine. We didn't need anything, but it's just a nice formality that I'm used to at other places. I also ordered the tom khem, thai coffee, and thai tea. The tom khem was WAY too salty, and they didn't give enough rice to balance the saltiness of the soup. It was good flavor, but I would've preferred the sweetness to come through a little more than the saltiness. The pork belly in the soup was very tender and delicious. The thai tea was WAY too sweet as well. I had to water it down for it to be more enjoyable. I'm the type of person that enjoys the boldness of a thai tea, and the sugar just overpowered the unique flavor of the thai tea which was a little upsetting. I think the sweetness level on the thai coffee was also a bit too much, but it seemed to work better since coffee itself is more bitter. Overall, I would come again just for the naem khao. I would like to try my other favorite dish, Lad Na, but I'm worried they might make it too salty based on my experience with the...

We came for lunch on a Friday about 30 minutes after they opened. The place was cozy and service was good. However, I have mixed feelings about the food. We ordered the traditional Khao Poon, beef jerky and spicy Lao sausage. Khao poon was a very decent size. I'm sure you could split it two ways and still be full off it. It traditional bowl came with 2-3 pieces of chicken feet, several pork blood and a few pieces of shredded chicken. The broth was lacking flavor. I didn't add any fish sauce or spice because I wanted to see what they were working with as far as the base. I had to ask for lime though LOL. The jerky and and sausage were 4 out 5. They both came out with a small basket of sticky rice and a little bowl of jeow mak len. It's not the traditional jeow, as I'm used to fresh chopped cilantro and gr onions. Theirs appeared to be pureed into it. However, it tasted just ok.

The thing I'm most disappointed about was the fact that I didn't get the 4% discount for paying with cash! There was a sign posted at the cashier that basically tells you that. Of course I didn't figure it at the time because they don't give you an itemized receipt (at least they didn't overcharge me). I figured out the amount when I got home. I doubt I'll be back, but I'm glad I...