Saladang Thai kitchen — Restaurant in Sanford

We knew going in there would be service issues and there were, but as they just opened, they service will only get better. If you plan on going there for lunch and being back at work in an hour, think again. At least for now. Now on to the good. The food. And I mean, allllll the food! We ordered multiple appetizers to share and each were extremely high quality and fresh. The chicken skewers didn’t come with the sticky rice as advertised on the menu but with sharing, we didn’t need it as much. But the skewers were incredibly juicy, flavorful, and that peanut sauce, they need to sell it by the jar! The larb was incredible. Fresh Romaine heart strips for the wrap added a fresh crisp to the dish. Astonishingly I had the best oyster outside of the coast or from Seaview Crab company which is brought in fresh daily. We had two coworkers try them for the first time and both loved it! They don’t provide horseradish or crackers, just lemon and cocktail. I’m a horseradish and hot sauce guy but these were terrific for Sanford. Fresh, clean, no grit, with a mild ocean taste. I had a bite of the tri-tip and it was good but the vinegar dipping sauce was perfect for my pad Thai. Shrimp were seasoned perfectly and the additions of the bean sprouts and scallion matched perfectly but it needed that vinegar sauce along with the peanuts, sugar, and chili flake that are provided in the table. They come wrapped in an egg lattice blanket which again adds to the wait, but much more than I expected. Had a coworker order the Holy Basil and immediately FOMO started as the fried egg on the rice looked incredible. Thai garlic rice and a fried egg is my absolute favorite. Now I got to try my coworkers Panang curry dish and I’m still thinking about it hours later. Definitely the best I’ve had in NC. So much flavor! From the Facebook post, I don’t think it was the owner but maybe the general manager came out and apologized to us for the wait. As they grow, the service will get better. If the food wasn’t good, we wouldn’t be back. As it stands, we will be weekly or multiple times a week regulars! We can’t wait to go back and...

Fantastic first experience at Saladang. Our waitress was very kind and attentive, servers refilled our drinks consistently (this is necessary for us at Thai restaurants as we like to add more spice level to our dishes). Our curry and stir-fry was as excellent as our other regular Thai spot in a different town, and we were pleasantly surprised to see nightly specials on the menu (the seared brussels sprouts were great!). We'll be so pleased to come back.

My partner and I moved back to Sanford a few years ago...his first time living here (however, I was raised here as a kid). We've lived in other large metropolitan areas in other states and parts of NC. I feel like Sanford has struggled to maintain restaurants that that provide consistently good service, modern atmosphere, and truly delicious food. We always travel out of town for dining, so I'm hopeful that Saladang can maintain their service, food, atmosphere, and work to manage any early growing pains that all new restaurants experience.

My only "ding" to not putting all stars: we're a very tall couple. The light fixture that you must walk under to get into the dining area is hanging too low. Always use a 6'8" door frame height as your guide for the base of light fixtures to avoid most head injuries ;) As a couple, we were offered the two-top table next to the bathroom. While, you could potentially sit a smaller single diner at the two-top near the bathroom (facing into the dining room), the second diner (unless they are very short) would have had to stare into the bathroom every time someone entered (or worse)...that's an unappetizing dining experience. So, I would remove the restaurant equipment and use the adjacent part of the dining room that passes into the kitchen as part of your full dining space. You're already needing that extra space for diners from what we noticed...

I’ve always loved this place—previously the food and experience were amazing! Unfortunately, under the new management (just 3 days in), I had a very disappointing experience. I came in with a $200 gift card I received a month ago, before the restaurant shut down. When I went to pay, I was told the card was no longer valid.

The servers and hostess were kind and tried to help, but when they spoke with the new owner/manager, she chose to stay in the kitchen and simply had them tell me “sorry, it’s not valid.” Regardless of the change in ownership or systems, gift cards should be honored for customers who purchased them in good faith. How many other customers are now holding worthless cards?

As a real estate professional, I love supporting local businesses—but first impressions matter. A great owner would have at least come out to speak with me directly and tried to make it right. Instead, the responsibility was left to the hostess (who I appreciated and who agreed with me).

Sadly, this is a poor way to begin running a business just days after opening. I’ll be eating...