Kamlai Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Tacoma

Let me preface this review by saying that i am, by all means, a very picky and particular eater when it comes to Asian cuisine and the like. I’ll go through my thought processes from start to finish with the place, but a summary of it is going to be: this place blew my expectations out of the water.

The first thing that didn’t put confidence in me about the place were the prices. I’ve been to many states and many generic asian restaurant’s and I’ve found them all to price their products around the same. Cheap and affordable. The chicken cashew I ordered was a mere $11, and i knew i wasn’t going to be in for a surprise.

The tables were also a bit sticky; gave off the “we don’t care” kind of vibe, but I’m sure they were just busy.

The next thing was the packaging: cheap plastic bowls with little plastic covers. Too many meals have i thrown away that fit in these exact containers from these terrible restaurants.

Visually, the food also looked the same. The chicken was that same super white long strand of meat that most places use.

So far, this place is 3/3 for things to watch out for.

But let me tell you: my entire perspective changed when i put that first bite in my mouth. The burst of flavors and spices and juices were unlike any type of food I’ve had. Not too salty, not too plain, and not too greasy. Just the perfect light coating of flavor on every crunch and bite.

And the chicken itself wasn’t the usual rubbery white meat that im so accustomed to. No, this chicken was dense, moist, and real. Absolutely incredible quality of ingredients and combinations of flavors. So while the packaging and presentation may not be great, THIS FOOD is amazing.

I will 100% be recommending this place to others. Thank you for...

COVID REVIEW I have ordered from Sweet Rice twice so far. Both times have been during the pandemic, and both have been through the chownow service (just an online ordering app, not a delivery service like doordash or uber eats). Both times the meals have been ready earlier than estimated or right on the dot.

This most recent time I ordered the Pad Sa Eew w/ beef (spice lvl 3), and my wife got the Pad Kee Mow w/ tofu (spice lvl 2). Both dishes are fairly similar, with the Pad Kee Mow having more variety of ingredients.

The beef was what you would expect - thinly sliced, well seasoned, tasty. There was also a good amount of it in the dish. The noodles were chewy and plentiful, but I feel they lacked a good flavor. I kept on thinking "all the sauce must have drained to the bottom, and the noodles at the bottom are going to pack a flavor punch!" But that didn't end up happening, unfortunately. Still a good sized dish for the price, and the flavor was ok.

Now for the spice levels. When you put in your order you can select anywhere from 0 to 5 (0 = no spice, 5 = max spice). This could be because I have a higher tolerance for spicy food than most, but I didn't register anything with a level 3.

My wife enjoyed her Pad Kee Mow, and that is the dish I will get moving forward, since it has more variety.

Note: The online menu price for these items was $1.25 higher than what was displayed in the restaurant ($11 vs $12.25). Not sure why there was this discrepancy. I initially thought it was Chownow marking up the prices, but now I'm...

This is our first visit to this place. No one geeted us at the door, we stood there for nearly 15 minutes before someone told us that we could sit ourselves. As we sat ouselves, the room temperature is not comfortable chill emanates from our bodies. We were wondering if someone will come to take our order because noone even acknowledged our presence, we were about to walk out when we figured our that we have to get up and give our order to someone behind the plexiglass by the cash register who just stands there observing us. As we give our order, we were told that some of our order is not available although it is on the menu. We have to settle on papaya salad with crispy pork, pad sew and spicy chicken basil. As we settled back at our table, the cashier came out with paper plates, water serve on the fast food cups (coke). When our food arrived, it was serve on a plastic container (to go box less the lid). The flavor of the food is okay. I was expecting shredded chicken versus ground chicken on spicy basil chicken, (minced chicken on the menu) my fault for assuming, never had this before, the pad sew noodle is overcooked. I would classify this establishment as fast food and not a restaurant. Not to mention that toilet has an empty seat protected cover and acrid smell. I will not return to this place nor will recommend it. Sorry just the facts, hope to see an improvement soon or you will loose...