Ban Thai — Restaurant in Union Township

This Thai restaurant appears to be a family-owned business, according to the sushi chef, who's from Bangkok. The decor is nice, with large wooden panels stained 3 different colors (light, dark, and greenish), and sewn Thai decorations as well as what appear to be hand-molded metal plates. The overall appearance is upscale. We got there too late for lunch, which is less expensive, and meals start at about $15, while appetizers usually start around $6. I asked the lady if they could use MSG instead of salt to reduce the sodium, but they didn't have any, so she recommended the vegetable rainbow, saying it had less salt than the curries. I couldn't tell - it was both garlicy and too salty. My son ordered Shumai, which we often enjoyed in Indonesia with spiced peanut sauce. The shumai was very bland and on a bed of mixed raw veggies, so it was a good thing it came with strongly flavored soy sauce. He also ordered Pad Thai with shrimp, a noodle dish, which didn't have the authentic flavor and, frankly, was kinda disappointing in it's compromise on both authenticity and an enjoyable flavor. My daughter had Duck Char Chew, which is in a curry that has a floral taste to it - something I found odd, but not exactly unpleasant. She seemed to like it well enough. Our two meals came with small bowls of rice (barely enough, IMO).

One oddity was the men's bathroom, which was apparently designed with the idea of serving two men at once by having a urinal next to the sink, with a metal wall mounted between it and the toilet - which was only "privatized" by that partial metal wall. It was odd, and I think that most men would feel uncomfortable if another man came in, and didn't really fit the upscale image.

All in all, I don't intend to...

I've had 3 menu items from here over the course of two years.

Drunken noodles: these are consistently the same flavor, and is my go to at Ban Thai. The noodles are well cooked, never overdone, and seasoned in that sweet spot of not overpowering, and not bland. When ordering chicken, they don't shy away from the amount they give. Ordering shrimp - which costs extra - never satisfied on any dish because they give very little.

The Pad Thai has been a disappointment, unfortunately. Underseasoned and overcooked, it does not carry the effect you would expect in Pad Thai. There might be some lime and tamarind in there, but not enough to give that punch of flavor. The sweetness and saltines don't balance either, so I typically steer away from that here.

The green curry shrimp was decently priced. Thai curries vary from restaurant to restaurant and how they pad their curry with vegetables. Some do green beans and asparagus, others do eggplant and tomatoes, and others. This place did well with keeping vegetables that pair well with the sauce. Bamboo shoots, carrots, red pepper, and - a first for me, but still surprisingly good - broccoli.

The curry is a little thin, not as flavorful as you expect green curry to be, but the vegetables are cooked perfectly, with enough texture for you to recognize what you're eating instead of biting down on something mushy. The shrimp is not the star of the show, as they didn't put too much in there, but it did compliment the meal.

Portion size is adequate, I was able to finish the meal and be satisfied for a lunch order. Not the best curry I've ever had, but there is little competition nearby and it's worth going if you're...

UPDATE: We just received a call from Ban Thai apologizing and refunding our money. This is appreciated because we enjoy their food. Thank you.

Unfortunately, we received very poor customer service for a simple takeout order. First, when i arrived to pick up the food, they told me it would be another 30 minutes. They changed the time the food would be available. After i left the house to pick up the food, they sent me a text with a new time it would be available that was much later. I did not see this text while i was driving. After i finally received the food and drove home, we realized they did not include all of the food that we paid for. We returned later to the restaurant to explain that they didn't include all of the food, and that it was frustrating that they changed the time the food would be available to a later time. They repeatedly interrupted us and did not listen. They, instead, wanted to explain how they were right and we were wrong. Eventually, they gave us $4.00 back but only because we returned to the restaurant and patiently explained (repeatedly) everything that had happened. We will not return to...