Lao Thai Family Restaurant

I was enthusiastic about trying another St. Paul restaurant on University Ave, but Lao Thai Family Restaurant wasn't as good as the others I have tried recently. We started with two appetizers- Family Egg Rolls (stuffed with ground pork, vegetables, bean thread noodles and deep-fried) and Cream Cheese Wontons. The egg rolls were quite good, but after all of the egg rolls I've tried in the last few months, they weren't exactly memorable.

One of my dining companions ordered the Red Chicken Curry (Sliced chicken broiled with coconut milk, sweet peppers, bamboo, with red curry sauce), which was okay, but I've had better red curry most places. This curry was lacking a bit of flavor and extra salty. She was a bit disappointed because she is a green curry lover and the only curry they offered was red.



Two of our other dining companions had the Pad Thai (Stir fried noodles with bean sprouts, eggs, green onions and peanuts on the side)- one with chicken and the other with tofu. Although it was fairly traditional because it was pretty dry, there was almost no flavor to it. It definitely wasn't unedible like Kindee's Pad Thai, but both people ordered extra sauce to try and give it more flavor.



I ordered the Walleye Fillet (8-10 oz deep fried topped with family special curry sauce) to try and mix things up a bit. This featured the same red curry as the chicken dish mentioned above, which was only okay. The fish was delicious though and actually soaked up the curry flavor well. I was a little apprehensive about ordering a fish dish, but was pleasantly surprised.



Because the prices here were so low (the Pad Thai with tofu was $6.50), I decided to order the only dessert on the menu for our group, Tri-Color, which had no description. The waitress had a bit of a smile when we ordered- never a good sign! This "dessert" was so bizarre that we couldn't really eat it. It was a goblet with spoons that had greenish milk with ice and floating fruity things and hard pieces. That's about all of the detail I can share because we had no idea what we were "eating."

I'll go back...but it's on the bottom part of my list for now!

Decor: comfortable, but super unattractive

Prices: cheap! ($6-11)
Spice level: okay- we forgot to ask for spicier!

More information:

Lao Thai Family Restaurant

501 University Ave W
St Paul, MN 55103