I apologize. This whole date night blog post thing is still a little new to me, and I did it in the wrong order. I didn’t give the preview first, and instead I went on the date. Bad, bad, bad! I promise to be better at this from now on, but occasionally I might post about a spur of the moment date like we experienced last Saturday evening.
Last Saturday night, we had a short window of time to go Christmas shopping and both of us were famished. We had a brief 2 minute discussion: what’s reliably quick and satisfying in this yucky damp freezing weather? What would give us the fuel we needed to take on hundreds of Target Christmas shoppers? Our conclusion: Thai food of course!
So, the next question was where. We were in one of those no fuss moods, so we decided to go to our newest favorite Thai place –Thai Woodinville. The food is always great, but I’ll tell you why we keep coming back. Every time we walk in the door at Thai Woodinville, a petite Thai woman named Na is always waiting at the door with a menu and a bright warm smile. I don’t have a touch of Asian in me, but walking into this place makes me feel like I am seeing a familiar family member who’s always happy to see me.
Our Entertainment book brought us here a few months ago, and we located Thai Woodinville, hidden off the street on the corner of a strip mall. Here’s something I’ve learned about bargain date nights: never judge a restaurant by its outside appearance. Time and time again, we have sized up restaurants from the outside, wondering if there really is anything to them – or if we will even be able to find a table to eat at. Strip mall restaurants can be deceiving! In most cases, I have found them to be much more than what they appear from the outside. And Thai Woodinville is an example of this.
Walking in, with its soothing wood walls and Asian influenced décor, my mind leaves the hustle and bustle of go-go-go, and enters a whole new world of peace. To think, just seconds ago, I was surrounded by stoplights and traffic and billboards, now, I am away from it all.
Na serves us our drinks and tells us about the group of 6 or 7 diners a few tables away.
“They’ve been coming here since we opened over 20 years ago.” She says.
Something tells me I’m not the only one who feels like Na treats them like family.
“This is their family Thai restaurant.” Na says, smiling with pride.
Hubby and I feel comfortable here. In fact, I realize, I don’t really want to go Christmas shopping. I would rather just stay here and talk and enjoy the calming atmosphere. But the fact that my children may be upset to find empty stocking on Christmas morning jolts me back to reality.
That’s me pouring a nice hot cup of tea
Hubby usually orders beer, the beer brewing connoisseur that he is, but this time, he is open to drinking (of all things) tea. I order up a pot of Jasmine tea. Immediately, Na brings it to us in a black Asian style Cast iron pot. I love those tea pots. They are so neat looking and make tea drinking even more fun.
Pad Kee Mao. Yum!
I realllllly want to order my favorite: Pad Thai, but I have ordered that the last 10 times I’ve had Thai food, so I forced myself to walk on the wild side and ordered Pad Kee Mao. Hubby ordered Rama Noodle.
We chatted about our plans for the Christmas season and work for what seemed like five minutes or so when Na’s daughter brought our massive steaming plates of food. Did they know how hungry we were? That was pretty awesome that they made it so fast.
We did our usual-Hubby took a bite of his (level 4 spice. He is crazy!) and I took a bite of mine (level 1 spice. I know, I’m a wimp when it comes to hot spice). We both exclaimed “MMMM!’ at the same time and traded bites like we always do.
I liked that there were veggies mixed in with noodles and an amazing spicy sauce that is so signature to Thai Food. Hubby enjoyed his and wolfed it down amazingly quick.
Hubby’s Rama Noodle
Total came to only $16.67 with our entertainment card and a 20% tip. Yes! Under budget again. We are on a roll here.
Na came by and talked with us when she brought the bill, and told us she is from Bankok and still has family there. She suggested we travel there because it’s a beautiful place to go on a vacation. As she talked, pictures of endless Thai food, real sunshine and sipping iced tea on a beach chair floated through my mind. Ahhhhh….someday. But for now, we will stick with our own little piece of paradise –eating as much Thai food as we possibly can.
P.S. I was not compensated to endorse Thai Woodinville. I just love the place!
Here’s my rating: atmosphere(romantic appeal) -5
Food-5
Budget friendly -5
Fun and Unique-4+
Memorable-4
Stay tuned for next week’s date night! Send me your suggestions for $20 Date Night ideas. I’d love to hear them!
