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We Review Thai Garden
Thai Garden has moved into the restaurant space formerly occupied by Tong’s Thai Cuisine, bringing with it a menu filled with brand new flavor-packed dishes.
By Katie Pollock Estes
Mar 2025
Photo by Brandon AlmsTry panang curry with tofu from Thai Garden.
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I tried Thai food for the first time (that I can remember) at a little place in Ballwin, Missouri, called Manee Thai. It was near my parents’ house and quickly became their neighborhood go-to for Thai flavors. My favorite dish there was nam tok beef, a plate of wildly flavorful grilled beef bursting with the taste of chilis, lime and cilantro and served with a refreshing wedge of cabbage.
Since then, I’ve tried to find a duplicate of that nam tok beef at other Thai restaurants. Most spots I tried didn’t serve it, and the ones that did couldn’t quite spark the nostalgic flavor memory I was looking for.
My husband, Eli, is a huge nam tok beef fan too, so when we saw it on the menu at Thai Garden, we knew we had to try it.
Thai Garden is owned by Jenny Khokunthod, and its interior might look familiar to longtime Thai food fans. Until last fall, it was home to another beloved favorite, Tong’s Thai Cuisine—which had closed when its owner, Tong Trithara, moved to Thailand. And although the type of cuisine in that restaurant space remains the same, the menu is quite different. Khokunthod has incorporated a variety of dishes that were new and exciting to us—and our beloved favorite nam tok beef too.
The dish had all the flavors Eli and I were looking for, from
the pop of the chilis to the bright zip of the lime. But it wasn’t the
only thing we tried. We also ordered the larb appetizer (a dish with
similar flavors to nam tok beef, but featuring ground chicken), the
panang curry, Thai iced tea and our favorite dessert: mango sticky
rice.
You can choose which protein to add to your
curry, and we opted for tofu. Packed with plenty of veggies and big,
flavorful pieces of fresh Thai basil, the panang was a comforting dish
that warmed us from the inside out and felt so nourishing. We ordered it
at a medium heat level and felt like it wasn’t quite spicy enough for
us. We’ll probably ask for it spicier next time.
Our
kids love mango but had never tried mango sticky rice before, so we
were excited to introduce them to this practically perfect and
deceptively simple dessert. Fat slices of delightfully ripe mango (some
of the best I’ve had in a long time, actually) are served over a bed of
warm sticky rice that has been mixed with a sweet coconut cream sauce.
The result is something that’s not too sweet and honestly a bit
addictive. The kids loved it as much as Eli and I did, and we all ended
the meal wishing for just one more bite.
Although we didn’t try it, we were intrigued by an item on the dessert menu that we’ve never had before: a traditional Thai custard. It sounds so creamy and delicious, and it might just be our meal ender on our next visit. That is, if we can resist ordering our forever favorite sweet treat, mango sticky rice.
