As Mill Creek Town Center has gradually come to reality, the number of dining options in that city has expanded, and will continue to do so as more and more buildings open for business.
But one of the latest dining options there isn’t in the Town Center, but an older, more established, familiar location.
Thai Bistro recently opened in the spot previously occupied by La Palmera Mexican Restaurant, which has since moved to Town Center. Thai Bistro’s location, in the Mill Creek Square shopping center (known in Mill Creek vernacular as the QFC plaza), is an easy-to-get-to location right in the heart of the city’s established shopping district. Or to put it in the way a friend of yours might, it’s next to Hollywood Video on the corner of Bothell-Everett Highway and 164th Street SE.
Thai Bistro features a diverse menu of moderately-priced entrees, soups, salads, vegetarian, curries, noodle and fried rice dishes. But the best value is the lunch combinations, of which four are available (chicken with cashew nuts, red curry chicken, showering rama with chicken and orange beef), all priced at $6.95. All combinations come with soup of the day, pad thai and jasmine rice and can be made as spicy as you like.
I opted for the chicken with cashew nuts on a recent lunch outing. I also opted for one of their many teas, in my case one called “world peace,” ($2.50) a green peppermint tea. If I was in a hurry, the quick service would have been perfect, but I wasn’t.
The food itself was good, with plenty of flavor and just spicy enough to clear the sinuses even though I asked for two star spiciness (medium). But the real treat was the tea. It came in a glass tea kettle that had a spot in there for the fresh herbs, some of which ended up in my teaglass. While billed as “world peace,” it probably won’t end war and genocide, but sniffing the herbal aroma before each sip may give you a sense of serenity.
Another surprise about the tea was how much of it was provided. I figured it would be a single glass. But the kettle had enough tea to easily serve two people. I didn’t finish everything that was in the kettle (I should’ve asked if I could get the tea to go). But the serving size makes the tea a great value for a couple of lunch or dinner diners.
One of their desserts ($3.25 to $5.95) sounded like a nice way to cap off lunch, but I was full, not in a weighted down feeling you get at some places, but a lighter, far more pleasant kind of full.
With good food presentation, nice, contemporary decor and a fast, attentive and smiling staff, Thai Bistro is a place worth trying. It also has a full to go menu if you feel like eating at home or the office. The diverse menu, along with a selection of wine, beer, teas and sodas, has something to please everyone.
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