Mango and Sticky Rice at Wang Thai in Itaewon!

So is Wang Thai worth it? Well, let me tell you interesting story about the Thai Restaurant scene in Seoul. 5 years ago the best Thai Restaurant was Thai Orchid, located where Thai Garden is at the end of Itaewon Road (across from the Cheil Building). The restaurant was great because they had a real Thai chef. As the restaurant become more popular the owners wanted to franchise, Thai Orchid. What I heard was that the owners started to fight and they split off. One owner took the name of Thai Orchid and opened up a restaurant across the street. The other owner renovated the restaurant in the same location and renamed the restaurant, Thai Garden. I went to Thai Garden when it reopened and it was...Koreanized Thai Food. This was the same case over at Thai Orchid. I was not impressed. Oh, you are probably wondering why I'm telling you about Thai Garden and Thai Orchid in relation to Wang Thai. The reason why is that the current management of Wang Thai is the same as Thai Garden. They simply changed the name. The owners missed the point. They thought the brand was what was important. They should have never left the Thai chef leave the peninsula.

So how is the food? Pretty much the name. It's expensive and lacks Thai authenticity. I have heard the excuses over and over again that it is difficult to get Thai ingredients. I know. It is hard to do, but I think the problem is in the kitchen. If you have a real Thai chef, he will substitute ingredients in order to get the authentic flavor. The Thai food at Wang Thai is spicy, but without the correct balance of lime and fish sauce to make it authentic. The Tom Yom Gung is good, but it just had heat and it needed more lemongrass flavor and lime juice. This was the same case with the Basil Beef. Also, they need to serve Thai jasmine rice. I mean at the prices they are charging, they need to do at least that.

On a bright note, their Thai Ice Tea was great. It was strong, but the milk balanced it.

Mango and Sticky Rice was, sadly, not like Thailand. They used mangos from a can and the rice didn't have the right texture- it was overcooked. I guess I will have to go back to Thailand to get the real stuff.

If you are looking for Thai food made for the Korean palate, then this is the place to go. If you are looking for real Thai Food in Seoul, I suggest you go to Yum Thai near Sinsa Station.

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Wang Thai (주)왕타이Korea
Address: 서울특별시 용산구 이태원동 176-2
Phone02-749-2746‎