By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I love food from around the world, and I intend to try as much it as I can, within reason. With a possible exception for aged, fermented Greenlandic shark. But ask me to name a favorite, and I’d be hard-pressed to single out just one.

That being said, Thai cuisine clicks off quite a few boxes for me. It’s colorful, aromatic, full of flavors that sing together in at least four-part harmony. Specifically, I’m thinking about the four flavors that Thai cooks seek to hold in balance in every dish: salty, sweet, sour and spicy. 

Thanks to its location on the western side of Asia’s southeastern flank, Thailand’s many regional cuisines draw influences from India’s many spices and peppery fire. In kinship with China, its cuisine musters an array of stir-fries, rice, and noodle dishes … and Thais share the Chinese custom of greeting others with a friendly “Have you eaten yet?” And it mirrors neighboring Indonesia’s love of coconut milk and the attention-getting flavors of lemongrass, ginger-adjacent galangal, and more.  

But be assured that Thai fare is in no way derivative. Thai cooks assimilate all these influences into an ancient tradition that’s all its own, including the happy Southeast Asian custom of turning hearty soup or salad dishes into a filling main course.

There! Now can you see why I get excited to hear the news whenever a new Thai place opens up around town? One of the most recent arrivals, Take Thai, is a good one too. It’s a shopping center spot on Factory Lane in the far East End with an assortment of standards and a competent kitchen that offers what strikes me as comforting Thai home cooking.

The growing commercial district surrounding the Gene Snyder Freeway’s intersection with LaGrange Road looks new and suburban neutral, the kind of shopping center where you’d expect to find corporate chain dining. Indeed, there’s a Subway, a McDonald’s, and a KFC nearby, if that’s your style.

But in addition to Take Thai you’ll find Old School N.Y. Pizza just around the corner, as well as new eateries including White Buddha Japanese, Oishii Ramen, Mariscos Los Plebes Mexican seafood, Brix Wine Bar, and a branch of El Nopal; plus Load It, a baked potato bar, coming along soon.  I might have to wander back that way to check out some of those places; and a trip to Middletown for another new spot, Amazing Thai, is definitely in the cards.

Right now, though, I’m still savoring the tasty memory of a good meal at Take Thai.

Take Thai’s menu features nine appetizers, two soups, and five salads, plus 20 main dishes divided among noodles, fried rice, curry, and stir-fried dishes. Pricing depends on your choice of base protein – chicken, por, tofu, mixed veggies, beef, shrimp, or mixed seafood – and mostly range from the middle to upper teens.

Nearly half of the dishes are marked with a red chile-pepper icon, indicating that they start out with a mild kick; additional heat levels can be adjusted at your request from zero up to four (Thai hot, approach with caution).

A pair of Thai fresh rolls in rice paper ($6.75) came out loosely wrapped requiring a tight grip to keep them together from plate to mouth. The filling ingredients were fresh and flavorful, though: rice noodles, tofu dice; a crunchy cucumber slice, and Asian cilantro, all rolled in tender lettuce and nestled in the edible paper. A bowl of hot-sweet sauce topped with chopped peanuts and a pile of fine carrot shreds came alongside.

Tom Kha Thai chicken soup ($8.75, pictured at the top of the page) came in an attractive brown earthenware bowl. Its coconut-milk-based broth was intensely aromatic, with the lemony character of lemongrass and galangal blending into a pleasing, complex flavor with the coconut that made it fiercely appetizing. Tender bits of boneless chicken breast meat and quartered button mushrooms added to its delicious complexity, and tiny dots of chile oil added mild heat and flavor. This fine dish signals the quality of work going on in the kitchen here. Beyond its impressive flavor, all the ingredients were impeccably prepared, nothing wilted, everything cooked through but not overcooked. 

Gaeng Keow Wan green curry made with tofu ($15.75) was coconut milk-based too, resulting in two dishes a little more alike than we had intended, but they were both so good that I’m not complaining. This broth was lifted with the fragrant, citrusy scent of Thai green curry and, like the soup, bore a generous cargo of crisp, fresh, carefully prepared veggies – green beans, red and orange bell peppers, bamboo shoots, and Thai basil, plus chewy cubes of marinated and baked tofu. I ordered it at heat level two (medium) so fire-averse Mary could share, but it came out pushing the limits of a higher number. Not to be selfish but … more for me! 

With a tall glass of spice-scented, condensed milk-laced Thai iced tea, our meal for two came to $38.17, plus a 22 percent tip calculated by the point of sale machine.

Take Thai
12908 Factory Lane
365-3791
takethaiky.com
facebook.com/TakeThaiKY
instagram.com/takethaiky

Noise Level: Conversation was no problem during a lunch hour with a few tables occupied and sound levels in the 65dB range.

Accessibility: The new shopping center space appears accessible to wheelchair users.