Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Won Thai Cuisine
844 Willow Ave Suite A1a, Hercules
510 799-6800
Tues. ? Sat. 11:00-3:00 Lunch and 5:00-9:30 Dinner

Everyone in my yoga class has a [tag]favorite Thai restaurant[/tag]. I?ve tried all the places mentioned, and my favorite remains [tag]Won Thai Cuisine[/tag] in [tag]Hercules[/tag]. I was introduced to the owners, Mark and Kathy Rattapituck, and their restaurant when they were on University Ave in Berkeley. Other fans, and the rave reviews go back to the mid-1980?s when Won Thai was located on Sacramento St. Berkeley.

Mark, the owner, is one of the remarkable features of this restaurant. He has not only remembered my name and my friends? through the years, but also the important things, like partners, children, and relocations. His welcoming smile defines the atmosphere of Won Thai.

The food takes home-style to an ethereal level and sets a standard for Thai food. Kathy, the chef, makes dishes that are somehow both delicate and vivid with sauces that are robust and fragrant, but never cloying or overly sweet.

On our recent visit, I was pleased to discover that the quality of the cooking has remained high. We started with an appetizer of Tod Mun Pra, fried fish cakes served with a spicy peanut and cucumber sauce that were hot and moist without being greasy. The spicy sauce included lots of chunky cucumber to cool it down.

We followed this with PoTak, a seafood soup with mushroom, plum sauce, Thai lime leaves, and chili in a hot and sour lime juice. Salmon, mussels, shrimp and squid punctuated this light, refreshing soup.

Another favorite of ours is Tom Ka Gai, a soup with chicken in coconut milk with galangal, Thai lime leaves, chili and lime juice. Elsewhere I?ve found this soup to be sweet or greasy. At Won Thai it is always a rich savory soup, great with a bowl of rice.

Ha Nu Man Klug Foon, a meat dish saut?ed in Thai-style hot and spicy cream sauce, was just as good as I remembered it. We had it with chicken, but the beef or pork versions are also tasty. The Thai basil on top sets all the flavors off.

Many dishes come with a choice of chicken, pork or beef. Prawn or squid are also available. The temperature of the dish is also optional. Here the scale used is a Thai one. Medium is right on the delicious edge of being too spicy for me. Hot is only for the brave.

One of the best deals around is the lunch specials which range from $5.25 to $6.50 and include soup, steamed rice and an entr?e. Desserts such as the Sticky Rice with Mango, or the homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream are also fabulous.

A strip mall is not where I usually look for excellent food and friendly service, but that?s what Won Thai dishes up. Won Thai Cuisine is located just off 80 in the Willow Center, between a liquor store and a martial arts academy. It?s an excellent location for those trips between Vallejo and Berkeley that dip into the lunch or dinner hour.

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