Being that I am a self-proclaimed foodie, several weeks prior to our mini-vacay I did some research on restaurants in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Norfolk, and Newport News to find out which ones had the best reviews. The ones that kept popping up were Krungthai Street Grill and Circa 1918.
When we arrived down in VA, I thought to check the Yelp Reviews for Krungthai, why I hadn't checked them weeks ago I have no idea. The Yelp reviews were a mix of high praise declaring it the best Thai restaurant for miles around to people who expressed petty dislikes.
There were a few recent negative comments, one of the reviewers complained "the food was good but the sauce was too thin" and another said "they kept trying to upsell him". Hey, it's a restaurant, that's what they do. Fortunately, for us we ignored the reviews.
So we drove to Krungthai and it was located in a small, strip mall that appeared to be straight from the 1970s. I expected people with afros and bell-bottoms to walk out of the neighboring establishments at any moment. We walked in and were instantly greeted by the hosted. It was a small venue, I'd say there were about 10 tables and it was half full, which was surprising for a Friday night.
We were starving so we ordered your typical spring rolls as soon as we sat down along with some Thai Iced Tea. I was surprised the iced tea came out in a large glass, guess that's because they didn't offer refills, not that I expected them to. It was good, never had bad Thai Iced Tea before. The piping hot spring rolls came out shortly after. I ordered the shrimp with garlic sauce (because of my newly acquired adult peanut allergy, I can no longer order my favorite Thai dish, Massaman Curry) and the bf ordered the Drunken Noodles with beef.
Within 5 minutes, both dishes came out and were huge, hearty portions. My entree had 12 extra large shrimp on it, yes I counted, which is rare these days when everyone is cutting back, with a large helping of steamed broccoli. I'm a garlic lover so I relished in the fact I could actually see slices of garlic in the sauce. (Let's just say my bf wasn't too pleased with my breath after dinner, LOL).
Usually, I'll eat half of my meal and save the rest for later. That night, I devoured every last morsel and the bf did the same. Everything was delicious. As much as I wanted to try their sticky rice for dessert, I was too full to even utter, we can take it to go.
The food was excellent and the service was even better. For a hole in the wall Thai restaurant in not the most desirable neighborhood in Hampton, VA, I was extremely impressed. Our waitress was extremely friendly and accommodating. Our laugh of the night was when she brought back our check with my debit card and said my manager said, "You look like Oprah Winfrey". Hmm ok, I've never heard that one before but it made for a great laugh.
By the way, our check came out to $40, which wasn't bad at all. It was maybe more than someone on a college budget could afford (it's about 5 minutes from Hampton Univ), but it was a great deal to us.
If you ever find yourself in the Newport News/Hampton, VA areas, I'd definitely make a visit to Krungthai Street Grill you won't be disappointed.
Krungthai Street Grill
1109 North King Street
Hampton, VA 23669
http://krungthaistreetgrill.com
Next post: Circa 1918
Krungthai Street Grill is my favorite and is a hidden secret. The "not so desirable neighborhood" comment is so irrelevant. Its called a "working class neighborhood".
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