Several months ago I reviewed Thai River, a restaurant that would come to be one of my go-to places places for good Asian food. When some friends and I wandered over there in October and found the doors locked during regular business hours we were a bit concerned. Later the restaurant would sport a "pardon our dust" renovation sign that lingered for well over a month. It looked like one of the best Thai spots in town had come on hard times and closed like so many good neighborhood businesses. Then the location came under new management as Eddie's Pan Asian Restaurant, which also happens to be one of the other best Thai spots in Seattle.
I've never really spent any time on Mercer Island, but if I had I'm sure I would have heard about Chef Sirichai "Eddie" Khoabtrakool's famous first restaurant, Thai Pepper. Since 1989 Thai Pepper was considered one of the best eateries in the city. With Eddie's newest venture, located on Aurora Avenue just blocks from Green Lake, he continues to provide creative, wholesome fare to Seattle's hungry.
But Eddie's Pan Asian Restaurant isn't what I'd call a traditional Thai place. Among the standards like Phad Thai and various curry dishes, Chef Eddie has a number of items on the menu that incorporate some flavors not usually found in Thai cuisine. The Tamarind Beef, for example, is a hearty, autumnal stew of fresh meat, tomato, onion and a flavorful peanut sauce seasoned liberally with nutmeg. Along with dishes like the Marinated Lamb, Eddie's menu isn't so much pigeonholed as Thai and is really more of a good, mixed-genre affair.
This is not to suggest his traditional Thai dishes don't stand up to scrutiny. Eddie's curry is out of this world and his Tom Kah (lemongrass soup with coconut milk) is one of the best I've ever tasted, especially with the in-house red pepper paste for some additional kick. Eddie's Phad Thai may be a bit too sweet for most hardcore noodle-heads, but it still beats most of the other Phad Thais I've had in a city brimming with the stuff.
Eddie's also provides an extensive menu of heart-healthy dishes that don't skip on taste. The low-fat menu, including a number of tasty tofu items, uses little to no oil. In all of the dishes on the entire menu you'll find very fresh, very firm vegetables that, as any gourmand will tell you, make all the difference in the world.
If you're feeling indulgent, the house desserts are still rather light and not at all cloying. The fresh banana or pineapple with chocolate syrup is a sweet but not overbearing finish to a meal, while the Thai Iced Tea is so good it may very well be addictive.
What really sets Eddie's Pan Asian Restaurant above its many competitors is the service. I come from a family that appreciates the value of a friendly business atmosphere. Not the fake, sickly sweet friendliness of corporate chain restaurants, but the genuine courtesy of small, owner-operated locations where it's not uncommon to have a chat with the guy whose name is on the sign out front. Eddie and his staff remember faces and make everyone in the dining room feel welcome. This is how a business should be run, not with gimmicks but with an undefinable human touch.