Union Center has a variety of restaurants and fast food places for us students at Lakota to indulge in, and among these is Thai Koon Kitchen. Though a bit unassuming in appearance, this restaurant is not only a Thai kitchen, but they also have bubble tea —  perfect for a hungry student after school. The restaurant itself is decorated with paintings celebrating Thai heritage and many vases full of orchids are sprinkled in the interior. The calming music and colorful room were filled with good vibes. We were quickly seated by the server who handed us a menu.

There were a lot of good options to choose from, but ultimately we picked the Crab Rangoon, Thai Beef Bat, and Vegetable Chow Mein. 

The Crab Rangoon came out first with 6 pieces of the pastry with a side of duck sauce. One bite from the Crab Rangoon and our mouths were filled with the creamy warm filling. The duck sauce, the translucent orange sauce, added a hint of sweetness to the savory pastry. It was nice to eat on a cold day —  it was instantly able to warm us up.

Next came the Thai Beef Boat along with the Vegetable Chow Mein. They were pretty big portions, and either the beef boat or the chow mein could have easily served two people, but since we had four, it turned out to be the perfect portion. We only chose a spice level of 2 since Thai Restaurants are famous for having extra spicy food; however, the spice level was pretty mild and we would probably have done a 3 next time. 

The Beef Boat had a warm soup base with thinly sliced beef and noodles and crispy sprouts on top. It smelled good enough, but as I was taking a sip of it, my friend remarked that “ my life flashed before my eyes.”  Although I can be pretty dramatic when it comes to food, it was honestly amazing.  The soup base itself wasn’t too spicy but it bursted with flavor. The meat was thin and went really well with the flavors of the soup and the noodles were great as well. The sprouts on top really gave the texture the dish needed and made it perfect. 

The Vegetable Chow Mein was just as good as the Beef Boat. Usually, when getting chow mein from a local Chinese restaurant, it’s good but you can really see the quality difference in this. There were so many more solid vegetables like broccoli, baby corn, carrots, snap peas, and mushrooms. Along with the bits of scrambled eggs and soft noodles, there were a lot of textures and flavors to enjoy. It was slightly less spicy than the Thai Beef Boat but still as flavorful. I enjoyed the chow mein slightly less than the beef boat but that is only because the beef boat was so amazing. 

The only part of the experience that devastated us was the lack of mango sticky rice. However, as the waiter explained, mango is not in season so that was completely understandable. We will definitely be back in the summer to try out the rice once the season starts. 

We were very surprised by the lack of people there since their food and hospitality were so great compared to the other nearby restaurants. The restaurant was so nice to share with friends, we definitely recommend going there to grab something to eat. It’s five out of five stars from us.