Why: Arawan Thai Cuisine is a family-owned and -operated restaurant. The Varagoon family opened their first Arawan in 2000 in Clackamas, Ore. Their Vancouver restaurant is on the east side of town, near Southeast 164th Avenue and Mill Plain Boulevard.
The dinner menu at Arawan offers a large variety of classic dishes including curries, tom yum soup, pad Thai, chicken satay and a seasonal mango and sticky rice for dessert. The lunch menu is considerably pared down, though it still covers the basics.
What I tried: Though my original plan was for a dinner visit, I ended up stopping in for a weekday lunch. My dining companion and I ordered the appetizer option which allows diners to choose a smaller amount of three different appetizer selections. We combined the chicken satay, po pia kung (won ton rolls), and po pia sot (salad rolls). For entrees we settled on the cashew nut chicken and the gang massaman with beef. Both entrees came with rice. We opted for brown rice instead of jasmine rice. Tom kha kai soup came with the entries as well, but neither of us found it to our liking. It was very sweet and somewhat pungent.
Of the appetizers, we enjoyed the salad rolls the most. They contained mostly lettuce, and also had shrimp, cucumber and rice noodles. The rolls did not disperse all the ingredients in each bite so it felt like a hit-or-miss experience. The chicken satay was lukewarm and the chicken had a hint of pink inside, suggesting it was slightly undercooked. The won ton rolls are shrimp stuffed with glass noodles, vegetables and ground chicken and wrapped in rice paper and deep fried. This appetizer had a very processed look and flavor to it, and the vegetables were hard to find. A sweet chili sauce and a peanut sauce were served with the appetizers. Both were similar to the same I have had elsewhere.
Of the entrees, the cashew nut chicken was our favorite. There was a generous portion of chicken breast incorporated with a vegetable mix that included baby corn, carrots, peas and onions. A very light-tasting, thin, garlic sauce and cashews completed this dish.
The gang massaman with beef consisted of thin slices of bite-size beef and chunks of potato, carrot and onions in a peanut-curry sauce made with coconut milk. The mix is then topped with peanuts. The solid ingredients were good, but overall the dish was extremely sweet. The brown rice was a dark variety with a delicious nutty flavor and chewy texture.
Menu highlights beyond what I tried: The black pepper with beef sounded tasty, as did the pad see ew made with wide rice noodles, egg, broccoli, carrots and your choice of chicken or shrimp in a soy-based sauce.
Some diner favorites among the dinner options include pad phet (a red curry paste, bamboo shoots, baby corn, onions, basil and bell peppers with meat) and the mixed grill, which is a combination plate with barbecue chicken, sirloin steak and pork chops served with jasmine rice.
Atmosphere: Rich earth colors and warm wood tones give the restaurant a welcoming feel. The flooring is partially tiled and partially carpeted. That, along with some needed upholstery repairs to the booths, give the restaurant a somewhat dated look. The bar is located in the center of the restaurant. On the carpeted side of the restaurant there is a long community-style dining table, and there are tall booths on the perimeter for a more intimate dining experience.
Other observations: The service was friendly and attentive, and the prices were comparable to other Thai restaurants that serve similarly sized portions.
Cost: Lunch specials are served daily until 3 p.m. (except on holidays) and cost $7.99 to $10.99. With the exception of the $14.99 sampler, appetizers range from $4.99 to $7.99. Soups are $7.99 to $18.99, and salads cost $6.99 and $8.99. Dinner dishes range from $8.99 to $13.99. Desserts cost $3.50 to $5.50.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday; noon to 9:30 p.m. Saturday; noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Where: 700 S.E. 160th Ave., Suite 101, Vancouver.
Telephone: 360-882-8118.
Web: arawanthai.com; Arawan Thai is also on Facebook.
Health score: Arawan received a score of 10 on June 19. Zero is a perfect score, and Clark County Public Health closes restaurants with a score of 100 or higher. For information, call 360-397-8428.
