January, 2009

Rating : 10 out of 10

Tariff: Dinner for 4

• appetizer special
• 4 entrees
• 2 Thai Singha beers
• 2 glasses wine
• 1 dessert
• tip
• $106

Atmosphere

In a square building, sitting right along the main roadway (traveling in the west direction) is Lanna Thai.  Once inside I began to think the design was somehow familiar.  I'm pretty sure it was originally a Pizza Hut. I reflected how fortunate it was that the inside decor was different enough to disguise that fact.  After our meal I also reflected that we Marin-ites are lucky to have this fine Thai restaurant in the middle of our county and not another Pizza Hut! The restaurant only had about 4 tables with patrons, but it was a Sunday night.

Service

Our waitress was very friendly and service was fast.  She gave us more time to consider the menu and specials and she checked whether more drinks were When we needed extra rice it was brought out quickly. 

Food

We shared an appetizer special of Thai style samosas.  They were medium sized triangles of flakey pastry filled with a slightly sweet potato filling that had definite Thai flavors (as opposed to the traditional Indian ones).

Our dinner choices were pad Thai, pra ram tofu, vegetarian pumpkin curry, and mixed seafood in green curry. Let me first say we all shared everything and there wasn't an entree that was not great.  I ate way too much! Two of us had the brown rice accompaniment, which was served in individual round blue and white crocks with lids. Two of us had white rice served in the more usual decorative tooled metal serving dish.  Pad Thai was nicely prepared--not too sweet--we asked for the shrimp on the side (there  were only 4). The satay sauce over spinach with triangles of lightly fried tofu was great. Of course, some of us think anything would be good covered in satay sauce! But seriously, the fried tofu made the dish more interesting and gave it some variety of texture unlike the times I've had it with soft tofu cubes.

Pad Thai and Pra Ram Tofu

Pumpkin curry, which I've tried elsewhere, was probably the favorite dish--such a sweet, spicy red curry sauce with chunks of tender pumpkin squash.  The seafood green curry had lots of variety--scallops, shrimp, squid, and fish in coconut green curry sauce (my favorite).  This time, unfortunately, it was ordered extra hot and it really was too spicy for me--alright,  I admit to being a wimp in the hot pepper department, but I like to be able to taste all the delicious flavors!

Pumpkin Curry and Seafood Green Curry

We shared a sticky rice with fresh mango for dessert and it may have been the best version of that dish I've tried.  A mound of sticky rice soaked with sweet coconut cream and sprinkled with sesame seeds is topped with a sliced half mango. The combination of the rich, chewy starch and the smooth, cool fruit is just magnificent! All of the dishes were so good it was nearly impossible to stop eating 'just a little bit more'!

Lanna Thai
810 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
San Anselmo, CA  94960
415-455-8300