Bai Tong Restaurant

 

0

8

amy l.

Seattle, WA

I live in Fremont, the land of a million Thai restaurants and yet Bai Tong is my favorite, I'm glad to work so close by. It's tucked away in the strip mall next to Toys R Us by Southcenter mall. I think the dish that really won me over was the fresh rolls. The wrapping is not too thick and gummy like some places, the herbs/greens inside are fresh, they are not overloaded with noodles, and best of all the warm slightly peanut dipping sauce they come with is absolutely great. Another favorite dish is the steak salad or anything ordered with their sticky rice. It gets crazy busy at lunch time but they seem to keep up well with the crowds. I only hope that they don't get so popular they have to expand.

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Elite '08

151

666

Mitzie H.

Seattle, WA

Ok so I lied the other day when I said I normally hit Red Robin when I'm in Southcenter and hungry I forgot about Bai Tong if I make a run to Half Price Books I make a point of grabbing a bite to eat in here if I'm hungry.

Their crab wontons are pretty good, not too big and not too greasy and served with a nice plum sauce that isn't too thick or sweet which is hard to come by if you ask me.  

Their Tom Kha Gai is milky white in color and full of chicken and mushrooms I just wished they made it spicier for me but it's tasty and I seem to order it the majority of the time I go here.  Their Pa-Nang Curry is also a good choice sans the bell peppers.  And you can never go wrong with their Pad Sei-Iw.

When you walk in you'd never guess you were walking into a Thai restaurant in a strip mall in Tukwila they done a nice job decoration the place to make it feel like you're in a Thai restaurant.  The place is always clean, the wait staff is always friendly and if you're me you'll more than likely run into some of Tukwila's finest while dining here so be sure to obey all laws while you consume you Thai food.

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Elite '08

12

81

Rassamee H.

Seattle, WA

I have been going to Bai Tong since I was in elementary school and it was at the bottom of an apartment building in Sea-Tac. Then it moved to an old drive up burger joint building down the street. There were pictures of royal Thai ambassadors visiting the restaurant on the walls. If that's not Thai, I don't know what is. Sea-Tac bought out their old space and tore it down and I thought they were lost forever. I happened upon the Bai Tong sign when I was cruising around the mall one day. So I walked in and saw all the people from the old spot. HOORAY! They have delicious, authentic Thai food and they meet all my criteria for a true Thai restaurant (see my review of Supon's in Bellingham). Delicious Oh-leangh (Thai Iced Coffee), a great appetizer plate with spring rolls/tod mun/won tons, and fantastic stir fried noodles. My new favorite is the Crispy Chicken with Basil, semi-Americanized I know. The only downside of this place is they ignore my husband, who is not Thai. The servers will talk to me, smile, converse, etc. and not once say hi to my non-Thai hubby. It really is extremely obvious what they are doing. At least smile folks! Usually I just go with my mom and sis and everything is peachy keen.

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Elite '08

6

58

Walt W.

Kent, WA

Good Thai food, in Tukwila? In a strip mall? Yep. I discovered this place while looking for TVs at Magnolia HiFi. Not very impressive from the outside and its a pretty small joint but they have some good food. My favorite so far is the crab and cream cheese wontons with sweet and sour sauce.

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118

183

c w.

Seattle, WA

I didn't realize Bai Tong had moved here.   We wandered in while looking for parking to go somewhere else and decided to have lunch here.

It was packed inside but service was prompt.  My friend's phad thai looked kinda runny, while my curry was pretty good.  But, I'm subtracting one star for not getting any rice with my dish.  The second star was lost just because the food was just okay, and not as good as I remembered it being in the past.  

At least there was plenty of parking on a crowded Saturday afternoon.

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Elite '08

96

79

carrie L. B.

Seattle, WA

Back in the day, it was hard for my daughter to find Nintendo DS games. The nice guy at Game Crazy in my hood told us that Game Stop in the Toys R Us mini-mall south of Southcenter had a pretty good selection so off we went.

After what seemed like hours and hours of one of us contemplating the games and the other contemplating ripping giant chunks of hair out of her scalp to relieve the tedium we'd both worked up an appetite. We asked the patient and helpful pimply game geek boy behind the counter where we could find something - anything - for lunch. He recommended Bai Tong right next door.

Ugh. Okay pimply game geek boy, sounds like a plan: Thai food from the Toys R Us mini-mall. But we were starving and one of us was close to a melt down. So I sucked it up and we went in.

That's when lunchtime immediately looked up for us. We were the ONLY whiteys in the whole place. And the interior is very attractive - not at all what you'd expect in some random mini-mall Thai place. But what about the food? Hand to gawd, the food was really good. Some of it excellent. Everything we ordered was super fresh and delicious.

This is now our go-to resto whenever my daughter craves the Thai. Totally worth the drive, even though Game Crazy in my hood now has an excellent selection of Nintendo DS games.

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15

43

lem k.

Arcadia, CA

good food.  The curries are good.  I went to seattle to visit for a week, we went here 4/7 days.  The BBQ chicken is awesome, it's served in a banana leaf, Pad Thai, Tom Yum, Pad See Ew, Pad Ped, and mango rice dessert all great.  Nice tropical banana tree decor.  Parting is such sweet bananas!

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14

67

Christina B.

Costa Mesa, CA

Thank you, Yelp, for reuniting an out-of-towner with a moved restaurant.  I couldn't remember the name, and all the addresses were wrong, but thanks to you wonderful reviewers I now know the name of our Seattle salvation.

We flew up to Seattle over Halloween 2004 for a friend's wedding, and had no idea where to eat the rest of the weekend.  Very close to our cheap motel was the original location of Bai Tong, which was quite fortuitous, as almost everywhere else we tried was disappointing.  At the end of our stay we didn't bother eating anywhere else--we even went twice in one day and lunch before our flight.

What I remember is that the fishcake was one of the best if not the best I've ever had.  Good pad thai, pretty good beef salad.  Great soup, though now I've had better at Thai Princess in Westminster, CA, much closer to home.  Friendly, attentive service and a homey atmosphere.  Obviously I can't tell you if those have survived the move, but as long as they took their recipe book with them you should be happy!

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3

49

april d.

Seatac, WA

I just ate at Bai Tong (again) last night and yum yum yum.  I love their new location, their old location near the airport was a little lacking but their new digs are sublime.  Sometimes we take our order to go but if we can stay and eat in their casually elegant and intimate dining room I am happier.  Their wait staff are so lovely, always so nice and attentive and really their noodles are perfection on a plate!!!  Curries are husbands favorite and my 13 year old sunny loves their food.  I had the broccoli and noodles with tofu and ooooh, yum!  So good and I love that half price books is right next door for a little after dinner stroll. So like I said, same great food as their old location but with fabu new digs. Oh and for dinner for 3 we paid a paltry $30 but mind you we only had dinner and green tea but who needs more really.

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4

21

Roy C.

Renton, WA

It seems like there aren't any badly decorated Thai restaurants, and Bai Tong stays true to that.  The open floor layout makes the place look larger than it actually is, but seating is quite cozy.

I was craving for angel wings the night I found Bai Tong, which isn't on their menu.  The closest thing they had was fried chicken wings.  I was disappointed, but I know a few Thai restaurants don't have angel wings on their menus.  I judge Thai restaurants by few standard dishes, one being basil beef.  I can make basil beef at home, so if a restaurant can't make that dish good, then there really isn't much to say about that restaurant.  Which is the case with Bai Tong.  Their basil beef was prepared with shredded beef (could've been ground beef, but I couldn't tell), not much vegetable (no bell pepper, few thin slices of onion), and way too salty.  Although the shredded beef was piled high, but without fresh vegetable, there's no variation of texture, which makes the dish boring to eat.  On top of that, it lacks the pungent aroma of garlic and basil--the main ingredients that define this dish.

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Elite '08

127

472

Laura P.

Seattle, WA

I haven't been to Bai Tong in a decade (talking about the old one) so it was imperative that we order chicken in toei leaf (gai hor bai toey).   I can't think of any other Thai restaurant that serves this gem up.  It was even better than I remembered it to be.

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2

13

Jude O.

WA

Okay, so you're trapped in Tukwilla, perhaps you're on your way to Southcenter or en route to Ikea or, maybe, you live there!  You're thinking about grabbing lunch. Which contribution to America's Obsesity Epidemic are you going to support with your dollars today? Claim Jumper, Applebee's, or TGI Friday's.   While you imagine what variation of fried chicken you'll have to consume--Jack Daniels(TM) Oriental Fried Chicken salad, perhaps?--think again!

Nestled in a strip mall next to an Office Depot and Toys R Us is Bai Tong, perhaps one of Seattle's better Thai restaurants.  It's up there with Jamjuree in Capital Hill or Top Tim Thai in Queen Anne.  You'll dig it. The Tom Ka Ga soup is complex: tart, savory, and spicy. The Pad See Yuew is excellent, as is the Green Curry, and all the usual Thai standards.   Even if this place wasn't in a veritable wasteland of chain restaurants, it would be a stand-out.  As it is, it's a godsend.

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0

13

Graham C.

Seattle, WA

Pretty good Thai food.
The restaurant is very nice, the service is good, and most importantly, this is one of the few places around with a decent spiciness scale. If you ask for it spicy, get ready!
I go here once in a while to take a break from Mali Thai. I'd probably go here more, but they don't offer lunch combos like Mali.

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0

7

Peter V.

Port Orchard, WA

Stumbled onto this restaurant last month and realized that this was the same Baitong that we used to go to just off Hwy 99 near the airport when it catered to the Thai airways crew, almost twenty years ago.  Back then, there weren't Thai restaurants on every corner.  That began a love affair with Thai food that continues to this day!     The food is still amazing, including the green curry.  It is very busy on weekends, but the service is very good.

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2

6

Ruth M.

Berkeley, CA

This restaurant has moved to 16876 Southcenter Parkway in Tuckwila. Check out www.baitongrestaurant.com

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1

6

Ali S.

Renton, WA

This is my new favorite thai restaraunt.  The crab and cream cheese wontons were fabulous and the green curry was amazing.  Love that you can get brown rice.

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3

372

Inigo M.

Sacramento, CA

Great quality but a little salty and spicier than most.

Nice decor.

Reasonable prices.

Try the Spring Rolls (appetizer).

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3

27

BettyNEithon T.

Renton, WA

The first time we came was for lunch. There were maybe 2-3 other people in the restaurant, one server, one chef, and it was eerily quiet. The last time we came here, several, several months later (if not a year), the place was packed and noisy, and the waiting area, which once had numerous chairs and a couch, was turned into more tables. I guess the cat is out of the bag.

Bai Tong is located in the Toys 'R' Us strip-mall complex, a few doors down from Miyabi's and fewer still from Half-Price Books (coincidentally, browsing the stacks is not a bad way to unwind from a meal here).

While the service is fast and more or less acceptable, even when the place is crowded (they must do some serious triaging in the kitchen), and the food is generally good, my main ding against Bai Tong is for consistency. We've had to send back dishes because they were undercooked (meat dishes, no less), and the food can be particularly greasy at times. Their phad thai, a measure I use for the overall taste of a Thai restaurant, has been hit and miss for me.

This isn't to say it's a bad place to go, and more often than not I've left happy. As Jude O. has humorously put it, when you're in the south end and surrounded by chain joints that serve the restaurant equivalent of TV dinners, where else are you going to go for something decent?

CONTEXT:
Date: Various time since 2006/2007
Time: Lunch, dinner
Tables of 2-5, no reservations

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Elite '08

11

110

Russell H.

San Jose, CA

Bai Tong is the BEST Thai restaurant I've ever been to.  According to numerous websites, it used to be exclusively for Thai Airlines flight crews.  Then sometime in the 80's they opened to the public and have been a fixture ever since.

Don't let the exterior fool you.  Sure it's in a old A&W-style drive-in - the covered stalls are still there - but you won't find a burger and fries here.  The food is spicy and be warned - this isn't like some Thai restaurants where the term "spicy" is thrown around lightly for Western tastebuds.  If you say you want it spicy you're going to get "Thai Hot" ... which will peel paint if applied properly.

The spice doesn't get in the way of the other flavors though.  I have to think the proximity to Sea-Tac airport makes it easier to get fresh ingredients from abroad because the food here is better than anywhere else I've ever been.

To give you an idea of how good this place is, I ALWAYS schedule my Seattle flights to correspond with dinnertime so I can stop at Bai Tong on my way to AND from the airport.  My sister makes her husband get take-out and bring it back with him to California if he gets sent to WA.

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