Thai Village – Waipio and Kunia Shopping Center

I love vegetables, herbs, fish sauce, and spice. That probably explains why I eat a lot of Southeast Asian food. In fact, I’ve gone through phases where I’ve eaten Thai food 3-4 times a week. Something about the freshness of herbs, the umami from the fish sauce, and working up a sweat while eating brings me absolute bliss.

I decided I wanted to try Thai Village while on the way back home from playing tennis at CORP. For the townies reading this, that’s Central Oahu Regional Park and it’s across from Waipio Shopping Center. The park goes on for miles and has a bunch of different sections for running, biking, and more.

Thai Village isn’t currently doing dine-in (I’m writing this on March 6, 2021) but CORP being right across the street makes it a convenient way to picnic. Here’s the spread:

First off, I love when Thai places have the spring rolls made with rice paper rather than lumpia paper. The chewy, almost mochi, sensation pairs so well with a fish sauce-based dipping sauce. Combined with lettuce, you get crunchy, chewy, salty, and sweet all in one. Yum!

Another Thai food must-have for me is pad kee mao. Saucy, tangy, spicy, and full of flavor–I’m always surprised that pad kee mao, also known as drunken noodles, isn’t as popular as pad thai. As an herb and spice lover, I wished this dish had a little more basil and way more spice, but for a quick meal I honestly couldn’t complain. The flavor was good and I’d get it again.

The third thing I tried was the nam tok also known beef salad. Not to be confused with lab, nam tok is made with sliced steak and not ground meat. My Thai friends taught me to form a ball with sticky rice, dip it into the sauce (my sauce leaked out of the container, so not a lot of sauce for me), and then eat the now-soaked ball of rice with a piece of meat and fresh lettuce/cabbage. If you haven’t eaten nam tok like that, be sure to try it.

The last thing I tried was the evil jungle curry with sticky rice. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a great picture because it was hard to eat at the park, so, note to self: don’t try to eat curry at a park. To me, the curry was tasty the first day, but was way better after sitting in my fridge for a day. I probably wouldn’t get this one again, but I’ll definitely be back for the spring rolls and pad kee mao when I’m in the area.

Thai Village also has two locations: one in Waipio Shopping Center and another in Kunia Shopping Center. They are family-owned and so sweet!

Have you tried Thai Village? What’s your favorite thing on the menu?