Yet Another Thai Restaurant
2006 June 30
I see that the featured restaurant review in the FNP’s Next 72 Hours section features yet another Thai restaurant that has opened recently in town. I am all for diversity in new restaurants opening, but I can’t help but feel that the city really let restaurant goers down when they allowed the best Asian restaurant in town to be demolished for a parking deck. I am talking about Hana’s Restaurant, behind the courthouse. Hana’s was owned by a local woman who did all the cooking and had the best (and only) Korean food in town. And Thai food is not going to satisfy the cravings I still get for Hana’s.
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I agree completely about Hana’s. I was devastated when I heard the plan to demolish that little strip for a parking garage. I wonder where she went. Nothing compares.
Since the link to the News-Gazette article on this new Thai restaurant is now archived (and thus unavailable), I’m assuming this article may be referring to Thai Rice, which my wife and I recently stumbled upon out on the Golden Mile (1170 West Patrick St) at the former site of Hunan Cheers. My wife and I have been desperate for quality Asian food of any sort here in Frederick, and are consistently disappointed by the places we have visited (Kyoko is perhaps the one exception, but their downtown prices keep us from going there on a regular basis). Fortunately, we can now say that Thai Rice has been added to our list of most worthy restaurants in Frederick. This is more than your average Americanized Thai fare — Tha Rice serves great curries (killer Panang) and tasty larbs (minced meat salad) and wonderfully inventive specials like Mango chicken. I would go as far as to say it is one of the best Thai restaurants I have been to in the DC region, and we have certainly tried quite a few.
Sadly, this place seems to be lost in the blur of the Golden Mile, as it has been anything but busy on the three occasions we have visited there. If you like quality Thai food, you definitely owe it to yourself to pay Thai Rice a visit!
Cheers!
Yes, it was Thai Rice that was reviewed in the Gazette. I’m glad to hear that you liked it and I may try it, but nothing in town compares to some good Korean barbeque that we could get at Hana’s. I really wish Mrs. Pang can open another restaurant somewhere else in town.
I failed to mention earlier that Thai Rice located in the same little strip center as Blockbuster Video, which is on the south side of West Patrick, across the street from the Giant supermarket plaza, and just east of Willowdale Drive.
My wife and I were back there again this weekend and had another great meal. This time we tried the Beef Rard Na (noodles w/ gravy) and the Goong Ope Maw (shrimp in clay pot w/ cellophane noodles) and both were extremely good. Our waiter was also graceful in his presentation and extremely polite — not something we expected but a very nice treat!
We also miss Hana’s Kitchen, as we had several memorable meals there, including a special dinner with our extended family during our first holiday season living in Frederick. Not only was the food top notch, but she made us feel like we were guests in her house.
I too miss Hana’s and Ms. Nicole as we called her. I wish she would reopen somewhere…sigh! We always felt as if we were guests in her home and not at a restaurant at all.
If you are looking for a good Asian restaurant of the quality of Hana’s Korean try ‘Lucky Corner Vietnamese’ on the corner of N. Market and W. 7th (where the restaurant with the pink flamingo used to be). We ate there last night and the food was excellent, the service unbeatable and the decor charming. So similar to Hana’s I almost felt I was back there. Try the caramelized pork in a hot pot or the noodle dish with chicken, peanuts and eggs. It isn’t Hana’s but it sure is close!
I miss Hana’s! I’ve always wondered if Mrs. Pak ever found a place to re-open her restaurant. She served wonderful Korean dishes and I especially loved her huge imperial rolls. To die for!
Lucky Corner Vietamese is wonderful. I dine there once a week for lunch. Food is well prepared with fresh ingredients. Portions are decent and service is good.
Hana’s was great and we miss it too! To fill the void, we have been going to FuZasian Noodles and Grill (located on West Patrick st). Although they specialize mostly in Thai cuisine, the chef has several item on the menu that reminds me Hana’s spicy cuisine. The spicy shrimp is out of this world!
Yeah, but do not forget that up until recently Frederick did not have any Thai resturants (but now there are three.) Further more: the Asain place downtown was aweful and didnt really recieve too many awards. The China Garden is the Asian place that is always getting awards. Finally,those parking lots where designed to help Frederick grow and ensure our future as a diverse city.
What is the point of this?
The point is Nicole Pak and her resturant was well loved and is still missed. Although there are other Asian resturants in Frederick now there are no Korean resturants and no resturant owner like Mrs. Pak. It was an awesome experience one that you apparently missed. We are simply trying to find another such experience. To refer to an oldie but a goodie “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot!”
Let’s stop this silliness about restaurants receiving–or not receiving–awards. Frederick Magazine gives annual awards, but it’s a popularity contest, not a critical review. The winners are determined by the number of people who vote for a particular restaurant. Some undistinguished restaurants are perennial winners because they have a huge number of loyal customers. Some restaurants strongly encourage their patrons to vote for them, as being the recipient of an award makes the cash register go ka-ching! Heck, if popularity (return customers) is your benchmark, then top honors would probably go to Outback or Golden Corral or something similar, while many fine small restaurants go unnoticed.
Amen
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Went to Thai Rice on Valentines Day – not that we’re cheap, or don’t enjoy fine dining. But Thai Rice is a great place if you really enjoy good food, but don’t need the fancy atmosphere. The service is fantastic – really friendly and nice people. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and were especially happy to have eaten out without the huge bill at the end of the night.
Just stumbled on Thai Rice today. I only had the chicken satay appetizer as I wasn’t that hungry and my husband had sweet & sour pork. Both were super. The satay was very tasty with subtle flavors. The sweet and sour pork was very different from “standard”, but was quite delicious – I kept stealing bites! Service was attentive, low key and professional. Definitely will go on our list of places to go back to!