I’ve been to many of the Thai restaurants in Kuwait; present and former. Not many have really impressed me. I don’t want to go to a restaurant where the food is “seasoned down” to blandness to appease what owners believe their target audience might want. I seek the real deal and I have often been disappointed in the local market. I recently found a hole-in-the wall Thai place that has set the standard for the rest to follow.
Sabaidee is a small Thai restaurant with two small locations: Fintas and Mahboula. Both locations are only large enough to accommodate approximately 7 tables. Both have overworked wait staff… and both have some of the best Thai food I’ve experienced anywhere.
The first time I visited, it was late and I was really hungry. By the time the food arrived, I was in a bad mood; grumbling about how long I had to wait to receive the meal. But that minimal frustration led to a fantastic dinner. The chicken satay starter was tender and moist, nicely complimented by peanut sauce they had made in-house. The spring rolls were crisp and contained a large amount of shrimp. I’m a picky pad-Thai person and I was not at all disappointed. All the food was fresh and we left nothing behind.
The second time I visited, I anticipated a wait for something wonderful and I wasn’t in such a bad mood. Obviously, greatness sometimes experiences growing pains and Sabaidee is on their way up in the world (“start small and expand”), so patience is required. I shared a large bowl of Tom Kha seafood soup with my friend. We usually fight over the shrimp; this time we didn’t have to as Sabaidee generously delivers quite a few shrimp in the soup. We followed with shrimp paste fried rice (Khao Klook Kapi) and steamed whole fish with fresh lime and ginger (Pla Pae Sa). The slightly sweet taste of the rice was a great compliment to the ginger taste of the fish. The only item missing was my personal Thai dessert favorite, mango with sticky rice.
The owners have taken obvious pride in presentation: from opulent signage, quality menus on quality paper, to simple yet elegant surroundings. I am also impressed by Sabaidee’s menus. If you’re an expat in Kuwait, you certainly must have had a chuckle or two over menu misspellings and funny names. There will be nothing to add to your funny menu collection at Sabaidee’s , and they have pictures! There are so many choices that I am very glad that I picked up a “to go” menu which will allow me to study before my next visit.
Sabaidee offers catering and delivery and are open from 11am to 11pm. For more information call them at 65925355 or 97784648 or visit www.q8sbd.com. The group also owns a spa in Salmiya.
