Racha Thai and Asian Kitchen is tucked away in Redmond in the same complex as Regal Cinemas Bella Bottega 11. It is slightly out of the way for me, but their menu items were intriguing and I wanted to step away from my usual go-to curry spot down the street.
Their servers are kind but not invasive, the few questions we had were answered relatively quickly, and the food was served in a reasonable amount of time. First came out the Tom Ka, fragrant and bubbling in a metal bowl supported by a pillar which enclosed a burning chunk of coal.
Our other dishes were not served until the soup was finished. I love eating family and buffet style, so I was ever so slightly disappointed in this, but I embraced the appetizer as it was served and savored every slurp.
On top of the Tom Ka, which one can never go wrong ordering, I’ve tried the royal duck curry, massaman curry, the pad Thai and the pad Thai woon sen, which is basically pad Thai, but with skinny, clear noodles for a change of texture. All entrees so far have been delicious, and have undeniably exacerbated my itch to travel to Southeast Asia in the near future.
A number of the menu items are a bit overpriced, taking into account the atmosphere itself and the amount and quality of food offered, but enjoying dinner out at a place that offers fresh, traditionally-inspired yet inventive meals, appetizers, drinks and desserts is a well-deserved treat every so often. Every time I have gone, I have left satisfied, inspired by their recipes and with some leftovers. I do tend to order twice as much as I would normally eat per meal when at a delicious restaurant, but even if you’re not a leftover hoarder the portion sizes are decent and you might end up with some lovely leftovers you can heat up for lunch the next day.
Apparently they charge an extra $1.50 for basic rice that couples with the curry. What kind of restaurant does this? They also don’t care to mention this when they ask you if you’d like white or brown rice with that. I’d give them a solid 4.5 for the food that I have ordered, but no more than a 2 for the price and quality combo.
I really enjoy their food, but don’t really support their silly overpricing of simple menu items, and their sneaky add-ons that you don’t find out about until you wind up with a bill $10 more than what you anticipated. I will probably go again at some point in the future if I don’t find another restaurant with similar delicious menu items and more honest, reasonable pricing. Hopefully I do find somewhere else, though.