It’s usually a bad omen if I go to a restaurant when I’m not hungry. Food always tastes better when that familiar rumbling beckons me to strap on the feedbag. This fact was on my mind as I walked into Yodyiam Thai Cuisine, thus prompting me to peruse the lunch menu vs. the larger dinner/all-day offerings…something I rarely do. 

I placed my order and surveyed the cabernet red and dark brown interior with pictures and other effects familiar to Thailand. Overall, the surroundings were friendly, cozy and comfortable, and the aromas wafting from the kitchen officially triggered the lunch alarm.

The first dish to arrive was mango curry with shrimp. After only a couple bites, I found myself attacking the bowl like a school of piranha. The sweet slices of ripe mango against the spicy yellow curry and tender jasmine rice completely overruled my previously satiated appetite. Tasty add-ins of fresh bell pepper, green beans, elegantly cut carrot “flowers” and zucchini further enhanced my feeding frenzy.

Chicken Pad Kee Mao

 I had completely overlooked the vegetable spring roll appetizer that arrived with the curry (part of their lunch special). Deep-fried, stuffed with cabbage and potato, and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce, it was tasty, but there was some mango curry left that needed my attention. 

Shortly after, I turned my attention to a plate of chicken pad kee mao (aka, “drunken noodles” at some establishments). Wide rice noodles were cooked to have a slight chew to them, unlike an Italian al dente pasta (Thai food purists swear that its Italian cousin is not a satisfactory substitute). Flavors of chili, bell peppers, onion, tomato and baby corn were highlighted by fresh basil, and I didn’t have to be drunk—or so the legend says—to enjoy this version.

Stuffed to the gills, I made a promise to return—next time on a hungrier stomach—to indulge in even more of Chef Yodyiam’s family-owned recipes. 

Hours:  Noon-9 p.m. (Sunday); 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; 5-9 p.m. (Monday-Friday); 4-9 p.m. (Saturday)

Try This: Mango Curry, Crab Fried Rice, Pad Kee Mao, Thai Orange Chicken, Sweet Coconut Rice with Mango

Alcohol: Beer and wine

Tab: $$

Heads-Up: Coupons in the Style Savings Guide; catering and banquet facilities available; lunch specials (served Monday-Friday from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.); numerous vegetarian and gluten-free offerings

Yodyiam Thai Cuisine
1750 Prairie City Road, Suite 150, Folsom,
916-355-8825

By Lorn Randall   //  Photos By Dante Fontana