Laan Thai Offers a Large, Authentic Menu in Downtown Ogden

  Laan Thai has become a go-to restaurant in downtown Ogden.

  “We are different from many other restaurants because we are more authentic, and have more options, and we use high-quality ingredients, such as imported Jasmine rice from Thailand,” said owner Herb Thaweesri. I recently interviewed Thaweesri for a Standard-Examiner story.

   He said his restaurant represents the four different culinary regions in Thailand, and the five different flavors of Thai cuisine: sweet, sour, salty, spicy and creamy.

   Not surprising, the classic Pad Thai is most-ordered dish. But the menu goes well beyond the usual options. For instance, Eggplant Basil (Pad Makeua), Crispy Basil Chicken; Pepper Steak (Pad Steak Priktai); Crying Tiger (Seua Rong Hai) which is grilled steak with dry chili dipping sauce, served on a sizzling platter; and Crispy Basil Duck (Ped Tod Horapa Krob).   

   There are several stir-fries such as Cashew (Pad Med Mamuang) with cashews, yellow onions, carrots, green onions and choice of protein such as chicken, pork, tofu, beef or seafood.

  There are ten different kinds of soup, including pho and Tom Kha, the fragrant coconut milk-and-lemongrass broth, mushrooms, tomatoes, cilantro and green onions.

  There are four kinds of laab, a dish from northeastern Thailand that uses minced pork, chicken or beef.

  You can choose from seven different curries, including the signature Laan Thai Special Curry (Kaeng Laan Thai), which Thaweesri described as a hybrid of massaman and red curry.

  There are nine stir-fried noodle dishes, including the popular Drunken Noodles. Thaweesri said that the term comes from an old story about a guy who was hungover in the morning. He has to get to work, so his wife makes something spicy for him to help clear his head..

  “The smell of the high heat of the wok, and the stir-fried fresh chili peppers is kind of a hangover cure,” he said.

  There are 13 different appetizers and eight different salads, including Lao-style papaya salad (Tum Mak Hoong) flavored with fermented fish sauce. 

  Desserts include mango coconut ice cream, mango sticky rice, fried bananas with coconut ice cream, and coconut ice cream.

  The reason for having such a large menu is to give people a chance to try a variety of flavors of Thai cuisine, Thaweesri said.

    “We don’t Americanize the food, it is authentic,” he said. “It tastes like what we eat back home. These are all my recipes. I make all my own sauces and everything.”

   But for many years, Thaweesri’s main focus was operating his language school in Thailand. He grew up in northeastern Thailand, and graduated from BYU-Hawaii, where he worked as a tour guide at the university’s Polynesian Cultural Center. He moved back to Thailand and taught in a public school, then founded his own language school and bakery.

  At his  school he met his wife (now Kate Thaweesri), from Mountain Green. She had served a mission in Thailand for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and then she came back looking for work. She found a job teaching at Thaweesri’s school. The two married, and had two children by 2019, when they moved back to the USA so their two young children could attend school. Thaweesri booked tour groups through his language school.

  But then Covid hit, and the tour groups were canceled. He had to find a new livelihood.

  He remembered back in college, a professor asked him to write down several life goals. Opening a restaurant was one of those goals on his list.

   Growing up, he helped his aunt cook in the kitchen, so he was well-versed in Thai cooking. And, while attending college in Hawaii, he had worked in the food industry.

  Armed with his recipes and experience, he found a location at The Junction, next to Five Guys. Formerly, it was New Sun Restaurant, offering Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine.

  “New Sun got hit hard during Covid, and were looking for someone to take over the spot,” Thaweesri said. 

  He gave the interior more of a Thai-style ambiance, adding wall murals and bamboo light shades. He managed to squeeze in a few more tables, and a private table with seating for 10 that requires a reservation.  On Friday and Saturday nights,

  If you’re ordering takeout, he recommends ordering online instead of by phone. “Because when it gets so busy, we don’t pick up the phone. But if you order online, the order will automatically be sent in to us.”

  The restaurant is doing so well that he has thought about opening a second or third location. But he would also like to open a language school here in the United States. He’s now a U.S. citizen and has sold his property in Thailand.

  “My goal in the future is to go back to Hawaii and spend my later years there.,” he said. “I want to live in the States now that I’m a U.S. citizen, but somewhere warmer.”  

Good to know…

Location: 2327 Washington Blvd. Parking is located mostly on Kiesel Ave., and the restaurant front faces Kiesel Ave. But you can enter the restaurant from either the Kiesel side or Washington Blvd.

Contact: https://www.laanthairestaurant.com or (801) 689-7025

Price range: Entrees, $10-20.

Hours: Tues-Thursday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

NOTE: If you’re ordering takeout, Thaweesri recommends ordering online instead of by phone. “Because when it gets so busy, we don’t pick up the phone. But if you order online, the order will automatically be sent in to us.”