Lanna Thai opened in late 2009, and since we were last in several years ago, owner Varanya Meyer has sold the business. But she’s stayed on to run the place essentially, and takes our to-go order, joking about how she seems to be at the restaurant just as much as before.
The new owners updated her menu some and added a couple items. From the “house specials” menu section we get massaman curry with duck (available too with fish), medium heat which smacks mild. The duck tastes sweet and gamey and though nice on its own I don’t love its taste inside the floral coconut milk curry with big hunks of carrot and potato and bits of onion and whole peanuts.
I’d prefer chicken I think, which is the protein we choose for a bowl of khao soi noodles. We order it hot, but it only makes our lips flash heat momentarily before fading across the tongue with a quick-burn leanness that matches an overall thinness — which is to say lack of richness to the body.
Egg and crispy noodles give some starch and crunch with cilantro, pickle and lime herb and acidic notes. It’s just OK, so I can’t help but compare it to the superior khao soi dish at Mangosteen Thai Street Food.
