Manee Thai
October 4, 2017
There are dozens of Thai restaurants in the St. Louis County area. It can be impossible to choose which place would be the best to eat at, but I have just made your decision really easy: Manee Thai.
Located at 481 Lafayette Center off Manchester and Baxter near the Dierbergs, Manee Thai looks like any Thai restaurant from the outside. But when you walk in, the artwork and lighting make the environment different, fun, and authentic. All of the servers are extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the food they serve. When I ate at Manee Thai my server’s name was Neon, and her name along with her quality of service, made her instantly likeable.
I decided to order Massaman Curry and a side of Roti, and my foodie friend Emma from Kirkwood High School ordered Tom Kah and a side of spring rolls. My meal was 15 dollars and Emma’s was 10 dollars. Massaman curry is a relatively mild Thai dish made with chicken or beef, potatoes, onions, and a fish sauce curry paste over rice. The potatoes and onions absorbed all the flavor of the curry, and every bite was hearty and rich. Tom Kah is a spicy and sour coconut soup served with chicken or tofu. The soup is made with ginger, lemongrass, mushrooms, lime, basil, and cilantro. Emma’s bowl of soup was steamy and spicy but extremely refreshing. The food was so delicious neither of us had any leftovers.
Tanee Meeboon, the owner of Manee Thai, opened the restaurant with his wife and brother-in-law in 2009. His youngest daughter is a graduate of South High. He said that his family worked in the restaurant industry for over a decade before they decided to open their own restaurant.
“We faced many challenges as a family owned business due to the management of employees, which also includes our son and daughter. We work together and function as a team, but to create that type of environment, it took a while before everything fell into place. I’ve also learned that flexibility and caring for employees personally improves the work environment and morale of the restaurant,” said Meeboon.