Over the weekend, a few friends and I decided to grab dinner at Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft. In honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to eat at a woman-owned establishment. The owner of the restaurant is Chef Deedee Niyomkul, the daughter of famous Atlanta Thai chefs Charlie and Nan Niyomkul. DeeDee has cooked on Food Network, with a notable victory on “Beat Bobby Flay,” and owns two other Atlanta restaurants, Nan Thai Fine Dining and Chai Yo Modern Thai. She opened Tuk Tuk Thai Loft in 2010 to serve tapas-style food and gourmet Thai entrees. I first came across the restaurant on Instagram, and the food looked incredible, so I had to give it a try.
The restaurant is located in a beautiful white loft building on Peachtree Street in Midtown, with a city skyline view and a peaceful outdoor patio space to dine in the warmer weather. The interior is bright and colorful. On the bottom floor, there is an actual tuk-tuk automobile in the lobby where guests can sit and take pictures. The restaurant itself is on the third floor. Candlelit tables and dim lighting create a mellow and intimate ambiance. The atmosphere was warm and comforting, and the employees were all very pleasant.
Appetizers
To start off our dining experience, we chose two appetizers. The first was pla muk thod, crispy fried calamari with a Thai chili lime sauce.
The calamari were fried perfectly and the tangy sauce was a great compliment. Next, I tried their Thai wings, which were coated in fried garlic, mint and cilantro and paired with a sweet chili dipping sauce. The chicken wings were huge, which was greatly appreciated. These flavors were unlike anything I have ever tasted before. The chicken had a savory, tangy and umami flavor that was nicely balanced by the sweetness of the dipping sauce. I really enjoyed these dishes and, to say the least, the plates were empty when we finished.
Entrees
After our delectable appetizers, we were confident that our entrees would be just as tasty. I tried a total of four dishes. The first one was the pad thai chicken. Pad thai is one of Thailand’s most popular and well-known dishes, so I wanted to see how well Tuk Tuk Thai was able to make it. The dish consisted of chicken, sauteed rice noodles, sweet tamarind, scallion, egg, bean sprout, bean curd, crushed peanut and lime juice. Although there were many elements to this dish, they all harmoniously came together to produce a fantastic flavor. The chicken was tender and the noodles were perfectly cooked. My favorite part was the crushed peanut that added a satisfying texture and nutty taste to this sweet and spicy meal. The only critique I have is to add more noodles because they were a bit too generous with the bean sprouts.
The next dish I tried was Thai fried rice. It had chicken stir fried with rice, egg, onion and broccoli. Although simple, it was quite flavorful. The third item was actually not included on the menu, but one that we found on their Instagram page. They allow you to order any non-menu item that is found there as well. It was the drunken noodles, made with flat rice noodles, spice, soy sauce, eggs and shrimp. This was my favorite noodle dish out of the two. The noodles had a bouncy texture and absorbed so much flavor. Although spicy, there were some sweet notes to the dish which came through in the sauce and the shrimp. Saving the best for last, the fourth dish that we tried was the massaman chicken curry. It was a rich and flavorful yellow curry with onion, cardamom, clove, peanut, potato and chicken. This curry was phenomenal. It had such a depth of flavor. I could taste the cardamom and the coconut milk that was used as a base for the curry. The chicken was tender and the peanuts were served whole, which is something that was unique to this dish.
Dessert
After such a hefty meal, I was stuffed. Still, we could not help but indulge in a couple sweets. The dessert menu did not disappoint. It contained a variety of traditional Thai desserts with ingredients that I was not totally familiar with, like pumpkin custard and lotus seed. We decided to try something new, so we got the lychee cheesecake and the Bangkok snow cone.
The lychee cheesecake was a classic cheesecake with lychee flavor served with fresh lychee fruit and a sweet fruit sauce. Decadent and not too sweet: It was to die for. The lychee was so fresh and added a light flavor to the dessert.
The Bangkok snow cone was something to see. It was a bowl of rose-colored shaved ice with a variety of toppings such as lychee, jackfruit, jelly, redbean, lotus seed, palm seed, rose syrup and condensed milk. This dessert was definitely interesting. I really enjoyed the fruit and the fun of eating shaved ice, but the combination of flavors was overwhelming for me.
Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft is a lovely weekend spot to enjoy a meal. As college students, it’s sometimes difficult to find nice places to eat that are also affordable, so this is definitely a perfect option. Get dressed, eat a delicious meal and don't forget to take pics!
