Thai Time serves generous portions to South Knoxville diners | Grub Scout
I know for a fact that Thai Time, which opened this past fall, made a lot of Thai-cuisine fans happy in the South Knoxville area. As a matter of fact, as The Grub Spouse and I entered the Chapman Highway eatery last week, I ran into a friend who said he was pleased the owners of Jai Dee Thai Kitchen (in the University of Tennessee neighborhood) were the team behind Thai Time. I had also noticed generally favorable online reviews of this latest venture.
Thai Time is pretty easy to spot from the road. It’s in the former Kay’s Ice Cream building on Chapman Highway; that former chain’s distinctive red exterior trim and distinctive ice cream cone sculpture/sign still exist as carryovers from the building’s days as a treatery.
Inside, one of the proprietors invited us to sit at any of the available tables, so we slid into a small booth for two near the front windows. She gave us the option of ordering at the counter or scanning a QR code on the tri-fold menu to order online. Given the queue of customers lined up to place orders, we opted for the latter method. The online menu is not only intuitive and easy to manage, I discovered that it lists several more food options than the analog menus that adorn the tabletops.
Starters include spring rolls, two varieties of sticky rice, edamame and fried tofu. We ordered the gyoza (an order of six pot-sticker dumplings) for $6. Those looking to ease their way into a larger meal might also start with several different soups, including wonton, thom yum, thom kha and Thai noodle.
The rest of the fare is primarily divided into the All Day Menu section of the menu and the Featured Entrees. I covered the former, going with the Pad Thai ($15) — rice noodles and egg stir-fried and garnished with bean sprouts, lime and crushed peanuts. I went all in with the highest level of spiciness and added beef as a protein for $2 more. (One may also add chicken, tofu or shrimp.) Pad Kee Mao, yellow curry and teriyaki are among the All Day dishes I passed on.
The Spouse looked over entrée choices such as the Khao Soi (egg noodles in coconut curry), roast duck and Pad Gra Pao (wok-fried vegetables in basil sauce) before going with the Khao Man Gai ($16) — steamed or fried chicken served atop garlic rice and accompanied by KMG soup. The Spouse opted for steamed chicken, not spicy, in the main dish.
(While we waited, I decided to make a pit stop in the restrooms. Finding the door locked, I waited in a nearby booth, assuming a customer would soon emerge. The proprietor graciously noticed me and handed me the key to get in. Turns out no one was inside; one just has to know to ask for the key.)
The pot stickers came out first. They were pretty much like most gyoza orders I’ve had in the past, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t tasty. The dumplings were hot from the fryer and quite flavorful in the middle. They were delish with and without the accompanying soy sauce. The Spouse’s KMG soup also arrived early. It was pungently pleasant, but I must also admit that the ginger notes in the soup turned me off. That’s nothing against the soup itself; I’m just not a ginger fan.
The entrees came out a little later. On the plus side, the portions were generous; both The Spouse and I took half our orders home in to-go boxes. And I really had no complaints about either dish. My Pad Thai had plenty of kick, although it wasn’t quite as powerful as I had expected, considering that this was supposedly their highest level of spiciness. Similarly, there were no major issues with the Khao Man Gai (I kept humorously visualizing a “cow-man guy” in my head). The combo of steamed chicken and garlic rice was just fine. But in all honesty, I didn’t think either dish merited the level of praise I’d been exposed to prior to our visit.
For the record, Thai Time serves offers a number of dessert options, including native dishes like mango and sweet sticky rice as well as more traditional fare like cheesecake and some 15 flavors of ice cream.
Perhaps a different selection of menu items might have swayed my opinion in a more positive direction. But if you So-Kno folk are happy that Thai Time is in the neighborhood, I can at least be happy for you.
Thai Time
Food: 3.75
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3.5
Overall: 3.75
Address: 6200 Chapman Highway
Phone: 865-253-7185
No alcohol service
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays
This South Knoxville Thai eatery offers a representative selection of Southeast Asian dishes and even something for the sweet tooth at meal’s end.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville restaurant review: Thai Time serves generous portions
