SALWEEN THAI
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★⭑
District: Aksarben; Northwest Omaha; Dundee
Thai Cuisine
Perfect For: Casual Dining; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Drunken Noodles; Fried Dumplings; Pad Thai
When a restaurant opens a second location, that’s generally a pretty good sign that it’s been successful and things are going well.
When it opens a third, it proves the cuisine is not only delicious, but the restaurant has the ability to scale and offer the same quality through multiple buildings.
When it opens a fourth… well, that means someone is really doing something right.
Salween Thai may have started as a humble little joint off of Radial Highway, but word has gotten out that it’s serving up legit Thai cuisine. It’s now up to four locations, the newest of which is just off 144th and Maple. The owners’ mission is to deliver authentic Thai cuisine, not the watered down, Americanized version you find at most “Thai” restaurants.
The menu is filled with curries, soups, salads, and noodle and rice dishes, the latter of which can all be ordered with beef, chicken, pork, tofu, or shrimp (or all of the above). All dishes are ordered on a spice scale of 1-10. The restaurant recommends a 3-4 level for most diners.
Pad Thai is a dish that has been greatly changed in American restaurants, but Salween brings it back to its roots. The rice noodles are perfectly tender and stringy, and they soak up the tangy, sweet fish sauce to create a meal that would be great even without any meat. But the large chunks of chicken, beef, and pork give the dish that protein punch to elevate it. This is a home run meal.
I’m admittedly obsessed with heat, so take this assessment with a grain of salt, but I consistently order a heat level of 10 and am perfectly content. It’s not so crazy spicy to overwhelm the flavor, but it provides that nice tingly sensation that heat freaks like me appreciate.
For a more level-headed reference, my wife always tries my meals, and she admits she probably couldn’t eat the whole dish at that heat level.
The Drunken Noodles (featured in the header photo) are another great option. The wide rice noodles are a bit cumbersome, but they have a nice texture and meld with the salty, sweet combination of soy, oyster, and fish sauces. The vegetables (carrots, broccoli, and peppers) provide a nice freshness to contrast the starch and protein of the meat.
All the entrees are enormous, as they engulf the entire plate. But I highly recommend starting with at least one of Salween’s 14 authentic appetizers, or simply ordering the sampler platter.
If you’re sticking with just one, make it the Fried Dumplings. The deep fry provides a nice crunch without causing the dumpling to dissolve into a soggy mess, and the oil doesn’t penetrate the dough. The pork filling is tasty, and dipping these in the sweet soy sauce makes them divine.
Salween is, in my opinion, one of the most fairly-priced restaurants in Omaha. Most entrees are around $10 or less, and you get a massive portion of quality food. That’s a true rarity these days, and something that deserves our appreciation.
It’s really not hard to see why Salween Thai has expanded so many times, and I’m really glad it’s happened. More and more Omahans are being exposed to traditional Thai cuisine, and that’s a win for everyone involved.