This is Warunee’s Thai Restaurant. Did you know Warunee’s Thai Restaurant is closing soon? I think the signage stated the closing will be at the end of December 2012.
This Thai restaurant has been a fixture on 400 block of Tranquille Road for decades and from evidence of the photo collages on the wall, Warunee’s has a loyal following.

*Details will be brief. (See reason below.)

Coconut Juice ($3.95)

Gaeng Massaman ($13.95)

I normally love the tanginess and fishy sweet of thai curries but this one is heavy on the tang without much else to balance out the rest of the flavours in the dish. Oh, and I found a walnut-sized hunk of unincorporated curry paste swimming about in here.

Pad Thai with Prawn ($16.95)

The garnish on both dishes are wilted far beyond their prime and the rind on the wedge of lime is shriveled and dried out, as if it had been cut days ago and left to dehydrate in the fridge. The noodles are very soft almost to the point of soggy. The flavours are okay, but heavy handed with the fish sauce so the balance is a little off.

Rice

Our server and cook is Warunee and she is lovely. LOVELY.
Unfortunately her food tonight is not.

I think at one time there was a golden era of Warunee’s Thai Restaurant. Looking at all the happy faces in the photos that line the dining room, this gallery tells me that at some point Warunee’s was full of awesomeness. The pictures depict many customers celebrating and enjoying seemingly delicious foods. This Era-of-Awesome did not come out to greet us in the above dishes tonight. The food presents like the chef has already given up; with only a few more days of business to go.

Sad really. It’s never a good thing when a family owned, mom n’ pop place closes its doors. Warunee shares that the reason for the closure is that she is at the end of a lease agreement, and it’s a perfect time to take a break from the biz. If what I ate tonight is what Warunee’s Thai Restaurant has become in 2012, then she’s right. It’s time for a break. Lease agreement or not.

*I wasn’t sure if I would bother publishing this blog post. I know this restaurant is in its final days, and unfortunately my experience here is not a positive one. Seldom do I leave most of my meal unfinished on the table, and go to another diner afterwards to satisfy hunger pangs. This is the case tonight.

As you may know, I have no qualms about sharing my opinions and experiences about any business. But in this case, all my observations and details aren't necessary as this DDE's days are already numbered. I didn’t want to kick a lame horse while it’s down, when it really just needs a quiet bullet to the head. Y’know what I mean?

I just wanted to publish this blog post to inform y'all that Warunee's is closing. I know there must be a lot of long time customers of Warunee’s Thai Restaurant. You can't stay in business for that long without loyal guests. These same customers may want a chance to go back for one last hurrah, and to say farewell to a restaurant that may hold many memories for them. Who cares what some yahoo with a food blog has to say about the restaurant that created every birthday and anniversary memory you’ve cherished for the past decade or two. Right?

If you are one of these faithful customers, with vivid memories of Warunee’s, go now and kick it Gaeng-Style before it's too late.

Warunee’s Thai Restaurant Website click here

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