Don't waste your time or money
My wife and I love Thai food and try to find great places in each bay area city. We went to Bow Thai Cafe for lunch because we had a coupon and haven't yet found a good place in downtown San Mateo. Big mistake; it was a scene right out of a Seinfeld episode.

The staff, two aloof, older ladies acted as if our presence was an interruption. We ordered angel wings, basil chicken and prawns pad thai (an $8 dish, even for lunch). The angel wings were OK and the basil chicken was good, but the pad thai was a joke. After the prawns pad thai arrived, I saw 2 (yup TWO) LITTLE prawns hiding under a huge mound of noodles. I dug around, poked and searched, but nope; only two little prawns in the whole dish. I called the lady over and politely pointed out the lack of prawns in our $8 prawns pad thai dish and she grunted and walked away. We then overheard a heated discussion from the kitchen, in a language we couldn't understand. A few moments later, the other lady came out of the kitchen with a small bowl and headed our way. I was thinking...here comes our prawns! She arrived and placed the bowl on the table. I kid you not, it had ONE single freaking little prawn in it. ONE! I wanted to go ballistic, but my wife was laughing so I hard that I started laughing and gave it up.

Don't go to Bow Thai Cafe, even if you have a coupon.    [25 Sep 2003 19:41:19]

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Recommended Dishes: A beer, on the way to kingfish (1 block down)

     ­Anonymous   

A San Mateo staple for me
I've been ordering out from and eating it at Bow Thai since 1997. I have to say it's one of my favorite Thai restaurants. Any of the curry chicken dishes are worth a trip by themselves. Their "honey spicy pork" (aka sweet sour pork) is also a regular dish for me. For vegetarians, try the pad spinach... nice flavor. I've gotten familiar with the women here, and always have a good time. A bud and I have a "Thai Thursdays" tradition and we often go to Bow Thai.    [09 Apr 2004 03:34:38]

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     ­Sam   SamHahn at StoneSpring dot org