"FINALLY a proper THAI restaurant, staffed with THAI people who understand the food. My wife and I live in Thailand, but we've been staying in the St Louis Fairview Heights area for about two months. We have tried LOTS of local Thai restaurants, only to be disappointed over and over again. But Tong Phoon is serving real Thai food. First of all, they have the most important ingredient, which is the famous Thai (Jinda)Chili. Other restaurants in the area say they don't have any. How can you make Thai food without Thai chilies? I would say that you can't. Second, the owner here said they can customize food, like making it taste authentic rather than Americanized. Other restaurants told us that they cannot customize anything because they pre-make all the sauces in advance. The main problem with Americanized Thai food is the loads of sugar they add. I guess they want to make it taste like American-Chinese food, since this genre is more widely known. But the beauty of Thai cuisine is the balance of its impactful flavors spicy, sour, and sweet. In any case, from now on, whenever we are in town, Tong Phoon shall be our new go-to."
