New Thai Restaurant Spices Up Downtown Renton

Thai Gold Triangle restaurant opened in early February at 916 South 2nd Street and brings a new twist on Thai food to downtown Renton.

Mother and daughter Lai and Linda Saelee realized a longtime dream by opening the restaurant, which serves a variety of traditional dishes from Thailand, as well as the family’s special Mien recipes.

Lai and Linda are Mien, a tribe of the Yao people of China who settled in northern Thailand. Linda says her mom speak several languages from the region.

“She’s always wanted to open a restaurant,” says Linda. “I’m a people person, and we want to welcome new people here. So far we’ve got a lot of returning customers, which makes me feel good. But it’s a struggle.”

The Gold Triangle’s dishes are also cooked with fresh ingredients and are reasonably priced, with most entrees less than $8.

“I like Kee Mao noodles, it’s a dish with wide rice noodles stir-fried with your choice of meat -- it’s actually called Pud Kee Mao,” says Linda. “We have curry, red, green and regular and of course Pad Thai. The cashew nut (chicken, pork, shrimp, beef or tofu) is one of our biggest dishes so far.”

The menu includes such items as Tom Yum soup, Thai Fried Rice, Seared Salmon, See Ew and Thai Iced Tea.

And The Gold Triangle delivers! Call 425-271-0380 or see www.thaigoldtriangle.com. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays.

Other new Renton businesses:

• Kung Pao Cafe (425-291-7406) opened late last year at 4004 NE 45th St. #102, and offers traditional Chinese and spicy Szechuan dishes. It’s earning solid reviews on Websites such as Yelp, with good food and portions, reasonable prices and friendly service. It is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m to 8 p.m.

• Dollhouse Miniatures & Collectibles (252-737-0781) has opened downtown at 309 Wells Avenue South, and is a combination locksmith and shop offering 1-inch dollhouse scale collectibles. It is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m to 6 p.m.