My family was provided with a complimentary dining experience at FarmSook Happiness Thai Kitchen in exchange for my honest review of the restaurant.
FarmSook Happiness Thai Kitchen opened in September of 2019 after new owners acquired the Thai Farm restaurant that had long been operating in the same King Farm location.
The restaurant was given a design refresh, with sleek lighting and seating, while maintaining a beautiful large mural depicting Thai rice fields from the original restaurant. While much of the menu remained in place, some recipes were updated and other new dishes were introduced. FarmSook is like the perfect little black dress - you can dress it up (for date night, or family or work functions) or dress it down down, for a meal out with the family. The restaurant is stylish and classy in its appearance, perfect for a work function, date night, girls' night out or really any occasion. Yet we had a great experience there with our small children for lunch, too, and were made to feel at ease and welcomed - it was so nice to be able to eat upscale beautiful food, in a beautiful setting, even though we were with the kids! I"m always looking for restaurants like this, and FarmSook will definitely be added to our family's list of "go-to" restaurants.
I am grateful that my kids are good and adventurous eaters - FarmSook does not offer a kids menu but they have several noodle dishes, dumplings, and other dishes suitable for young palates. Anchara Packett, the manager at FarmSook, suggested a number of dishes on the menu to try, and all of them were great.
We started with coconut shrimp and duck eggrolls. The coconut shrimp were golden crisp and delicious - not too sweet and make with nice large shrimp. The eggrolls were really unique. They reminded me of peking duck wraps that we would frequently enjoy when we lived in Falls Church at Peking Gourmet Inn and Mark's Duck House. My son Henry loves dumplings and potstickers. He ordered the steamed dumplings and ate them all up - Kid approved, for sure!
It was cold when we went to FarmSook, and so I also tried a cup of tofu soup. It was simple yet tasty clear broth with bean curd and vegetables. My 3 year old daughter Vivian and I shared it and enjoyed it very much. For main entrees we tried the Pad See Ew, a noodle dish my family considers a standard when dining at a Thai restaurant. It was delicious, albeit a bit sweeter than I am used to. We ordered our dishes mild, as neither my husband nor my children tolerate spicy foods. To me, its nice to know that when you ask for a dish to be mild, it actually can be delivered mild, especially for the kids. FarmSook did offer us a caddy of array of spices and hot sauces for the table, which is great for allowing diners to develop their own personal spice/heat profile on their plates.
We also got the Shrimp FarmSook, which Anchara recommended as a particularly kid-friendly fried shrimp dish. Both of my kids and my husband Mike crowned the Shrimp FarmSook their favorite entree! I, on the other hand, voted for the Siamese Beef as my favorite dish - the meat was so tender and the ginger notes so fresh, it was both unique and really tasty.
The portions were large, and the presentation was vibrant and lovely. The kids loved the steamed broccoli that came with the dishes, too. The service was friendly and kind and interactive towards my children, rather than merely tolerant of them.
We finished our meal and had already begun negotiating who would get to eat the leftovers when Anchara brought out a dish of fried banana with coconut ice cream. OMG. The fried banana eggroll was awesome in and of itself - crispy shell with soft caramelized banana flavor within, reminiscent of bananas foster. But the star was absolutely that ice cream - delicious coconut ice cream with the most delicate of chocolate shavings running through it. There was no leftover ice cream when we were done, in spite of how full and happy we already had been after our entrees.
FarmSook also has a vibrant bar area, and lively Happy Hour menu with drink and appetizer specials. An active member of the King Farm community, FarmSook is running a drink special throughout the month of January - the Matties Mojito, to raise awareness for the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation. Mattie’s Foundation was created to continue the work and mission of Mattie J.T. Stepanek, the late teen poet and peace activist. During Mattie’s almost 14 years of life, he was passionate about sharing a message of hope and peace through poetry, essays, speeches, service activities, and media opportunities. Mattie inspired people around the world with his words, and believed that every person had the ability to choose to take specific actions and make choices that could further personal and world peace. You can read more about Mattie's Foundation HERE.
FarmSook Happiness Thai Kitchen
800 King Farm Blvd, Suite 125 Rockville MD 20850
Tel: 301-258-8829 Fax:240-428-114
OPEN 7 DAYS WEEK!
Monday - Sunday
11am - 9:30 pm
