Thai no-menu cuisine in a private Tainan home – featuring authentic sour and spicy soup!

Text and photos byOld K

A friend of mine in Tainan, Huā'ér, had invited Méijī to try Thai food a long time ago, but back then Méijī wasn’t feeling well in the stomach, so she didn’t dare to eat such sour and spicy Thai dishes. This restaurant had been on Huā'ér’s hidden list ever since — from when her child was still in her belly until the baby turned three months old. Finally, they got to dine at Shālǐ Family Restaurant. However, Saturday night reservations were all booked, but luckily there was still space on Sunday night. That said, because of this, Méijī’s parents from Shàoxīng couldn’t join this time. Then, as luck would have it, a good Thai friend who is studying in Tainan joined them to see how authentic the Thai food really is.

Shālǐ Family Restaurant is located in a small alley community not far from the Rén dé Interchange. The streets nearby are narrow and not very convenient for parking. It’s recommended to park along Wénhuá Road Section 3 and walk in. Walk along Lane 189, and after seeing the address 90, make a right turn. You’ll then see the sign for Lane 92, Lane 189. The restaurant is at the end of the alley in the photo below. It’s not super hard to find, but also not extremely straightforward.

If you’re coming by scooter, you should be able to park in the restaurant’s courtyard.

By the time Méijī arrived, it was already past seven, and the restaurant was fully seated.

As we walked in, the owner, Sam, had already started giving an introduction. There are four four-person tables in the living room. Méijī and friends — a total of five adults and one child — sat at the six-person table. Next to our table was another two-person table. There were about 15 adults dining with Méijī that evening, giving off the vibe of having a meal at Sam and Sally’s home.

The day’s menu is written on the pillar in front of the kitchen.

On the living room walls, there’s some information about the restaurant and dishes, such as the Wi-Fi password, the restaurant’s LINE ID, drinks, desserts (mango sticky rice), and ingredients you can buy to take home.

When Méijī sat down, she noticed a small bamboo basket on the table.

It turned out to contain Thai sticky rice. The owner mentioned that in Thailand, the authentic way to eat sticky rice is by hand. Since they had brought along their Thai friend to eat Thai food, they naturally wanted to do it the proper way. So Méijī quickly went to wash her hands in the restroom, pinched the rice into little balls, and ate it plain without any sauce. It tasted sweet, almost like a sweet dessert made of sticky rice.

The first dish to arrive was a single grilled shrimp per person, placed directly on your plate. The freshly grilled shrimp was super hot. At the same time, they served a handmade seafood dip — the sauce was sour, spicy, and absolutely delicious, making your appetite soar!

Next came the “Unusual Sausage.” Owner Sam explained each dish, but since Méijī was sitting a bit farther away, she only caught bits and pieces. She gathered that this sausage is made using a method from northern Thailand, Chiang Mai, and it had a strong lemongrass flavor.

Then came the papaya salad. What made it different was that it included salted egg, making the overall taste of the green papaya salad relatively mild.

The Thai friend said that they usually use the sticky rice to dip into the juice of the papaya salad, and eat it together with the shredded papaya, dried shrimp, peanuts, and salted egg.

While Méijī was eating the sticky rice, the owner brought over a big bowl of jasmine rice — you can ask for more if you run out.

Right after that came a very saucy grilled meat dish served with fresh lettuce.

The Thai friend said this dish leans more toward southern Thai style. They suggested we try the meat first on its own, then with the lettuce. The grilled pork had a stronger flavor and spice blend, making it very flavorful with rice. One of the friends loved this dish so much, he ended up eating nearly half of it.

Then the drinks arrived. These were ordered separately. Both Méijī and the Thai friend ordered Thai milk tea, but the two cups looked slightly different in color and taste. Earlier that afternoon, Méijī had a black tea milk tea from Dōngzhōu and preferred that flavor. The Thai friend insisted her version of Thai milk tea was better.

The other three people ordered tamarind juice, which was sweet. Everyone thought the taste was somewhat familiar, but no one could quite place it.

The Thai-Chaozhou braised pork didn’t differ too much from the Taiwanese version. The highlight was the Thai spicy sauce on the side — adding it turned it into a richly flavored dish. The Thai-style braised pork was pretty tasty, though the owner said he personally prefers it with the handmade seafood dip. Méijī agreed — she loved that dip and felt it went well with anything.

Usually, people stir-fry cabbage with shrimp paste, so the owner wanted to try something different here. They used Thai salted fish to stir-fry the cabbage. Both the shrimp paste and salted fish versions turned out equally delicious.

When eating Thai food, you’d usually get a bowl of sour and spicy soup. Before serving the soup, the owner gave a little explanation. Many of the spices were brought over directly from Thailand. Also, what they serve is a more traditional, early-style Thai sour and spicy soup made with chicken broth, not the usual bright red Thai seafood sour and spicy soup. Indeed, when it arrived, it didn’t look like the typical version — the broth was very clear, filled with lots of fresh herbs. The green in the middle was chili. The owner said if you like it spicier, just break the chilies.

There was also quite a bit of chicken in the soup. One of the Thai diners took a sip and immediately asked the owner’s wife in Thai if there was any lemon. The owner’s wife brought over a plate of lemon juice and said that if you add lemon, you must also add chili. Then she gave us a plate of Thai chili powder. She said only Thai chili powder should be used — the other kind only burns your mouth, while the Thai version adds the right kick without hurting your throat. With the Thai chili powder and lemon juice added by our Thai friend, our chicken soup turned into an authentic Thai sour and spicy soup. By then, the broth had taken on a slight reddish hue.

This is the a la carte dessert: mango sticky rice. We originally only wanted one portion, but the owner brought three. Each portion is not very big. Because it’s served with coconut milk, Méijī didn’t dare to eat too much. The mango used was Jinhuáng variety.

The dessert was Thai palm sugar mung bean soup, which actually tasted quite similar to Héngchūn’s mung bean soup.

Because it’s Shālǐ Family Restaurant, dining here — whether it’s the food or the atmosphere — really gives you the feeling of being a guest at Sally’s home. Even though it’s Thai food, the cooking methods are healthy, the flavors are refreshing, and it’s not very spicy. Perhaps because there are families with kids dining here, even though it’s Thai cuisine, the dishes aren’t spicy themselves. Instead, they offer spicy dips so adults can enjoy a different flavor from the kids. Méijī thinks Shālǐ Family Restaurant is quite suitable for family gatherings.

Tuesdays to Fridays, starting budget of 800 NTD per person.
Every Saturday to Sunday, with a minimum budget of 500 NTD per person.
The menu is designed for you by Shali Family Restaurant !

Shali Family Restaurant
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Address: No. 75, Lane 92, Section 3, Wenhua Road, Rende District, Tainan City
Phone: 06-270-5461
Business Hours: 11:30–15:00, 17:30–22:30 (Closed every Monday)

Lao K
Keep the relay going, Lao K !
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