Ubon Thai Cuisine - Late Mother's Day Celebration

View from the patio seating at Ubon

Tuesday night my brother and I took my mother for dinner at Ubon Jeenwong's Thai Cuisine for a late Mother's Day dinner (both my mom and brother were working Mother's Day).  I really didn't know what to expect.  I hadn't heard much about Ubon.  We were just looking to try some place new.  Turns out Ubon was an excellent choice.  It's located right on the Wilmington Riverfront in the Shipyard Shops.  They have outdoor seating which looks right out onto the river.  We chose to sit outside and it was a great evening for it.  I let the waiter know about my allergies and that I was vegan right away.  He was really helpful.  In all honesty there really weren't too many options on the menu for me.  I could only have the curry options but they did offer 4 different kinds of curry so at least I had a few choices to work with.  I chose Kaeng Khiao Wan which is a green curry.  They have a heat scale of 1 to 5.  1 being mild and 5 using ghost peppers which from what I understand are insanely hot.  I went with a heat level of 3.  I also asked for extra vegetables since Tofu isn't an option for me.  My brother went with the curry dish, Massaman, which is a curry with peanuts and lemongrass at a heat level of 3.  My mom decided on a noodle dish, Kwitel Pad Khi Mao.  It served with wide rice noodles with basil, thai herbs and seasonings.  I thought this dish sounded delicious and would have been my first pick but it turns out that their base sauce contains soy.  My mom is a little bit of a lightweight when it comes to heat but still braved a level 2.  I can say that all of us enjoyed are meals.  The heat level was just right, the spices completed it well.  The portions were a good size.  I managed to eat most of my dish.  The server took the time to make sure we were all doing okay and when my mom informed him she was struggling a bit with the heat, he suggested some raspberry tea to help soothe the heat.  She took the offer and it really helped.  I have to say this is one the best experiences I've had since I've found out about my allergies and made the switch to being vegan.  They really tried to accommodate me as much as they could.  They even made sure to prepare my food on different surface then everyone else's meal so there was no cross-contamination.  I have never had any restaurant even offer to do this before.  So with that said, I will definitely be going back there for the excellent service and really tasty meal.

This is what a vegan with allergies eats at a Thai restaurant. Yummy!