Have a Good Day Thai has been open for a several months, providing authentic Thai food to Spring Hill and even travelers commuting to and from Tampa.
In hiring a chef, Mr. and Mrs. Nontavatit, owners of the fast casual restaurant felt that they needed to bring in a chef directly from Thailand, to prepare truly authentic Thai cuisine.
The process to get Chef Patinya Areerom to the U.S. was lengthy, but Mr. Areerom brings with him a solid background in Thai culinary arts.
While in Thailand, he worked for the Centara Hotel Group, the Swiss hotel Le Concord Bangkok and Jim Thompson restaurant. He also participated in culinary exhibitions. The Nontavatits found Chef Areerom through the Thai Chef Society.
Their goal is to both maintain authentic Thai cuisine and listen to what their customers desire. Chef Areerom can prepare your food “Thai hot,” mild or anything in between.
All food is made to order and is the same price all day. All of their sauces are made in Thailand. If a particular vegetable or ingredient is not available, they substitute it with the closest thing possible.
“You pay for Thai food, you should have Thai food,” explained Mrs. Nontavatit.
Mr. Nontavatit explained that a fast casual restaurant maintains the food quality of a traditional sit down restaurant, but prepares the food quicker and does not provide formal seating. It makes quality dining efficient in cost and time.
He also said that fast casual does not mean they are a “fast food” restaurant, where the quality of food is lacking and is not prepared fresh.
Fast casual restaurants are popular in bigger cities where patrons demand high quality food prepared quickly in a no frills setting.
Chef Areerom prepared a delicious dish called Pad See Ew or stir-fried soy sauce noodles which is a mix of chicken, egg, rice noodle, Chinese broccoli and carrot flavored with sweet soy sauce. It was accompanied by a crisp fried wanton sheet, “infused” with a bite size piece of chicken.
I also had the Tom Yam Goong, a hot and sour soup with shrimp and mushroom, which I very much enjoyed.
The soup derives its unique flavoring from lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk. Galangal is the southeast Asian cousin of ginger root.
For special occasions or small group meetings, the Nontavatits will allow you to reserve the entire restaurant.
If you are looking for an excellent restaurant in the area, Have a Good Day Thai is sure to please.
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IF YOU GO
Have a Good Day Thai is located at 12918 Cortez Blvd. Brooksville, FL 34613
www.haveagooddaythaicuisine.com
MON-SAT
11:30AM – 3PM,
5PM-8PM
(352) 515-1478