Sandwiches and Baked Chicken

John and I decided to take a week off for a low key vacation to include a trip to St. Simons Island, Georgia, to visit my family, followed by a few days on the boat. This adventure meant a drive down I-95 and back, which I’ve historically found to be a rather monotonous journey with few roadside attractions to break up a long trip, other than the infamous Pedro’s South of the Border of course.

A few days before the trip, I decided to google “best restaurants on I-95 in South Carolina” just to see what popped up. I noted a few BBQ restaurants that looked interesting, but knew we had Southern Soul BBQ waiting for us on the island. On a complete lark, I decided to google “Asian restaurants on I-95 in South Carolina”. I wasn’t holding out much hope, but stumbled on reviews for Thai House II in Santee, SC.

On our Friday night trip south, we decided Thai House II would be the dinner stop. We took the Santee exit and followed google maps to the location. There was no sign out front. In fact, the place looked like it may have been closed . . .for a good, long while. There were chairs stacked on an unused deck at the front of the building and a parking lot that I can’t actually describe as being paved. But the Thai House II sign was right by the side door, and, as soon as we parked, a couple popped out of the door, welcoming us with the biggest smiles. (I think they were actually looking at our car . . . They seem to have a thing for Subarus, but we took it as a welcome.)

After a joyous discussion about the popularity of the Subaru, we were shown to our table and handed a menu. The chef suggested a nice pot of ginger tea as we made dinner decisions.

We settled on:

Tom Kha Gai Soup
Fresh Rolls
Chicken Larb
Ba Mee Moo Dang (pork noodle dish)

While dining, I posted this pic of John with the quote of the night . . .

I might climb in this bowl.

The dinner was by far the best Thai food we have had . . .probably ever . . . .including when we were in Bangkok. Our only regret was hedging our bets with a spice level of 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. We could have stood more heat. Bellies full and happy, we were wished safe travels and continued south on I-95 already planning our return stop on the way back from the beach.

Our original plan was to head back north on Monday, but the weather wasn’t looking to be conducive for sailing on Tuesday, and we learned Thai House II was CLOSED on Monday. Rainy weather aside, John was not going to miss an opportunity to eat at our new favorite roadside stop.

We timed our return trip so we would arrive at Thai House II just after they opened Tuesday afternoon. We were again greeted at the door with cheers for the Subaru and shown to “our” table”. We repeated the Tom Kha soup, which is not to be missed, and the chicken larb, but opted this time for the shrimp and scallop yellow curry on special and an order of dumplings.

The restaurant wasn’t super busy at 5:00 on Tuesday so we had more time to talk with the sweet couple that owns the restaurant. The wife told us how the seafood curry was a recipe of her family’s who lived in northern Thailand and was traditionally prepared with crab. The dish hit every flavor …sweet, sour, and, with a heat level of 8 this time, a little spice.

As we ate, we talked with the owners about their restaurant in Santee. They had vacationed near Santee and decided to move to Santee in order to raise a family in a small town. The father beamed when talking about his son, the professional chef having graduated from the prestigious Johnson and Wales.

The couple originally settled in Los Angeles when moving to the U.S., a far cry from Santee. When first arriving in the U.S., they were a bit perplexed about the typical American cuisine, and the owner asked their neighbor “what do Americans eat other than sandwiches?”

And do you know what my neighbor said ‘baked chicken’. Sandwiches and baked chicken.

And he let out a big belly laugh.

Thank you Thai House II for bringing us the flavors of Thailand and saving us from a road trip full of sandwiches and baked chicken. We can’t wait to see you along our highway adventures again soon!