This Thai curry wows the taste buds in a Kansas City restaurant that calms the soul

Editor’s note: Welcome back to our series Let’s Dish, Kansas City, showcasing some of our favorite restaurant meals. Scroll down to let us know what you think of these stories.

No matter how crazy my day, entering Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop calms me.

Perhaps it’s the sawasdee, or welcoming women, statues near the door. Or the work of the tiny Thai spirit house above it. Or the extraordinary dining room staff whose genuine and casual kindness makes me feel as if I’m being hosted by friends.

Or maybe it’s that I know I’m about to enjoy my favorite Kansas City restaurant meal: the Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai (pronounced kang-cue-wan-kai). It’s green curry at its best, the perfect blend of bamboo shoots, peas, red peppers, Thai basil and whatever protein you choose in a sweet and spicy stew that hits the taste buds in a way you’ll never forget. ($15, plus $3-$4 for the protein.)

But I suspect the peace I find in this Crossroads space at 2030 Central St. is personal.

My youngest daughter is 21, finishing up her first year in nursing school and all the studying and clinical hours it requires.

During her first semester, she had early morning clinicals every other Saturday at North Kansas City Hospital. Her mom and sister were working, so we got in the habit of meeting downtown, grabbing a booth for lunch and ordering Lulu’s to share, one big bowl of the green curry and one of the massaman curry.

While the Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai, ordered mild, is our favorite, the massaman curry offers the perfect complement with its sweeter, peanutty base. The two in combination, with a side of crab rangoons, is our go-to.

But it’s not just the curry my daughter and I share on these Saturdays. It’s my time to forget my own stuff, to catch up and focus on her and only her, to hear about her achievements and her challenges, her passions and her aggravations.

It’s my time to fill my tank with this thoughtful and spirited young woman who has grown up way too fast and, on the brink of being a full adult, still jumps at the chance to spend a couple hours of her weekend hanging out with her dad.

I want to think it’s not just the free meal, but I don’t much care.

When I told Lulu’s founder and owner Malisa Monyakula this story on our most recent visit, a smile grew.

Family inspired Monyakula to create Lulu’s. The recipes come from her grandmother on her father’s side. She displays her dad’s pinto, his Thai lunch box, above the Lulu’s bar. She said it was her father who passed on his mother’s passion for Thai cooking.

And, wow, the cooking. Chef Max Chao walked us through the steps of making Lulu’s green curry. Suffice it to say, I will not be doing this at home.

Just a walk around the bustling kitchen and all the staff swirling about even outside the restaurant’s peak hours was enough for me to understand this should be left to professionals.

Lulu’s Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai starts with a kaffir lime leaf, flash heated with a dash of oil to release all the flavor. Then add some coconut milk, Lulu’s dry curry seasoning blend, a touch of pad Thai sauce, the vegetables and the precooked protein — chicken is my favorite.

Monyakula said the green curry is at its best ordered mild or medium, so the flavors can really shine. She said Lulu’s is the only place in the world where we can get this curry, because that seasoning mixture is 100% original to her restaurants. She wasn’t giving up the secret.

The finished dish is served with jasmine rice. When it arrives on the table, well, it’s a beautiful sight — and it’s time to toss the rice in the bowl and dig in.

“Fabulous!”

That was the immediate reaction of my Star colleagues who joined me and my daughter last week. I was irrationally excited to share this meal with them, because I’ve been talking about it for weeks and they are the brains and the energy behind our Let’s Dish series.

I’m certain this meal was truly fabulous in their eyes because these talented journalists — Alison Booth, Allison Dikanovic, Sharon Hoffmann, Nick Wagner, Mará Williams and Hannah Wise — were getting way too many compromising dad details from my daughter for any sense of needing to “please the boss” to sway their opinions.

Back to Monyakula. Her childhood nickname was Lulu, and she started her first restaurant by that name in Lawrence 26 years ago after several years running her first business, a Westport record shop called Groove Farm. She moved Lulu’s to Kansas City’s Southwest Boulevard in 2000, and to the current Crossroads location in 2009.

She wants Lulu’s — with a second location in Westwood, a third opening soon in downtown Overland Park and future locations under discussion for places like Lee’s Summit and southern Johnson County — to be a place where everyone is welcome.

“It’s about bringing people together,” she said.

And her customers notice. This one for sure. But others, too.

As I was waiting to pick up a carryout order at the bar a few months ago, I got to talking to another customer waiting for a table. She was noticing how easy it was to pick up, and she said she never carried food out from Lulu’s because she needed to soak in the ambience.

I told her I felt the same, that carryout was a last resort to get dinner home when everyone was busy.

Her reply: “Yeah, Lulu’s will make the busy go away.”

The future of ‘Let’s Dish’

We started “Let’s Dish, Kansas City” in January as an experiment, an opportunity to engage with you about something that makes Kansas City special and see how much you liked it.

Many of our staff members have now written, with more than 20 installments, and our readers’ input has been extraordinary. We’re so thankful that you joined us on this adventure.

Now we’re discussing where we go from here. And we want you to help guide that decision. We’ve set up a survey for you to share your opinions.

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