This 14-seat Thai restaurant is one of Pierce County’s best-kept secrets

The udon glistened, mingling with the caramelized edges of thinly sliced, scalloped carrots and crunchy Chinese broccoli. Off the top of the pile, I snuck a hunk of pork belly, seasoned simply with salt and vinegar, baked in the oven to crisp the skin and then fried to-order. Mama Blue recommends dashing the dish with Thai white pepper, and I would be reluctant to reject her advice.

The classic Thai pad see ew would not typically feature the Japanese udon, but Noppassorn “Blue” Numdee is no ordinary lady. The vivacious chef and mother of four leads a particular kind of kitchen, one where fresh is best and first-timers become family.

“I prefer thick, wide noodles,” said Numdee. “I’m picky — I like the ones only made today.”

Unable to find a reliable source for daily deliveries of fresh, not dried, noodles, she experimented with this pleasantly bouncy alternative. (It also reheats seamlessly, if you have leftovers, which you very well might!) At Bloom Thai Cuisine, opting for udon quickly became a signature move, the sign of a regular who trusts the chef, her passionate approach to her native cuisine, and her enviable ability to connect with all who walk through her door.

“Welcome back, guys! Are we doing curry today?” she asked two regulars as they entered a busy dining room during a recent Tuesday lunch rush, in which guests sipped from Bloom-emblazoned coconuts, waited for their takeout order and maybe left room for a cup of coconut ice cream with juicy jackfruit.

The menu is short and the space is small, outfitted with just six tables that usually seat 14 people, though around 20 could squeeze. In amenable weather, a few bistro tables on the sidewalk fill up, too. The service model strikes as fast-casual — you order at the pass-through window, where you can peek into the modest galley kitchen. But once you sit down, Numdee, her husband Suebphong “Boom” Suebsahagarn and daughter, Jasmine, serve you with the warm fervor of the party host who never rests.

Bloom opened this spring in an almost-hidden storefront off Custer Road in Lakewood, behind a Gravity Coffee near H&L Produce. Numdee and her family live in SeaTac, where she worked as a server and bartender at the airport before the pandemic slowed things down. She began sharing her home-cooked meals with fellow Thai expatriates she met through Facebook groups. That led to more formal pop-up events (under the name Jay Blue Thai) and a search for a brick-and-mortar, which carried her outside King County and into Pierce.

In January, I saw Bloom’s name pop up in license applications. I scanned her Instagram page and knew we were in for something special.

Numdee describes her style as a cross between “a home-cooked meal and a street vendor.” She does not partake in the spice-scale because, as she told me, “If you really go to Thailand, any restaurant you go to, they tell you, ‘This one is a little bit spicy.’” Importantly, it depends on the dish’s regional origin and the cook: “It’s special how it comes!” She was raised in Central Thailand, where spice tends to be milder than in the north, and flavors less pungent than in the south.

Find your heat preference at the table with four condiments, including dried chile, jalapenos in vinegar, garlicky sambal or her prik nam pla — fresh Thai chile with fish sauce.

HOME-COOKED MEALS AT BLOOM THAI

Numdee leans into her personal roots but also takes inspiration from her grandmother’s southern recipes, especially in the signature pad Thai. Oft-ordered but rarely special, Bloom’s stands apart from perhaps every version I’ve had stateside.

First, the chef prefers a specific brand of sen chan, a thin rice noodle from the Chathanburi province of southeastern Thailand that borders Cambodia, for its extra-bouncy texture. In the wok, she or her sole cooking assistant deftly toss these threads with a homemade sauce bursting with real tamarind and palm sugar. The result — served on a bamboo plate, peanuts in one corner and bean sprouts in another — is noticeably sweeter than most, but it’s also tangy, subtle, a bit mysterious. If the chef notices you’re about to leave with leftovers (I like to ask for foil to cover the disposable servingware), she will insist on giving you a to-go cup of the sauce. Otherwise, she tells you, it will stick together in your home skillet.

Many guests will start with the requisite fried spring rolls, which is all well and fine, but so long as you’re not allergic: The homemade coconut prawns, generously doused in sweet, shredded flakes and fried to deep-amber supremacy, are “famous” for good reason.

The Bangkok crispy garlic chicken, paired with rice and more fried basil than you’ll think you’ll want — until you create the perfect bite, blows other chicken nugs out the door. Also served with rice and your choice of chicken, tofu or shrimp, the red curry is appropriately spicy. Share the shrimp wontons, which Numdee lays in a bowl of rich tom yum — the quintessential Thai soup that’s simultaneously spicy, funky, earthy and fragrant.

New this month, the Mama pad kee mao takes the Thai cup’o’noodle to a new level. Numdee uses the cup as a serving vessel but creates a cleaner sauce, all tossed with shrimp, pork, tofu, mushrooms and carrots, finished with a fried egg. Like all of her pretty plates, it’s highly Instagrammable, but its taste exceeds the square.

On each of my visits to Bloom since its February debut, our small tabletop was consumed by bamboo plates and bottles of Singha.

Numdee said people told her she would “have zero customers here,” that she didn’t have a following in Tacoma or Lakewood. She recalled driving around the area and idling in the parking lot before signing the lease to gauge traffic, counting the number of cars. She assured herself that consistent food and great service would prove all those people wrong.

“Eventually the word will get out,” she said in August.

Bloom nurtures the hum of a neighborhood hangout, the familial embrace of your best friend’s house, and the food of a restaurant you’ll remember. I can’t even take credit for being the first to let this secret loose.

BLOOM THAI CUISINE

▪ 7402 Custer Road W, Lakewood, 206-741-8433, bloomthaicuisine.com

▪ Updated Hours: Monday 12-3 p.m., Tuesday-Wednesday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Thursday-Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 12-8 p.m.

▪ Details: petite Thai restaurant with short but satisfying menu and familial service (be patient for a table at peak times); order takeout in-person, by phone or online

▪ Recommended: udon pad see ew, pad Thai with pork belly, Bangkok chicken, coconut shrimp, red curry, tom yum shrimp wontons, mango sticky rice — most dishes $15.99-$19.99

Reporter’s Note, 8/26/2024: Please note updated hours — lunch only Monday-Wednesday, lunch and dinner Thursday-Sunday.

This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 1:20 PM.