The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 136
Thai Comfort
Happy decor, and
traditional, fresh-cooked
recipes make Red
Jasmine a warm dining
experience.
104 | JULY/AUGUST 2017
But the threesome didn't give up. They kept scouring real estate across the country and happened upon
an ad for a restaurant for sale in Roanoke. Lenoel's
siblings flew to Roanoke with only one requirement
from Lenoel.
"Does it have a dishwasher?" she asked her brotherin-law. "If it does, I will take it."
Besides the dishwasher, Lenoel found the restaurant
charming with its long, curving brick bar and sodashop stools. But the building seemed cursed. It had a
string of owners-none lasting more than a year. She
puts her head in her hands and laughs. "It made me
nervous to think what might be wrong with this place!"
Opening Red Jasmine became a family affair.
Lenoel's mother came for six months, sitting in the corner, waving happily to customers when they'd walk in.
Her sister and brother-in-law stayed eight years. Lenoel
says she relied heavily on their decades of restaurant
experience, especially when it came to the menu and
ingredient sources. For cooking style, Lenoel hearkened
back to the influences of her Chinese father and traditional Thai cooking.
"I grew up with good food. My father was very particular about eating good food-fresh food," Lenoel
says when describing her philosophy on using the best
ingredients and fresh cooking for her restaurant.
Besides her ingredients and particular cooking style,
Lenoel believes it is her secret sauces (especially her pad
thai sauce) that sets her restaurant apart from other
local Asian restaurants.
"Thai cooking is very complicated," explains Lenoel.
"Especially curry. There are different kinds of curry; each
type takes different spices in different amounts to make
it taste right." Again, Lenoel attributes her traditional
Thai upbringing for helping her understand the nuanced
flavors of Thai curry.
But let's face it. For most Americans, it's all about the
pad thai. "If you want to know how good a [Thai] restaurant is, first try their pad thai," says Lenoel, describing the difficult process of creating yummy pad thai.
"The sauce is delicate. It needs to be a little bit sweet, a
little bit sour, a little bit salty, to come out just right."
The time frame for cooking pad thai is also critical, says
Lenoel, fractions of a minute can ruin its flavor.
THEROANOKER.COM
http://www.THEROANOKER.COM
The Roanoker - July/August 2017
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - July/August 2017
The Roanoker July/August 2017 Table of Contents
Worth a Click
From the Editor
Lunch With . . .
Streets of Roanoke
The Gist
Events
Top Doctors 2017
Profiles in Medical Excellence (special section)
The Changing Face of Roanoke Dentistry
Amy Trail: A Journey of Education
Roanoke Valley Education: A March Forward
The Two-Wheeled Shepherd
Vinton: Great Little Town (special section)
The Stunning Mangus Home
The Strange Lure of Softball
Dining: Red Jasmine and Fork in the Alley
The Dish
NEW! Then & Now
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Intro
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Cover1
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Cover2
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 3
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - The Roanoker July/August 2017 Table of Contents
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 5
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 6
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 7
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Worth a Click
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 9
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - From the Editor
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Lunch With . . .
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Streets of Roanoke
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 13
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - The Gist
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 15
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Events
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 17
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 18
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Top Doctors 2017
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 20
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 21
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 22
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 23
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 24
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 25
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 26
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 27
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 28
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 29
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 30
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 31
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 32
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 33
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 34
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 35
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 36
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 37
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Profiles in Medical Excellence (special section)
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 39
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 40
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 41
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 42
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 43
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 44
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 45
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 46
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 47
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 48
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 49
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 50
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 51
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 52
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 53
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - The Changing Face of Roanoke Dentistry
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 55
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 56
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 57
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 58
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 59
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Amy Trail: A Journey of Education
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 61
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 62
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 63
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 64
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 65
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 66
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 67
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 68
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Roanoke Valley Education: A March Forward
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 70
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 71
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 72
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 73
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 74
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - The Two-Wheeled Shepherd
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 76
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 77
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 78
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 79
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 80
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 81
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 82
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Vinton: Great Little Town (special section)
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 84
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 85
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 86
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 87
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 88
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 89
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 90
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 91
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 92
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 93
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 94
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 95
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 96
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 97
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 98
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 99
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 100
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 101
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 102
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 103
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 104
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 105
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 106
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 107
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 108
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 109
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 110
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 111
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 112
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 113
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 114
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - The Stunning Mangus Home
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 116
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 117
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 118
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 119
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 120
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 121
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 122
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 123
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 124
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 125
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 126
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 127
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - The Strange Lure of Softball
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 129
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 130
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 131
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 132
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 133
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 134
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Dining: Red Jasmine and Fork in the Alley
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 136
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 137
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 138
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 139
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 140
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 141
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 142
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 143
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - 144
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - The Dish
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - NEW! Then & Now
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Cover3
The Roanoker - July/August 2017 - Cover4
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