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Written by: Beth Rudiger

Published: 04 March 2008

Created: 04 March 2008

Last Updated: 04 March 2008

Ting and Charlie McFarling opened their restaurant in Hidden Valley Lake last July. Courtesy photo.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE – Behind the unassuming exterior of the strip mall beside Hardester’s Market in Hidden Valley Lake, lies Lake County’s newest dining jewel, Ting’s Thai Restaurant.

Step through the standard commercial glass door into an unexpected haven from hunger and stress. The restaurant soothes you with its highly polished dark wood tables with padded chairs, rich golden ochre tile floor, and violet walls set off by pale tan wainscoting. Original oil paintings of scenes showing Thai culture adorn the walls along with other traditional Thai ornaments.

The restaurant’s symbol, the elephant, which is revered in Thailand as a companion working animal, is featured throughout the restaurant. A great, handsome elephant head hand-carved of warm, dark wood is a focal point as you enter.

Ting along with her husband, Charlie McFarling, have finally realized Ting’s long-held dream of opening a Thai restaurant and they are glad to do so in Lake County.

Because Ting and Charlie wanted to serve a small number of customers as they eased into their new business, they made no advertising effort before their opening.

To their surprise, on their first night, Friday, July 23, Ting’s Restaurant saw a deluge of area residents who filled every chair in the 72-seat restaurant. These customers left very satisfied and have spread the word. In addition to the busy restaurant, Ting’s runs a take-out business and a catering business.

All of the dishes served at Ting’s are traditional Thai cuisine made to order with the freshest, most authentic ingredients available. Ting and Charlie make frequent trips to Healdsburg, Santa Rosa and even San Francisco to procure the special ingredients for dishes like Pa Nang salmon which features a lightly sautéed salmon filet in a creamy coconut milk-based red curry with carrots, green beans, bell pepper and kafir lime leaves.

Diners may also feast on roasted duck prepared in one of three ways: in a curry sauce with fresh basil, in a Thai noodle soup with shiitake mushrooms or in a delicious salad with lemongrass, cilantro, and mint and dressed with a light lime dressing.

Whatever you order, you know it will be fresh and healthy as Ting does not use an inordinate amount of fat in her cooking. The sweet and sour, for example, has all the delicious taste of the traditional sauce with no artificial colors and no deep-fried breading on the meat.

In addition to such Thai favorites as spring rolls, chicken Satay, Pad Thai and sticky rice with mango, Ting’s serves wine and Thai beer.

Ting’s restaurant is located in the Hidden Valley Lake Hardester’s shopping center on Hartmann Road off Highway 29.

The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Lunch specials are served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You may call ahead to have your order ready for takeout or to dine in: 987-1063.

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