Bamboo Penny's

Bamboo Penny’s is a chef-driven Thai restaurant in Leawood’s Park Place development, opened in spring 2021 by local restaurateurs Penny and Doug Mufaka. It is the flagship of the Mufaka family’s small KC-metro restaurant group and the older sister concept to neighboring Aqua Penny’s. The 5,400-square-foot space serves elevated traditional Thai cuisine and fusion dishes alongside a craft-cocktail program and a seasonal rooftop bar, the Bamboo Room.¹²

Description

Bamboo Penny’s is the flagship restaurant of chef-owner Penny Mufaka, occupying a roughly 5,400-square-foot space at 5270 W 116th Place in Leawood’s Park Place shopping center.¹ The menu centers on traditional Thai flavors — balancing sweet, sour, salty, and spicy with aromatic herbs and spices — across stir-fried, steamed, grilled, and slow-stewed dishes, alongside upscale fusion plates such as pineapple fried rice and mango duck.²¹ The restaurant pairs its food with a craft-cocktail program and operates a seasonal rooftop bar and lounge, the Bamboo Room, available Friday and Saturday evenings and for private events.²

The restaurant operates 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with weekday happy hour.²

Ownership and history

Bamboo Penny’s is owned by Penny and Doug Mufaka, a husband-and-wife team who have built and operated independent KC-metro restaurants for more than a decade.¹ Penny Mufaka, a native of Thailand, brought roughly 25 years of food-industry experience to the venture; the couple previously opened Thai House in Kansas City, Missouri, and KC Thai in Overland Park before launching Bamboo Penny’s as their third concept in Leawood’s Park Place in spring 2021.¹

The family later added a fourth concept, the coastal seafood and raw-oyster bar Aqua Penny’s, in the same Park Place development in April 2024.¹ The Mufaka group operates as a small, locally owned cluster of independent restaurants with no corporate parent or franchise affiliation.¹

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-23 · Source: Bamboo Penny’s official website (food menu page) · URL(s): https://bamboopennys.com/leawood-leawood-bamboo-penny-s-food-menu · Confidence: High

The menu is full-service elevated Thai — shareable starters, authentic Thai salads and soups, Chef Penny’s signature specialties, and a deep noodle/rice/curry/stir-fry program with choice-of-protein pricing. Several dishes (curries, noodles, rice, stir-fries) price by protein selection and are listed without a fixed price on the menu page.³

Shareable plates & starters

• Penny’s Rangoon — hand-filled wonton with cream cheese and garlic blend, flash-fried; a house signature ($12).³
• Crispy Egg Rolls ($12), Pan-Seared Dumplings ($12), Lobster Egg Rolls (Thai-spiced cold-water lobster, jalapeño, tamarind dip; $20), Fresh Spring Rolls ($12), and Crunchy Salad Rolls ($12).³
• Shareable combos — Bamboo Combo, Penny’s Combo, and Veggie Sampler Combo (each $26).³

Satay, strips & bites

• Chicken Satay ($15), Tiger Cry Beef Strips — hanger steak in Penny’s signature Tiger Cry sauce ($17), Thai Garlic Riblets ($14), Crispy Thai Spiced Calamari ($15), and Shrimp in a Blanket ($14).³

Thai salads & soups

• Som Tum (Papaya Salad) ($15; +chicken $21 / +shrimp $23), Laab/Larb Salad ($15), Nam Khao Tod crispy rice & pork salad ($16), Mint Salad with salmon or hanger steak ($22), Penny’s House Salad ($10).³
• Tom Yum and Tom Kha soups (small $10 / large $15; +$4 shrimp), and Beef Noodle Soup (Pho) with shaved rib eye and Thai meatballs ($21).³

Chef Penny’s specialties (signatures)

• Mango Duck — slow-roasted tempura-fried duck with tamarind Thai chili sauce (half $32 / whole $59).³
• Tiger Cry Steak — pan-seared 12 oz rib eye with Crying Tiger sauce ($42).³
• Penny’s Special Lobster Pad Thai — glass noodles with sweet lobster meat ($54).³
• Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass ($42), Salmon Panang Curry ($32), Yellow Seafood Medley Stir Fry ($40), Crispy Jumbo Garlic Shrimp ($32), Gaprow / Pad Kra Pao ($26), and Roasted Beef Massaman Curry ($26).³

Noodles, rice, curry & stir-fry (choice of protein)

• Pad Thai A La Penny — the house take on Thailand’s best-known dish; gluten-free; price varies by protein.³
• Pineapple Fried Rice — a Chef Penny signature served in a hollowed pineapple boat; price varies by protein.³
• Additional noodles (Pad See Eaw, Pad Kee Mow / Drunken Noodles, Thai Lo Mein), rice dishes (House, Basil, Yellow Fried Rice), curries (Massaman, Panang, Green, Red, Mango Red, Yellow), and stir-fries (Cashew, Ginger, Thai Basil, Sweet & Sour) — all priced by protein.³

Desserts & beverages

• Sweet Sticky Rice & Mango ($15), Chocolate Rangoon ($10), Mango Cheesecake ($12), Chocolate Fudge Brownie “Affogato” ($15).³
• Roasterie coffee, Thai Iced Coffee ($6), and a craft-cocktail program including dessert cocktails (Thai “Espresso” Martini, Soju Colada). A separate Late Night menu runs Friday/Saturday with a service-industry discount.³

Prices verified from the official menu page as of 2026-06-23 and are subject to change. Many noodle, rice, curry, and stir-fry dishes price by protein selection and are listed without a fixed price on the site.

Links

• Website: https://bamboopennys.com/[^site]
• Phone: (913) 232-7695²
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bamboo-pennys-leawood[^yelp]

Sources

Disputes

• Relationship to Aqua Penny’s — clarified, not a conflict. Bamboo Penny’s and Aqua Penny’s are two DISTINCT concepts from the same owners (Penny & Doug Mufaka), both in Leawood’s Park Place. Bamboo Penny’s is the older Thai flagship (2021, 5270 W 116th Pl); Aqua Penny’s is a coastal seafood/raw-oyster bar (2024, 11652 Ash St). Different names, menus, and addresses — separate Registry pages are correct.
• Founding-year figure. Official site shows “Founded 2013” (likely owners’ overall Thai-dining tenure); verified Park Place opening is spring 2021.

See also

• aqua-pennys

Footnotes

1. The Pitch KC, “Thai House, KC Thai owners to open third restaurant in Leawood’s Park Place,” March 16, 2021. https://www.thepitchkc.com/thai-house-kc-thai-owners-to-open-third-restaurant-in-leawoods-park-place/ — asserts: 2021 Park Place opening; owners Penny & Doug Mufaka; prior concepts Thai House (KCMO) and KC Thai (Overland Park); 5,400 sq ft at 5270 W 116th Place; Thai cuisine with fusion dishes; Bamboo Room rooftop bar; later sister concept Aqua Penny’s (April 2024). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Bamboo Penny’s official website. https://bamboopennys.com/ — asserts: name, address 5270 W 116th Pl, Leawood KS 66211; Thai cuisine; chef-owner Penny; hours (Sun–Thu 11–9, Fri–Sat 11–10); phone (913) 232-7695; Bamboo Room rooftop bar. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Bamboo Penny’s official website — food menu page. https://bamboopennys.com/leawood-leawood-bamboo-penny-s-food-menu — asserts: current menu categories and dishes with prices — shareable plates (Penny’s Rangoon $12, Lobster Egg Rolls $20, combos $26), satay/strips/bites (Chicken Satay $15, Tiger Cry Beef Strips $17), Thai salads & soups (Som Tum $15+, Tom Yum/Tom Kha $10/$15, Pho $21), Chef Penny’s specialties (Mango Duck half $32/whole $59, Tiger Cry Steak $42, Special Lobster Pad Thai $54, Chilean Sea Bass $42, Yellow Seafood Medley $40), noodle/rice/curry/stir-fry program with choice-of-protein pricing (Pad Thai A La Penny, Pineapple Fried Rice, curries, stir-fries), desserts (Sticky Rice & Mango $15) and beverage/cocktail program. Verified 2026-06-23. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶