Tamarind Thai

It's been awhile since we were last here...

Tamarind Thai is on the corner of where University Ave and La Mesa intersect. It's a really tiny place in this strip mall, Plaza La Mesa.

The last time we were here was at least four or five years ago...it was time for a revisit.

TC was my lunch companion that day while Bert took care of his mom...

We were the first customers there that morning. The servers were all so very nice and polite.

I saw that they had Meang Kam (Sab e Lee 2 does a "deconstructed version" called Miang Kum) so we ordered that...

You probably already know what TC ordered. As for me, I had the Nam Tok but asked that it be as mild as possible since I was going to share it with TC. If Bert was here to share it with me, it would have been spicy but I wanted TC to try this...

It's so small in here. It seats about maybe 30 or so in here plus a few more tables outside. In fact, some folks came in soon after us and dined on the patio since the weather was so warm.

We were up by the counter near the corner.

My iced coffee which was strong - I guess I won't be sleeping tonight!

The Meang Kam - as mentioned earlier, Sab e Lee 2 does this differently where all the ingredients are laid out. It was spelled as "Miang Kum" on their menu.

Here is an old photo below - spinach leaves, toasted coconut, chilis, dried shrimp, red onion, ginger (or maybe it was galangal), lime slices and peanuts (hidden) with a sweet tamarind sauce...

(photo from my old post, Sab e Lee 2 with Michael and DD (December 2009)

Here is the Meang Kam - all of the ingredients were already on the lettuce leaves (not spinach).

The sauce was also more pungent and fishy. Not sweet at all.

After poking around the ingredients, I saw red onion, peanuts, the toasted coconut, a fresh shrimp (not dried), and ginger slices. No tiny lime pieces or chilis in here. TC really liked this appetizer. I liked the variety of textures and flavors in here, but prefer Sab e Lee's version since you can "customize" your lettuce wrap. This was still fun to try though.

Our dishes - Yes, TC's Pad Thai (with chicken; they also added some cubed tofu which she didn't like) and my Nam Tok salad.

You can see the rice powder on the beef slices. I would normally eat this the real spicy way, but I wanted TC to enjoy this. I liked the fresh salad underneath with the flavors of mint, lime and a ver toned down sauce.

Our server gave us a pretty trio of sauces - well, one was actually a dried chili powder, along with chili garlic sauce and a fish sauce with sliced chilies within. The powder was really potent; I added some to the noodles just to try. I'm glad I had the iced coffee to cool down my mouth!

Who else ate at Tamarind Thai?

The Food Gastronomer - January 2007 as well as Michael from Foodopolis who visited several months later (hello Michael if you're reading this!)

Official Website of Tamarind Thai

We liked our dishes here and hope to come back again to try some of their house specials. The service was really great here. Very attentive and very polite.

Up next...dessert!